Hometown Advocacy Greg Doering Kansas Farm Bureau Kansas legislators will soon be on spring break, and as they head back to their districts to tout the work they’ve already completed this session at public forums and town halls across the state, lawmakers are also likely to talk about an unexpected problem: too much money. Certainly, this is much better than crafting a budget with a shortfall where none of the options are appealing.

Baby Chicks There are three general categories of baby chicks to consider when choosing a breed or variety: egg-type, meat-type, or dual-purpose breeds. If there is a need to fill the freezer for the year, choose the Cornish-Rock cross chicks.

My family and I recently enjoyed a few days off the farm having some fun in the snow in northern New Mexico. While homeward bound from our spring break ski trip, there were signs of a new season quickly approaching during our drive.

Cow-calf producers use various strategies to manage price risk, including futures and options. Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) is a type of livestock price insurance that typically costs less than a put option. The focus of this article is the LRP guarantee (also referred to as “liabilities”), which is the level of revenue (or calf income) that is guaranteed by LRP.

Last week I had the privilege of being at my Kansas Farm Bureau district’s issue surfacing meeting. We had a great meeting with very good attendance and a lively discussion of issues affecting farmers and ranchers in northeast Kansas. I would hate to say how many issue surfacing meetings I have attended, but I look forward to them each and every year because they are the very epitome of what Kansas Farm Bureau is about.

Cow-calf producers use various strategies to manage price risk. Hedging is a formal price risk management tool that allows a producer to directly manage the risk associated with changes in expected market prices.

Cow-calf producers use various strategies to manage price risk, including futures and options. Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) is a livestock insurance product that is like a put option. The focus of this article is the cost of LRP.

Growing up, this is about the time of year I spent plenty of weekends patrolling pastures for eastern red cedar trees to lop off with a pair of shears. It was easier to spot the evergreen saplings amidst the browns and tans of last year’s growing season. My job was to find the saplings growing in fence rows, draws and other areas where the fire we’d set a few weeks later was unlikely to reach them.

History often repeats itself. This phrase used to seem like a cautionary warning but the last two years have transformed it to have a feeling more like a judgmental, “I told you so.” Events I had only read about in history books like a global pandemic, racial unrest as part of the fight for civil rights and the start of war in Europe are actually happening.

Prescribed/Controlled Burning Drought conditions worsen for the area. Phillips County is currently in D1 or a moderate drought.