Editorial / Opinions

The Gold Buckle Gala is always the kickoff party to the Ozark Empire Fair. Each year the event recognizes the efforts of southwest Missouri 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors who have qualified for the auction, and to award youth grants and scholarships.

I’m convinced that the education I received at an old-fashioned, general store was as valuable as a college degree. Sitting around the pot-bellied, wood stove on a late, Saturday afternoon meant listening to a bunch of old men telling stories of their past and it allowed me to learn from their failures as well as their successes, for they would eventually tell of both if I sat there long enough.

After our June 16 issue was published in Missouri, I received an anonymous letter in response to one of the articles we ran on raising and marketing naturally raised meat. Typically, we do not publish anonymous or unsigned letters to the editor. However, I’ve been really thinking about this letter and wanted to share parts of it with our readers and provide my response.

I just got back from a very dry California. Our rain has been great for all except folks who have not been able to bale all their hay yet. However, it’s the first of July and I have white clover blooming in my pasture, which means we’ve had a great year so far.

It’s official – I have retired.

After our June 16 issue was published, I received an anonymous letter in response to one of the articles we ran on raising and marketing naturally raised meat. Typically, we do not publish anonymous or unsigned letters to the editor. However, I’ve been really thinking about this letter and wanted to share parts of it with our readers and provide my response.

Everybody knows someone like him. It may be an uncle or a grandfather or even your own father for which phrases such as, “he’s so tight, he squeaks when he walks” or “he’s still got 9 cents of the first dime he ever made” are used to describe him. In my case, he’s a neighbor and good friend that I will call ‘Don.’

The agriculture industry and farm organizations around the country give special recognition to dairy farmers through the month of June. Some celebrate by hosting dairy farm tours, others with ice cream socials. In joining in on that effort we are dedicating our June Issue to National Dairy Month.  

The world is a different place. I recently attended a conference about electricity and natural gas. By now the EPA has issued its regulations for coal-fired powered plants. Some plants will stay some will go. The thing that worries many industry leaders is last winter when we had every plant running wide open and still barely missed have rolling blackouts in the U.S. Many of these power units are huge and to replace them will take lots of natural gas. At that same period the U.S. strained to get enough natural gas to the plants that needed it. The U.S. has plenty of natural gas but the pipelines are not big enough to become the main choice in many cases. They can build pipelines but not overnight and the pressure on the supply makes it cost much more than coal. Plus, you simply can’t store gas like coal.

Everybody knows someone like him. It may be an uncle or a grandfather or even your own father for which phrases such as, “he’s so tight, he squeaks when he walks” or “he’s still got 9 cents of the first dime he ever made” are used to describe him. In my case, he’s a neighbor and good friend that I will call ‘Don.’