It’s no coincidence that the Super Bowl is played during the depths of midwinter. After enduring approximately 27 consecutive months of snow and cold, we’re eager for any distraction that will keep us from getting into shouting matches with our housemates over such life-or-death issues as ho…

Sometime in late December, I found myself practically jogging through Walmart. One kid was at a birthday party; the other was playing with a cousin. I had one hour to get a week or more worth of groceries and other supplies (alone — a rare treat) and drive across Jamestown to pick up the afo…

FARGO, N.D. — Follow me as we head out into the garden. Don’t worry; the snow’s gone, the grass is green, the weather’s warm and the flower beds are in full bloom.

The onset of a deep chest cold recently pushed me to wander the aisles of rural America’s drug store, Dollar General, for any cure that might halt the hacking. Three days and three placebos later, my hack weakened to a wheeze. Time, and the lovely Catherine’s chicken soup, did the trick.

The Super Bowl is just around the corner.

As we look at the Phase 1 trade agreement between the U.S. and China that is expected to be signed sometime on or after January 15, 2020, we want to begin with a brief overview of the history of U.S. agricultural exports.

01/21/20 — Last week we had a signing ceremony for the U.S.-China agreement where China agreed to buy $200 billion more U.S. product than 2017 purchases the next 2 years in return for $32 billion in tariffs to come off Chinese imports. Of that $200 billion total, $32 billion was for ag produ…

It was, perhaps, questionable wisdom to hold a pro-gun rally on a federal holiday designated to honor a civil rights leader assassinated by a gunshot, but this is America, where we have the freedom to be disrespectful in a wide variety of circumstances.

That fuzzy feeling when you run your tongue across your teeth. The smell of your own bad breath. Who can forget that nasty, stale taste? You forgot to brush your teeth last night before bed. We’ve all done it, but just think how you would feel if you hadn’t brushed your teeth in years!

We often hear phrases such as “protect your working capital,” or “watch your liquidity,” or “cash is king,” when referring to short-term financial analysis of a farm business. All of these terms generally refer to the “working capital” of a farm business. A significant decline in working cap…

The lights flickered and the house went dark. A jolt of dread shot through my wife and me.

Events, like stars, can at times align just enough for you to glimpse your destiny. If you’re lucky, that sneak peek is the critical break you need for success; if you’re unlucky, the starry view spins off into the universe unseen.

FARGO — How do you greet a new houseplant? Just say “aloe.”

Like many of you, I too grew up on a farm, albeit in the Netherlands. To this day, I am more likely to refer to myself as a farm kid (who happens to work in agricultural research and extension) rather than as a scientist (who happens to work in agriculture). Like many of you, our farm operat…

“How scientific do you want to be?” my husband asked.

In this post-holiday season and with apologies to Perry Como and the Fontaine Sisters who sang the Christmas standard “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” we’d like to make an unrhythmic play on the song’s title.

I really like meat and almost all the wonderful things we can do to make it taste even better. Smoke it. Grill it. Roast it. Bake it. Fry it. Cure it in salt. If you’re offering meat, as long as it isn’t pickled, I’m interested.

01/14/19 — Once again this week the focus is on China, our 25-million-acre customer from the past that has promised via Phase 1 to become a 35-million-acre customer in 2020, and even bigger in 2021. But the market still acts like China is a 15-million-acre customer like they were in 2019. We…

In a move that surprised most grain marketing experts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased the estimated final 2019 U.S. average yields for both corn and soybeans in the January 10 USDA Crop Production Report. USDA increased the estimated final 2019 national average corn yield by on…

We are in the midst of the Deep Cold, the Death Valley of the seasons here in the Northland. Our hope is to make this perilous crossing without losing any of our metaphorical oxen or actual fingers or toes.

In recent months, I’ve started listening more to podcasts than to traditional radio as I drive. This is, in large part, because of the fact that we’ve launched the Agweek Podcast (look for it on Apple Podcasts or Google Play Music). But part of it is that it allows me to hear about eclectic …

Before the year loses its fresh, youthful promise, let’s look at some recent research to, hopefully, address a nagging problem carried over from 2019.

Q: I’ve been interested in the recent questions about jade plants. I’ve been raising these succulents for decades, but twice I’ve run into issues with a bug that spreads from plant to plant and is encased in tiny white fluffy balls with some webby growth between leaves. What causes the probl…

Shawn and his sister Mandy looked at the huge feet sticking out of the calving heifer, then looked at each other. Years of calving out heifers together meant they could tell what each other was thinking without speaking. Shawn was already wondering where his phone was to call the vet for a C…

All restaurants and stores were closed due to the blizzard, and I was in search of comfort food for brunch.

In writing a column (https://tinyurl.com/ruksgn6) which focused on changes in state-level net farm income we noticed that the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agricultural (USDA/ERS) had extended their data extraction tool back to 1929 and provides data in nominal…

The farming landscape on the Northern Plains doesn’t look like it did in the past, and it’s likely to change yet again as farmers look for new ways to diversify their operations and develop new ways to generate revenue. Fortunately, there are some new opportunities currently being developed.

01/07/19 — Come January, usually the only market factor with much influence on prices is South American weather. After all, they are our best competitors for world exports, and this is their prime growing season. But some USDA assumptions will also become an important factor this January.

The farm program choices that are part of the 2018 Farm Bill have been discussed for a long time, and the time to make the initial farm program decisions for 2019 and 2020 has now arrived. Enrollment for the 2019 and 2020 farm program is from now until March 15, 2020 at local USDA Farm Servi…

Cold stress starts when temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit in dairy calves who are less than 21 days of age and when below 42 degrees (Litherland, 2013) in calves greater than 42 days of age.

As we close a very trying year in agriculture with 2019 weather and market challenges the question going into 2020 is: “Will it cashflow?”

The best way to begin a new year without feeling overwhelmed by what we don’t know is to start with what we do know.

FARGO, N.D. — What does the future hold for those who enjoy working with plants?

Farmers and landowners will be glad to know that the Conservation Reserve Program is back in a big way. Currently there are two different CRP signups open for enrollment. A general CRP signup began Dec. 9, 2019, and ends on Feb. 28, 2020. In addition to the general signup, a continuous CRP s…

Jake and Lilly were sitting next to me on the couch one evening. I patted them on their warm backs. They looked at me approvingly with their big brown eyes.

A few months back, I noticed I had a few messages on Facebook Messenger from people I didn’t know. The first was quickly disposed of as a case of mistaken identity. The second, a long screed from a person with an out-of-the-ordinary name, seemed likely to be the same kind of thing. But I sca…

Of all the do-it-yourself projects I undertook back when I was a bachelor – including haircuts – perhaps the most difficult was the business of finding a wife.

As we conclude another decade at the end of 2019, it is a good time to reflect back on some things that have occurred in the past decade. Many times, there can be dramatic change over the course of a decade, which has been no different in the decade from 2010-2019. In 2010, smartphones were …

If you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I’m not much into shopping. She’s happy browsing through stores to look for interesting bargains, but I’d just as soon pass.

When readers of this weekly effort take the time to write me a letter or email, it’s a safe bet they want to have the final word on whatever riled them to write. I’m fine with that.

FARGO, N.D. — Winter is a peaceful time around the yard and garden, as we take a break from weeding, watering and mowing. Unfortunately, rabbits and other livestock seem to think it’s harvest time, making winter snacks of our trees and shrubs.

Marking the passage of time is a very human thing to do.

12/23/19 — For at least 5 years, agriculture has endured a depressing situation where it was quite likely there would be little or no profit on the farm due to low prices. In a matter of 365 days, there were perhaps 5 or 10 days each year the last 5 years that agriculture could actually turn…

A sparkling clean annum is about to slowly emerge from the cosmic car wash. We begin a new year and a new decade (welcome to the 20s!) with a triple-foam rinse, a deluxe wax job and an invigoratingly power-jetted undercarriage.

At the end of every year, various publications, websites, etc. have their top 10 or top five list for that year. In this issue of Focus on Ag, I am highlighting my top five ag issues for 2019, based on issues that were discussed in the columns throughout the year.

Editor’s note: Every year during the holidays the Farm Forum reprints one of Alan Guebert’s previously published columns. This one is the most requested he has ever written.

FARGO, N.D. — Well friends, another growing season is in the past, and we turn the calendar page to another year.

What does beef production look like in 2030?

As we look back through the last 12 months, it is safe to say 2019 was a trying time for most agricultural producers. From unprecedented flooding during critical planting periods leading to delays in fall harvest to the brutal winter that battered the majority of livestock operations, the sp…

Now that harvest is complete and calves are weaned, attention has turned to the future of the herd — the bred cows. Pregnant cows are entering their third trimester and calving season will soon be upon us.