Acres Western

By Matt Aultman

2012 was a year for the recordbooks, but you need to questionyourself because the past fewyears have all been for the recordbooks. This has also let manyquestioning what a normal year isanymore. Fortunate for all of us2012 has drawn to a close andwe’re optimistic for a better 2013.Each year I compile what has hap-pened that has affected the agri-cultural community in our areaand outside influences that haveaffected all of us.Let’s start with the year’s

biggest topic: Drought! It was theword for many in the Corn Beltand the rest of the United Statesagricultural sector for that matter.For many in the Ohio valley, 1988was a devastating drought year.After the extreme weather condi-tions in the 1988 growing season,late summer and fall rains nearednormal to even above normal pre-cipitation. Since its peak in mid-summer, the 2012 drought hascertainly diminished, but a signif-

icant deficit in precipitation stillexists in some areas. While agri-cultural need for precipitation hasnow passed, there is lingeringpotential impact on the 2013growing season. Just as a compar-ison from January 1st to October19th, 1988 rainfall amounted to23.05” which most came in thespring until about the 4th of July,and during the same time periodin 2012 rainfall amounted to26.56” which most came in lateAugust and September. If youlook to the grain market chartsyou can tell when the beneficialrains came, the fall bid Soybeanmarket topped out on September14th at a November CME Groupclosing futures price of $17.39and the fall bid Corn markettopped out on August 21st with aDecember CME group closingfutures price of $8.38. Not manyof us got that price or even some-thing close to it. Many sold foraround $5.50 for corn when wethat that 2012 was going to be oneof the largest crops planted, andbeans around $15.00 because of

the early planting opportunitiesafforded to us this spring. No mat-ter how well we done planting thecrop it “takes rain to make grain.”For the next year education

will be a big topic and The OhioState University has made achange in leadership for The OhioState University AgricultureCollege. This year was the yearthat Dean Bobby Mossier, OSU’slongest tenured dean with 21years, retired from the agriculturecollege and it allowed a newleader to take over. Ohio State haschosen alumnus Bruce McPheronas the new vice president for agri-cultural administration and deanof the College of Food,Agricultural and EnvironmentalSciences. McPheron was the Agdean at Penn State, and he startedhis new position with Ohio Stateon November 1st. Ohio StatePresident E. Gordon Gee said in awritten statement, “Dr. McPheronis an Ohioan by birth, an OhioState alumnus, and spent threeyears working as a county exten-sion educator in the state. He

brings a global view and world-wide experience back to Ohio tolead one of Ohio State’s mostimportant educational programs.”McPheron told many press outletsthat he looks forward to his returnto Ohio and The Ohio StateUniversity.Also this year, the Farm

Science Review, near LondonOhio, celebrated its 50th year.Organizers say that despite themany changes that have occurredin agriculture during that time,one thing has remained the same:Ohio’s premiere agricultural eventis still dedicated to ensuring thebest agricultural research,resources, information and accessfor farmers. For those not familiarwith the event, it is sponsored bythe College of Food, Agricultural,and Environmental Sciences,Ohio State University Extension,and the Ohio AgriculturalResearch and DevelopmentCenter, and attracts upwards of140,000 visitors from all over theUnited States and Canada.Visitors come for three days to

peruse 4,000 product lines from600 commercial exhibitors, andcapitalize on educational opportu-nities from Ohio State Universityand Purdue University specialists.Continuing on with education

in my own backyard, DarkeCounty has been graced with anew Extension of Agriculture andNatural Resources agent, SamCuster. Sam has a background ineducation and agriculture andwe’re all thrilled for his placementin our county. Welcome Sam andwe look forward to your service tothe “Top of Ohio” region of OhioState Extension.2012 has also brought Ohio

and our neighborhood some acco-lades and I want to applaud thosefor their accomplishments gained.In the FFA news, Ohio was luckyto have four national proficiencyaward winners: Nick Rutschillingof the Versailles FFA, winner ofthe Swine Production Placementproficiency, Garrit Sproull of theHarrison FFA won the SwineProduction Entrepreneurship pro-ficiency, Elizabeth Hayes of theMarysville FFA won the EquineScience Entrepreneurship profi-ciency, and Jakob Wilson of theFairbanks FFA won theDiversified Crop ProductionPlacement proficiency.Congratulations to all these out-standing individuals on theiraccomplishments. I also want tocongratulate Greg McGlinch ofVersailles. He has been namedwinner of the Ohio Farm BureauFederation’s (OFBF) Excellencein Agriculture award program.The award recognizes successfulyoung people 35 or younger whoare involved in farming but whoseprimary occupation is not farmingor owning an agricultural busi-ness. The award is based on theirinvolvement in agriculture andparticipation in Farm Bureau andother community organizations.Greg will travel to Nashville inJanuary to compete at the nationalcompetition. Good luck at theAmerican Farm Bureau annualmeeting.When covering a year in

review especially in an election

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Is agriculture relevant? Dandelions as a cash crop Treasured Times handmade furniture Farm bill pushed to one-year extension

What is organic food?

Organic is primarily alabeling term that is used on awide variety of foods thathave been produced throughmethods and practicesapproved by the U.S.Department of Agricultureand its National OrganicsProgram. Organic regulationsfocus on farming practicesand food production steps thatcan be monitored and con-trolled, but for the most part,organic regulations simply donot try to address the morecomplicated issues involvingthe earth and sustainability.

What is the historyof organic foods?

Before the federal govern-ment got involved in the regu-lation of organic foods,dozens of states had passedorganic laws of their own.Today, 45 out of the 50 stateshave their own organic laws,and even before state lawswere established, farmers setup voluntary organic certifica-tion systems. The first organi-zation in the country to certifyorganic farms was CCOF,California Certified OrganicFarmers, over 20 years ago.Organic production had

been practiced in the UnitedStates since the late 1940s.From that time, the industryhad grown from experimentalgarden plots to large farmswith surplus products sold

under a special organic label.Food manufacturers devel-oped organic processed prod-ucts and many retail market-ing chains specialized in thesale of “organic” products.This growth stimulated a

need for verification thatproducts are indeed producedaccording to certain stan-dards. Private organizationsand state agencies currentlycertify organic food, but theirstandards for growing andlabeling organic food may dif-fer. In addition, the languagecontained in seals, labels, andlogos approved by organiccertifiers may differ.By the late 1980s, after an

attempt to develop a consen-sus of production and certifi-cation standards, the organicindustry petitioned Congressto draft the Organic FoodsProduction Act defining“organic.” This leads me tothe next point of the need forregulation.

Why did we needregulation of

organic foods?

Over two decades ago,when the U.S. Congresspassed its 1990 Farm Bill, acongressional mandate wasincluded in the bill (Title 21)instructing the U.S.Department of Agriculture tocreate a national legal defini-tion of “organic” that wouldprovide reliable, uniform, andenforceable standards for any

food bearing the term “organ-ic.”The development of organ-

ic standards was designed toprovide consumers with afood labeling process thatthey could trust to reflectthose standards in food pro-duction. These standards areregulated under federal legis-lation as stated in the next sec-tion.

How are organicfoods regulated?

Federal regulations are thelaws authorized by major leg-islation enacted by the U.S.Congress. As part of the 1990Farm Bill, the U.S. Congressincluded a title called TitleXXI: The Organic FoodsProduction Act. In this sectionof the Farm Bill, Congressinstructed the U.S.Department of Agriculture toestablish the National OrganicProgram. Once the 1990 FarmBill was approved and signedinto law, the USDA becameresponsible for developingorganic standards.

What is USDAcertification?

Certification is the processby which the consumer isassured that a product market-ed as “organic” is in compli-ance with production and han-dling requirements set forth inUSDA regulations. All pro-ducers of organic food, live-

stock, and fiber crops as wellas handlers or organic prod-ucts must be certified (exceptgrowers who gross less than$5,000 and retailers).Growers and handlers sub-

mit an Organic Farm Plan oran Organic Handling Plan to aUSDA accredited certifyingagent detailing their growingand handling methods. On-site inspections are conductedby certifying agents to verifysubmitted plans. Methods andmaterials used in productionmust meet standards set in thenew regulations. Clear docu-mentation of methods andmaterials must be kept. Theremust be a paper trail tracing aproduct back to its productionsite, enabling verification ofproduction methods and mate-rials.Certification is the process

by which the consumer isassured that a product market-ed as “organic” is in compli-ance with production and han-dling requirements set forth inUSDA regulations.

What does it taketo get certified?

Certification standardsestablish the requirements thatorganic production and han-dling operations must meet tobecome accredited by USDA-accredited certifying agents.The information that an appli-cant must submit to the certi-fying agent includes the appli-cant’s organic system plan.

This plan describes (amongother things) practices andsubstances used in produc-tion, record keeping proce-dures, and practices to preventcommingling of organic andnon-organic products.The certification standards

also address on-site inspec-tions. Producers and handling(processing) operations thatsell less than $5,000 a year inorganic agricultural productsare exempt from certification.They may label their productsorganic if they abide by thestandards, but they cannot dis-play the USDA Organic seal.Retail operations, such as

grocery stores and restaurants,do not have to be certified.Accreditation standards estab-lish the requirements an appli-cant must meet in order tobecome a USDA-accreditedcertifying agent. The stan-dards are designed to ensurethat all organic certifyingagents act consistently andimpartially.Successful applicants will

employ experienced person-nel, demonstrate their expert-ise in certifying organic pro-ducers and handlers, and pre-vent conflicts of interest andmaintain strict confidentiality.Imported agricultural prod-ucts may be sold in the UnitedStates if they are certified byUSDA-accredited certifyingagents. Imported productsmust meet the NOP standards.USDA has accredited certify-ing agents in several foreign

countries. In lieu of USDAaccreditation, a foreign entityalso may be accredited whenUSDA “recognizes” that itsgovernment is able to assessand accredit certifying agentsas meeting the requirementsof the NOP called a recogni-tion agreement.

What is theNational OrganicStandards Board?

As part of its ongoingprocess for development oforganic standards, theNational Organic Programrelies heavily on the work ofits 15-member NationalOrganic Standards Board(NOSB). The NOSB isappointed by the Secretary ofAgriculture and is comprisedof representatives from thefollowing categories:f a r m e r / g r o w e r ;handler/processor; retailer;consumer/public interest;environmentalist; scientist;and certifying agent. Severalstanding committees exist onthe NOSB, including aLivestock Committee,Materials Committee, CropsCommittee, PolicyDevelopment Committee,Handling Committee, andCertification/Accreditation/Compliance Committee.NOSB committees typical-

ly meet on a quarterly basis toreview petitions and considerproposed changes in organicregulations.

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A common question that I get askedwhile selling feed to growers is:“What is organics?” Over the nextcouple of articles I will try my best

to answer a few of the mostasked questions.

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Antique tractor owner is world record setter Nitrate poisoning in livestock Fall happenings Wine making is a science without rules

HarvestA farmer’sreportBy Heather [email protected]

Local orchardsdealt anotherTOUGH season

Heather [email protected]

CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind.- The apples are still piled highin their rustic wooden crates,enticing customers to bag someup to take home. But the buyersand the sellers are both awarethis fall that instead of comingoff trees a few yards away,those apples traveled hundredsof miles.

“On the whole everybody’sbeen very nice, understanding,”said Shannan Hicks, who co-owns Dougherty Orchards withher family outside ofCambridge City, Ind. “It’s beena hard year.”

The Dougherty owners lost

all of their apple crop thisspring when much warmer-than-normal temperaturesaccelerated the budding andblooming on the fruit trees, andthen those blooms were killedby spring freezes. That’s a riskevery spring, but the warmestMarch on record, according tothe National Climatic DataCenter, led to earlier bloomingand therefore, greater damage.

The U.S. Department ofAgriculture apple crop forecastin August showed that theentire Midwest apple crop washard hit, while Washingtonstate’s large crop was expectedto increase this season. Theeastern U.S. crop was down,but not as severely as the

Midwest’s, where the USDAforecast was down 79 percent.

“We’re buying from WestVirginia for our apples thisyear,” Hicks said. “Down souththey did not lose their apples.”

Wesler Orchards & FarmMarket in New Paris, Ohio,also lost their entire fruit treecrop this season. Ron Weslersaid they bought apples to sellto keep their business in opera-tion. Weslers has 40 acres ofapple trees, as well as blueber-ries, peaches, strawberries,plums, cherries, black raspber-ries, and blackberries.

“Most apple varieties areavailable just the volume isdown and the price is quite highdue to the demand,” Wesler

said. “Our other cane crops sur-vived the Spring freeze ok. Ourgrape crop was approximately40 percent.”

The loss this year is espe-cially hard on eastern Indianaand western Ohio orchardsbecause it comes after severalrough seasons. Hicks said theylost 80 percent of the crop ontheir 100 acres of apples lastyear to hail damage, and in2010 lost 50 percent to a freeze.

“Two orchards south of usand one east of us have justclosed down for the season,”she noted. “We just hope wecan hold on for another year.”

Another significant fruitcrop loss from freeze occurredin 2007 across the Midwest,

and according to the NCDC,resulted in billions in damageor costs. The U.S. Departmentof Agriculture reports Indianahas approximately 4,000 acresof apples and ranks 15th in pro-duction in the United States.Ohio ranks 9th in the nation inapple production.

Hicks said they do not selltheir apples wholesale, but gen-erate revenue from retail salesof apples, some pears andplums, and value-added prod-ucts and attractions at theirfarm. Purchasing apples tohave in their store essentiallyeliminates most profit from thatsource, so the other income

HAGERSTOWN, Ind. -Combines began appearing in fields inmid-September, and as expected, yieldsare down and field conditions vary wide-ly. Producers have begun to get a truerpicture of what damage the droughtbrought. “Corn is particularly poor in ourarea, and beans are pretty much normal,”said Butch Shiebla of Harvest Land Co-opin Hagerstown, Ind. “Quality seems to beok right now.”

As of the last week in September,Shiebla said the elevator had been gettingin corn and beans for about 10 days beforewet weather slowed things down.Moisture levels in the corn they had beengetting were actually a little higher thannormal, he reported. “It actually doesn’tseem to be wanting to dry down, probablybecause of the premature death of theplants,” Shiebla said.

WINCHESTER, Ind: We’re not goingyet, but the neighbors running beans has been in the20s (bushels per acre) to 35-40, most common.A cou-ple guys have run some corn, and one field one ofthem couldn’t find an ear in it, and had to have theadjuster come out and he called it 1/2 bushel per acre.But I’ve seen some corn from the area that’s up to adecent number, if they had a rain in there. The highestI’ve heard so far in our area has been 80 (bushels peracre for corn). So, the corn is kind of a lost causearound here. The earlier planted beans are yieldinglower than the later-maturing - (the later) are gettingup to 40. They’re happy with that. If they planted 2.5or 2.7 maturity, they got hurt.

SOUTHEAST WAYNE COUNTY,Ind:We have run almost half of our corn acres and10 percent of our bean acres on our farm southeastof Richmond, Ind. Haven’t gotten out of too manyfields where we don’t have very high levels of fertil-ity and organic matter due to our hog operation anddark soils. Corn average is above 160 so far but willdrop considerably when we start onto some lightersoils on other farms - expecting these to average 120- 130 giving us a 140 - 150 whole farm average.Have been running pretty hard to get corn in beforeany mold or grain quality issues worsen as our cropmainly goes to feed our livestock - thus moistureshave probably averaged 23 percent on what we haveharvested. Beans we ran two weeks ago averaged 65bushel and later planted ones look even better so wefeel good about that given the dry summer. Again,yields will surely drop once we get off the blackstuff. Seeded cover crop after bean harvest and it hashad a good chance to germinate and grow given thewet weather. Probably the worst crop I can everremember in my 25 years - but we’ll take it consid-ering the conditions this summer.

NORTH OF GREENVILLE, Ohio:We have started harvesting - we’ve run somebeans and some corn. The corn I would say wouldbe a little better than we had first expected, butit’s still not good. We ran some of the bestalready, and the average is in the low 90s bushelsper acre. That’s roughly half a crop. The testweight has been good. Moisture’s been about 22percent. The corn we ran - the kernels were notuniform - kind of deformed. That’s why I was sur-prised the test weight was as good as it was.Beans, yield-wise, have been in the low- to mid-30s, about 33-35.We’ve got anywhere from 3.1 to3.9 planted, and what we’ve ran was all 3.1s. Oneproblem we can note on the beans is that we havea lot of shatter loss, even before we get to thefield. And then when we get out there and run thecombine, the shatter loss has been real high.

LEWISBURG, Ohio: Westarted earlier than normal. Corn yieldsare about 30-50 percent (of normal). Thecorn is drier than this time of year nor-mally. It’s been so dry, that even an inchand a half of rain soaks right in, so fieldsare in pretty good shape. Fall wheatshould have pretty good moisture to get inthe ground; we’re looking to get that insoon. We hope to start beans at the end ofthis week. We’re hoping for 60 percent ofnormal yields. I’d guess 30-40 bu/acre,you hope for better than that, but beingrealistic. Double-crop beans looked gooduntil it frosted the other night - that hurt

them.

see DEALT pg. 4

By Ashley [email protected]

PREBLE COUNTY-Canning was at one time theonly way a family wouldsurvive through the harshwinter months of theMidwest. Using canneditems was a way a life thatour ancestors could not livewithout. Now in our currentday, thanks to grocery“supercenters,” we have theluxury of not worrying howwe are going to get our foodthrough the winter.Canning came into view

in 1809, after NicolasAppert , a French confec-tioner and brewer, saw thatif food was cooked inside ofa jar and was sealed, andprovided that seal did notbreak ,the food inside didnot perish. He thus devel-oped the canning methodthat is still used 203 yearslater.A year later in 1810,

Peter Durand, a British mer-chant, replaced the use ofthe traditional glass jarsbecause of the challengesduring transportation, andstarted the use of tin cans. Itwas found that tin cans werecheaper, easy to make, andless fragile, than that of theglass jars Appert was using.As the “tin can food”

began growing in popularity,it actually was a status sym-bol in Europe among themiddle class and considereda superficial novelty item tohave.In 1812, Americans saw

the first canning factory inNew York City, run byRobert Ayars, where he used

improved tin-plated cans,which help avoid the leadcontamination that wasbeing seen throughoutEurope. The demand forcanned food began to growthanks to wars such asWorldWar I, and put manyAmerican women to work inthe factories.Thanks to the age of

manufacturing that gainedpopularity during the WorldWars, home canning beganto decline into what is nowconsidered a lost art.Canning however is start-

ing to pick up more popular-ity once again, among youngand old alike.After the summer garden

has been harvested, Caroleand Greg Fritz of Lewisburgpreserve their yield thoughthe method of home can-ning.Home canning is differ-

ent from commercial can-ning because of the type ofequipment used. In theUnited States, home canningis popularized by the use ofcanning jars, either largemouth or small mouth, ametal flat lid that is crimpedaround the its bottom edgeand has a sealing compound,and finally a screw band.Also, during the canningprocess, canners also use aboiling water canner and/ora presser cooker, cannerrack, and a jar lifter.Generally the Fritz fami-

ly grows sweet corn, pop-corn, Indian corn, cherrytomatoes, tomatoes, black-berries, peppers, cabbage,and pumpkins. Ninety per-cent of all the food that isgrown in the Fritz garden, is

canned.“We have canned so

many things over the years,like, pizza sauce, chicken,turkey, tomato sauce,ketchup, bread and butterpickles, salsa, strawberryjelly, pear butter, apple but-ter, sauerkraut, green beans,sweet corn, whole cherrytomatoes, pumpkin, varioustypes of squashes, blackber-ry jam, cabbage, horserad-ish, and chili sauce,” saidFritz.Canning is something

that has to be taught, and ittakes lots of practice to get itjust right. The process ingeneral requires a lot of timeto complete, and can takeseveral days, depending onhow much and the type offood product that is beingpreserved.“I learned from my step-

mom and neighbor, and thenI taught Greg how to can,”Carole said.“Once we started grow-

ing a garden, we were hav-ing an abundance supply fora family of four at the time,and I started canning so thefood would stay fresh andalso so we could have freshfood during the winter,” saidFritz.According to the USDA,

many vegetables begin los-ing some of their vitaminswhen harvested. Nearly halfthe vitamins may be lostwithin a few days unless thefresh produce is cooled orpreserved. The heatingprocess during canningdestroys anywhere fromone-third to one-half of vita-min A and C, thiamin, andriboflavin. However, if veg-

etables are handled properlyand canned promptly afterharvest, they can be morenutritious than fresh pro-duced sold in local stores.“The main reason I can is

so we can have fresh homegrown food during the win-

ter months and it’s also awhole lot cheaper thangoing and buying a lot of theitems we eat in the wintertime, because of the that facta lot of your fresh vegetablesare out of growing season,”said Fritz.

Most foods that aregrown and used for canninghave a high percentage ofwater within them, and arehighly perishable. The prac-tice of canning, removesoxygen, destroys enzymes,

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Contributors to Agriculture ODA Dangerous Animal Registration Tax Implications for farmers to consider Welsers: 3rd Generation

making its way backAn old method

see OLD pg. 8

Vilsak stresses importance ofeducating about agricultureBy Heather [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY -U.S. Secretary ofAgriculture, Tom Vilsack,visited the Coppess familyfarm outside of Ansonia onOct. 25. While there he dis-cussed with local food pro-

ducers the importance ofeducating the other “99 per-cent” on the importance andintricacies of agriculture.“…All of us need to do a

better job of understandingthat less than 1 percent ofAmerica’s population farms,which means 99 percentdoesn’t really understand

where their food comesfrom, how hard it is to pro-duce it, how extraordinarilyblessed we are to have it,and how cheap it really is,”stated Vilsack. “If we, col-lectively, did a better job ofeducating the other 99 per-cent about where their foodcomes from, how farmers

are good stewards of theland, how they care abouttheir animals, I think we’dbe seeing less [interfer-ence].”Vilsack suggested that

agriculture put together analliance, presenting a unitedfront and sending a single

see EDUCATING pg. 9

Vilsack and Boggsdiscuss Farm BillBy Heather [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY –The United States Secretaryof Agriculture, theHonorable Tom Vilsack, vis-ited the Coppess family farmoutside of Ansonia on Oct.25 on unofficial business, butwhile there he spoke withlocal food producers aboutseveral topics, including theFarm Bill, which is currentlystuck in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, he said.Along with Vilsack was

Robert Boggs, former direc-tor of the Ohio Departmentof Agriculture, who spoke upon behalf of Sherrod Brown(D-Ohio), the first U.S.Senator from Ohio to be onthe Ag Committee, Boggsreported, and a champion ofthe Senate-passed Farm Bill.Brown was appointed to

be the chairman of theCommittee on Jobs, Ruraland Economic Growth, andEnergy, stated Boggs, givinghim additional clout to workon things like the Farm Bill,carrying Ohio’s interests for-ward and making sure thatfarmers across America gettheir fair share. Brown isinterested in making surethat rural America gets fairconsideration when it comesto national policy, Boggssaid.“The values of rural

America…is the foundationupon which our country isbased; we believe in hardwork, we believe in playingby the rules, and we believein looking out for our neigh-bors and friends,” Boggsstated, citing Brown’s Ohiovalues as coming from hisparents. “That’s what madethis country great, and that’swhat we have to continue tobuild on.”Vilsack discussed the

death tax and estate tax, aswell, stating that PresidentObama wants to raise theexemption level, so that fam-ily farmers and small busi-nesses can “rest easy” andnot worry about losing thefamily farm.Boggs stated that agricul-

tural research has been alarge portion of the reasonAmerica’s agriculture is“next to on one in the entireworld,” because of researchand development, which wassupported in previous FarmBills, but U.S. CongressmanPaul Ryan (R-Wisconsin)has cut much of that fundingfor supporting research foragriculture.“And somehow, we’re

going to be expected to feedthe world, and not have theresearch going on tomorrowthat we have today, and thefact is, we need more,” statedBoggs. The U.S. Senate,

see BILL pg. 9

By Ryan [email protected]

PHILLIPSBURG- Mike Brown animatedly talkedabout how his nursery recently lost an account with mer-

chants in the Village of Arcanum. He said he’s been sellingChristmas trees to merchants in the village to displayoutside their respective businesses for the last 15years. But last holiday season, a few bad eggs —maybe some of you reading this — dismantled thetrees branch by branch and took the lights, leaving aholiday mess for the village to pick up.

“Needless to say, they’re not buying trees thisyear,” said Brown as he drove an oversized pick-up truck from his Phillipsburg-area A. Brown &Sons Nursery, which he operates with his broth-

ers Harry, Kenny and John, to a site where hegrows acres and acres of Christmas treeseach year.The Brown family has operated this nurs-

ery for 65 years. Mike has been working on itfor 50 years, since age 6, when he first startedselling trees.“They say families can’t work together.But we tolerate each other. We had goodparents, parents that told us we’d hate eachother for a few minutes but to get over it,”Brown said.When Brown pulled the truck into the

Christmas tree farm, he was quick to pointout how beautiful the trees are. He isn’t

lying. Rows and rows of treesstuck out like sore thumbs on thiscool, mid-autumn day.“You name it, we got it. ScotchPine, White Pine, Austrian Pine,Canaan Fir, Fraser Fir, Douglas Fir,

Concord Fir, two feet to twentyfeet. We’re the largestChristmas tree lot in the state

of Ohio. Nobody puts asmany trees on one lot aswe do,” said Brown,whose mouth races amile a minute when youget him talking, and evenwhen you don’t. But that’sMike Brown, the crazyChristmas tree guy.

“I’m not crazy,but people knowme for being thatway at Christmas.They know at

Christmastime I’m on some-thing. Mostly Scotch Pinesap,” Brown said, only half-joking as he wiped a sticky

By Heather [email protected]

HOLLANSBURG – Many years ago, familieswent out, they picked a live tree, and theycut it down. Now, families can go to any bigbox or hardware store and get a pre-cut tree,but they’re not getting that family experience,said Allen and Carmen Howell, owners of TheFrosty Outpost Christmas Tree Farm in DarkeCounty.The Howells, originally from Darke

County, decided to move back in the mid-90s because Allen wanted a change fromhis high-stress job and the busy lifestyle ofthe Florida suburbs, he said.“I just kind of dreamed of a more sim-

ple life; when the opportunity came, wemoved back to Darke County and boughtthese five acres off my in-laws. Itwas originally just fields, likeeverything else around here,” he said.“It was kind of just my dream tohave an old-fashion operation. Ididn’t have enough land to plantbeans and corn. It was just a goodidea.”The Howells planted their first

500 blue spruce trees in1998, but since that wasa drought year, they onlyended up with two treesfrom that crop, they said.“Each year we kept

planting, and some finallytook hold. It takes on aver-age about eightyears to grow a treeto a six footheight,” Howellremarked.The family

was finally able tobegin selling trees in2007, he said.Compared to mostChristmas tree farms, theHowells have a small operation– just five acres compared to many

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4-H Science Day Area man beating gas prices Decrease start-up time with winter maintenance A labor or love begins family tradition

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Darke CountyChristmas treefarmers saythey’re in it forthe experience

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see DARKE pg. 16 see BROWN pg. 13

I sit down at my computer and do as in-structed. Type in k-i-n-g-s-n-a-k-e-dot-c-o-m, and wait for the webpage to load. Whenit does, I quickly find what I’m lookingfor: a tab at the top labeled ‘Classifieds’.Click on it. It loads. What I see on thepage is a categorical list of advertise-ments for exotic animals, just likeI was told there would be. Clickon some of the categories,browse through the ads.

Pythons. Boa constrictors.Crocodilians. Lizards. Spi-ders & other inverts. Ven-omous.That last one is obviously

the best. Or the most inter-esting, whichever way youwant to look at it. You canbuy an Indonesian black spit-ting cobra for only $85.Sounds like a good deal, re-ally. Too bad I hate snakes.There’s more, plenty

more: green mambas, East-ern and Western diamond-back rattlesnakes, Mexicanjumping vipers — thosesound the coolest. But whowould buy a venomoussnake? I think to myself. Imay have even said it outloud.Then I get my answer:

Tom. He’s the guy sellingbanded Egyptian cobras for$125 each. Guys like Tombuy venomous snakes.It’s hard to say what Tom

and people like him do withthese snakes after they buythem. The cobras, maybethey’re used for entertain-ment, you know? Haven’tyou seen those snakemastersin India putting on streetshows with them, where thesnake swirls up out of awicker basket like a plume ofsmoke while some guy playsa flute?YouTube it.But what use does anyone

have for a black mamba, oneof the most venomous snakesin the world? You gonna putthat thing in an aquarium andraise it like a goldfish?Michael Peterman, a fire-

fighter in Dayton, did that.He raised snakes and lizardsas pets. Very experiencedreptile handler, according topeople who knew him. Butthere’s a reason he’s beingreferenced in the past tense.On a Sunday night in

2003, Peterman was feedinga mouse to his CentralAfrican rhinoceros viper.Ac-cording to eyewitness andsecond-hand accounts, Peter-man took a photograph of thesnake swallowing its meal,and then reached into its cageto grab its water bowl for arefill. The Central Africanrhino viper has a restrictedstriking range, and very fewbites have been reported, butits venom is lethal all the

same. So when Petermanstuck his hand in to grab thebowl, and the viper waswithin striking range, his firewas permanently extin-guished.The viper’s fangs pierced

Peterman’s hand, releasingits venom into his radial ar-tery (in the webbing betweenthe thumb and index finger),and it coursed through hisbloodstream, directly to hisheart — a rare occurrence, aspeople who are invenomatedare usually done so into amuscle, where the venomslowly leaks into the body.Anti-venom for the CentralAfrican rhino viper is ex-tremely hard to locate. In thisparticular case, an anti-venom in the United Statescouldn’t be found. In fact, atthat time, you would havehad to go all the way toAfrica or India to find it.Peterman’s wife rushed

him to University Hospital inCincinnati on that Sundaynight. He died on Mondayafternoon.This is the way things go

in the world of exotic ani-mals. Or, more accurately,this is the way things go inthe world of exotic pets.Kord McGuire knows that.That’s why he startedHeaven’s Corner Zoo inWest Alexandria, which heowns and operates with hiswife, Pat, and sons, Wes andJustin. But he doesn’t knowthat because he startedHeaven’s Corner. He knows

that because he, too, was anaive, ignorant, wannabe ex-otic pet owner at one time.“I was born into this

lifestyle,” McGuire says,rocking back and forth in anantique-looking rockingchair in his dining room.“When I was four or fiveyears old I had Nile crocs, al-ligators, hawks, coons, owls,everything. It just escalatedfrom there.”McGuire enlisted in the

army in 1973. He was outthree years later, at whichpoint he made his first forayinto exotic pet ownership. “Igot a mountain lion for a petafter I got out of the army,”he says. “I picked it up at theairport, brought it home, setit on that table.” He points atthe round dining table I’msitting at. “I took the lid offthe cage, he looked up at me,hissed at me, screamed atme, and I thought, ‘Awbuddy.’”As the weeks went on,

McGuire’s mountain lion —more popularly known as acougar — became more ag-gressive. “He was gettingrough. I started getting bit.He buried his teeth in mychest a couple times,” hesays, touching his rightbreast. “So he ended up outin a cage. That’s when I real-ized these were not meant tobe pets.”In the meantime, McGuire

had been talking with otherowners of wildcats. Hewanted to learn as much as

he could about them. Afterall, there was no way he wasjust going to get rid of hismountain lion. For all heknew, the cat would havebeen euthanized. His connec-tions led to several peoplecalling him for informationon exotic animals, the ins andouts and dos and don’ts oftrying to raise them as do-mesticated pets. As it turnsout, there are very little tricksof the trade, very little insand outs, very little dos, anda hell of a lot of don’ts.It wasn’t long after this

that McGuire took in a tiger.“It was out of necessity,” hesays. “The owner couldn’thandle him anymore, and Idon’t know why I thought Icould, but I did.”One out of every seven

tigers is a man-eater. They’llhunt and kill human beings.To one out of every seventigers, we’re just anothermeal. The tiger McGuiretook in?Yep, man-eater. “Hewouldn’t eat, he wouldn’tbreed, he just wanted to killeverything,” he says.Heaven’s Corner wasn’t

intended to be what it even-tually became. AfterMcGuire took in his firsttiger, more exotic animalsfollowed.What started out asan ambitious venture of own-ing and raising a mountainlion turned into a personalendeavor to rescue wild ani-mals and save them from ex-ecution.When McGuire started

Heaven’s Corner in 1990, itwas strictly an animal sanc-tuary. The zoo part of it did-n’t happen until 1999,because many people werestopping by asking to see theanimals.While public demand

grew, so did another kind ofdemand — financial. Hous-ing exotic animals is not foranyone who can’t afford it.Some animals McGuire hastaken in have been becauseprivate owners haven’t beenable to afford to care forthem; others because largerzoos and sanctuaries haveclosed up.It’s an expensive financial

endeavor, taking in these an-imals, housing them, feedingthem day after day. The zoohelps offset some of the cost.McGuire tells me at onepoint during our conversationhe just paid off $200 of a$1,000-plus bill for meat hehad recently purchased.Heaven’s Corner operates

in the red, according toMcGuire. The cost of caringfor these animals comesfrom admission to the zoo,donations from businessesand private individuals, andfrom the pockets of theMcGuire family.“That’s really the only rea-

son we opened it up to thepublic,” McGuire says. “Peo-ple were stopping by, want-ing to see the animals, but thecost of running this place ona daily basis is expensive.Wedon’t make any money here.

Everything we make goesright back into things likefood.“We opened this up to the

public to help finance andtake in all these animals. It’sexpensive, too expensive.Before, it was just me takingin these animals, paying foreverything out of my pocket.The admissions and dona-tions help some now, butwe’re still not makingenough money to supportourselves.“I turn down animals con-

stantly, all the time. A lot ofthem get euthanized. It painsme as an animal lover. It’snot the animal’s fault, butyou can’t take them all in.Sometimes you just can’ttake them in because youdon’t have the space or the fi-nances.”Countless individuals start

out doing what McGuire did.They buy an animal off theblack market and expect toraise it like a domesticateddog or cat. What they don’trealize—what some of themcan’t realize for whateverreason — is that while someof these animals can be calmand social at times, they’restill wild by nature.“These aren’t pets at all.

These animals will kill you.They’ll be your best friendone second; the next secondthey’ll kill you and go overand lay down and act like it’snothing to them, because it’snot. That’s what they do,”

of Western OhioVolume 1 No. 2 July Issue $1.00

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SlugFeedinginjury

CountySpotlight

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GRILLING? NEED MEAT?Locally raised Grassfed Lamb cuts available NOW!!! Call Jasonfor available cuts and pricing or to preorder a whole lamb for fall,2012.937-459-0618 www.krautcreek.com

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exotic pets,blackmarketsandnewlawssouthwestohio’s

Heavencornerof

By Ryan Peverly

see HEAVEN pg. 4

Raja, anAsian spotted leopard,sits on his perch at Heaven’sCorner Zoo in West Alexan-dria. The zoo rescued Rajafrom an owner in Michiganwho kept the animal in a dogkennel. (Submitted photo) WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. -

In early April, the soil waswarm, the sun was shining,and hopes were high. Fourmonths later, crop producersin western Ohio and easternIndiana had a heavy, hot layerof dust weighing down ex-pectations for this growingseason.“There was such optimismwith the early planting datesand good emergence that thedrought has really been a dis-appointment for the produc-ers,” said Dan Kirtley, PurdueExtension Service Directorfor Randolph County. “Itseems to me that as of todaywe are seeing worse damageto the crops than in pastdrought years.”Even if consistent rainscome, the Aprilthrough July totalshave made it adrought yearin the regionand throughoutmost of theMidwest. Inmid-July, all

92 counties inI n d i -a n a

were “of-ficially”declared

in some degree ofdrought, accordingto the US DroughtMonitor. Wayne and

Randolph counties were inLevel D2 - severe drought.There are 5 levels from D0(abnormally dry) to D4 (ex-

ceptional).According to Indiana StateClimate office data, the 30-year normal precipitation forJune and July in WayneCounty, Ind., is 9.08 inches.For Randolph County, it’s 8.8inches. This year, rainrecorded for Farmland, Ind.in Randolph County fromJune 1 through July 17 was.99 inches. Wayne Countywas not much different. TheISC office reports that loca-tions in Indiana range fromthree to thirteen inches belownormal for precipitation forthe year so far.Randolph andWayne Countyfarmers’ crops aren’t outliers.All across the Midwest rain-fall totals are far below nor-mal and the crops are burningup.“It’s hurting everybody andthe world needs a good crop,”said Jeff Jordan, who farms2500 acres and produces porkwith his family south ofRichmond, Ind., and in west-ern Preble County, Ohio. “Iremember ‘88, and I thinkthis year it’s more wide-spread, in more states.”In Ohio, all counties havebeen declared in some levelof drought. Darke and

Preble countiesare in the western por-tion of the Ohio droughtmonitor map that indicates amore widespread, severedrought than other parts ofOhio.Illinois and Iowa also had

Some even go as far as tosay it’s the worst drought inDarke County since 1956.According to figures from

the Greenville Water Treat-ment plant, Greenville is12.86 inches behind theirApril-July rainfall from lastyear; There were 18.94inches of rainfall April toJuly 2011, and there haveonly been 6.08 inches Aprilto July, 17, 2011, which is themost critical time for corncrops.“This year, in my opinion,

is bad, but we have to staypositive,” said Matt Aultmanof Keller Grain and Feed.“We now have varieties thatare designed to handle dryerconditions, and we also haveno-till to help retain moisturein the soils. This year willhave reduced yields, and willinevitably have an economicimpact on the community.We as a community made itthrough the 1988 and 1956droughts, and we will make itthrough this one.”Craig “Biggin” Schlechty

of Schlechty Family Farmsoutside of Greenville sharedthat the typical yield for theircorn crop is approximately150-180 bushels per acre,and on a really good year,they can yield almost 200bushels of corn per acre, butwith this year’s drought, hesaid they’ll be lucky if theyyield 44 bushels per acre.The corn, Schlechty

shared, is only about half astall as it should be; coming inaround three or four feethigh, rather than six to eightfeet; this is greatly hurtingthe yield potential. He didshare that the bean cropmight be salvageable, ifDarke County continues toreceive rain.“We’re going to have

something, but I don’t knowhow much,” said Paul Morri-son of New Madison, whoruns a small family farm ofabout 350 acres. “I rememberin ‘88 we had about 30bushels of corn and 5 bushels

of beans per acre. I think itwill be better than that, but Idon’t know howmuch. Thereare going to be many areas ofthe county that just don’tyield anything, though.”The Morrison farm

planted approximately twoweeks earlier than they typi-cally do this year, helping thepotential of their crop by giv-ing it an early start, beforethe worst part of the droughtset in.“You drive past corn

fields, and see them dryingup,” said John Keller, who re-tired from Keller Feeds sev-eral years ago. “It’s way tooearly for that to be happen-ing. The ear development isvery poor; it’s very critical,since we need corn in thiscounty to support our live-stock.”Keller shared that a good

part of the corn yield in thenorthern parts of DarkeCounty will go into silage forroughage to feed livestock.Keller said his guess wouldbe that the corn crop is abouthalf lost at this point, thoughit could get worse if DarkeCounty doesn’t see somemore rain.“The soybean crop has

a chance to recover, if westart receiving good rain,”said Keller.The rainfall for this year,

compared to last year, is ap-proximately nine inchesshort of where it should be,according to MeteorologistAndrew Michael.“This year has been one of

the driest years in recent his-tory,” Michael said in anemail to the Daily Advocate.“This year is very like 1988which many of the farmers inDarke County will rememberwas nothing short of a de-pressing disaster.”He shared that the weather

pattern over the next severalmonths doesn’t look tochange, and Darke Countyand the rest of Ohio will con-tinue to have below normalrainfall.

“I heard that some farmersin Indiana have already cuttheir losses and mowed downtheir fields,” Michael shared.“This will ultimately lead tohigher costs at the groceryfor everyone acrossAmerica.The Miami Valley is notalone, the entire country is atnormal or below-normal forrainfall.”Darke County Commis-

sioner Mike Rhoades sharedhe would be lucky if his cornyielded 10 bushels to theacre. He said he’d heard thatsome farmers around thecounty were hoping for 55-65 bushels per acre, but withthe lack of rain, that numberhas dropped even lower, withmany thinking they’ll belucky to get 40 bushels to theacre.“This drought is wider-

spread and worse than 1988’sdrought,” said Rhoades. “Ihad about 500 acres ofbeans out in 1988, andcontracted 15bushes to theacre, andcouldn’tmeet

my contractbecause of that drought.”The drought, said

Rhoades, will affect every-one, from farmers to con-sumers.“I don’t think people in

general know howmuch corngets used in the food chain,”shared Rhoades. “Anythingwith a corn product init is going to go up.Farmers are lowering theirnumber of cattle, so beef andits by-products are going togo up. Hogs are hurting, sopork products will go up, aswell. It’s going to get every-one, I just don’t know howsoon it will be.”

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FARMERSCONSUMERS

AND

WILL

alikeHeather [email protected]

ARKE COUNTY - The rainthat occurred recently hashelped to perk up the crops, butthis year’s drought has been said

to be worse than the 1988 drought bymany farmers around Darke County.

D

HARDfields hitIndiana

see INDIANA pg.4


Heat stress and Hydration of Livestock Festival features farm equipment of the pastFamers’ markets gaining popularityDon’t call them organic...

Ryan [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY – Each yearat the Darke County Fair, ninewinning showmen from eachanimal species compete in anall-day contest to determine thebest “showman of showmen.”The Junior Fair Showmen

Contest on August 23 took itscompetitors out of their comfort

zone and asked them towork with unfamiliaranimals, making foran unpredictableand challengingevent.The contest

covered nine dif-ferent animalspecies, includingbeef and dairycows, horses,sheep, goats, pigs,poultry, rabbitsand even dogs.The competitors

ranged in ages from tento 17 years old.Each participant isselected for the grandshowman contest afterthey’ve won a singlespecies contest.According to DarkeCounty Junior FairCoordinator Beth Martin,the Junior FairShowmanship Contest is oneof the fair’s most prestigiousawards.“It’s a big deal,” Martin

said. “Whether they’re showinga poultry project or swine,they’ve got to know everythingthere is about each animal.”And if a contestant wins theshowmen contest they’re pro-hibited from entering again,making it a crowning achieve-ment for each junior fair mem-ber.In the five-hour contest, the

showmen only took breaks during their own animal species

Kyle Burton ispictured duringone portion ofhis winningShowman ofShowmen per-f o r m a n c e .(Jesse Wittphoto)


On Aug. 22 the directorof the Ohio Department ofAgriculture gave DarkeCounty Fair-goers an updateon the H3N2v, known tomany as “swine flu,” andtold Fair-goers that therehave been 87 cases of theH3N2v strain in Ohio.That number has since

jumped to 98, according tothe Ohio Department ofHealth.According to Daniels,

most of the cases have beenlimited to the exhibitors atthe different county fairswho spend the most amountof time with the swine. TheCenter for Disease Control(CDC) said that “the mainrisk factor for infection isthe exposure to pigs, mostlyin the setting of a state orcounty fair.”According to a CDC

medical epi-demiologist, thevirus doesn’t spreadeasily from human tohuman, but appears to bemore easily spread frompigs to humans than otherswine flu variants.There have been 276

cases of the swine flu sinceJuly across the UnitedStates, according to the U.S.Department of Health.Approximately 85 percentof Ohio hogs are carriers ofthis flu-like virus, saidDaniels.Most of the cases in

humans have been in peoplesix months old to 51 yearsold, according to the U.S.Department of Health. InOhio, Butler County has had17 cases, ChampaignCounty has had 15 cases,and Gallia County has had11 cases. In the several caseswhich have required hospi-talization, the patients were

t r e a t e da n dreleased.According

to Sam Custer,the Ohio StateUniversity extension

educator for agriculturaland natural resources inDarke County, there areimportant steps that thosecoming into contact withswine can do to reduce theimpact of the current H3N2vvirus outbreak.People should be sure to

wash their hands with soapand water before and aftervisiting animal barns, avoideating or drinking aroundlivestock, and avoid contactwith animals and barn sur-faces. Any time people comeinto contact with poultry orlivestock, in any setting,these precautions should beused to minimize the risk ofinfection to humans, and tokeep animals safe from

humanillnesses,said Custer.Active surveillance

of swine is critical toguaranteeing the healthof herds, particularlywhen highly infectiousviruses such as H3N2are known to becirculating. Producersshould monitor theiranimals for diseasesymptoms and becareful as to whocomes into contactwith their swine,Custer stated.Mo Saif,

head of OhioState’s FoodAnimal HealthResearch Program and aleading animal virologist,

hasreminded the publicthat eating pork prod-ucts is still safe.

H3N2v or any other viruscannot be contracted fromeating meat. Those cooking

p o r ks h o u l dstill be

sure to cook the pork to theproper temperature.

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SWINEFLUfound inOhio so far

98 cases of

By Jesse [email protected]

PREBLE COUNTY–Thursday night of fair, the annualShowman of Showmen competition was held. The field ofeight demonstrated skill across the board, but in the end itwas showman Kyle Burton who came out on top.The eight contestants were selected from the eight species

of market animals that are shown at the fair: dairy, beef,swine, goat, sheep, rabbit, chicken and horse. Each contest-ant was the best showmen for their species and competed forthe title of Showman of Showmen by demonstrating theirskill and knowledge of the other animals outside of their cat-egory.Burton has been showing sheep since he was eight years

old and has been a member a various 4-H clubs, currentlypart of the All-Star Livestock 4-H Club. Burton had compet-

Burton chosen

the

fairrecap

McDade chosenShowman ofShowmennamed at county fairs

Junior Fair

ed in the Showman of Showmen competition four othertimes, but had never won until this year.“My dad started raising sheep when we moved out here

20 years ago, so it was kinda just natural for me to get intoit,” said Burton.All of the showmen had demonstrated skill in their

respective fields, but a much more difficult element is putinto play when you work with animals you never havebefore. Some of the showmen, including Burton, had shownother species, giving them an advantage over others. “Thiswas my fourth time competing but my first time winningoverall,” Burton said. “In previous years I’ve shown chick-ens, hogs and I’ve shown goats the last four years. I’ve gota little bit of experience working with a small variety of ani-mals. Being in it a fourth time helps as well.”Burton exemplified a well-rounded knowledge of all

eight species but couldn’t think of any that stood out overthe others. “I think I was strong in a lot of them, but whenit comes to me doing well today a lot of it is because of thesupport from my family and friends,” said Burton.For some of the competitors, this was the last year of

their eligibility to compete, but several of them are just get-ting started in their showman involvement. As for Burton,this was his last year as a 4-H member and was happy to fin-ish his experience on top as the Showman of Showmen.Looking back over his time in 4-H, the only thing Burtonhad to say was “It’s been a great eleven years.”Morgan McCullum represented the dairy showmen.

Morgan is a member of spic and span pots and pans 4-Hclub. She is the daughter of Mark and Stacey McCullum.She attends Grahm High School and will be a senior.Cody Shafer represented the beef showmen. Cody is a

member of All-Star Livestock 4-H club. He is the son ofSteve and Beth Shafer. Cody attends Ohio State Universityand will be a sophomore.Aubrey Stevenson represented the swine showmen.

Aubrey is a member of the Preble County Livestock 4-Hchapter. She is the daughter of Scott and Ami Stevenson.Aubrey attends Eaton High School and will be a freshman.In school she participates in volleyball, National HonorsSociety and basketball.Stephen Garrett represented the goat showmen. Stephen

is a member of Preble Lambs Unlimited 4-H Club. He is theson of Edward and Stephanie Garrett. Stephen is home-schooled and will be a freshman. Stephen also participatesin speech and debate, and baseball.Kyle Burton represented the sheep showmen. Kyle is a

member of All-Star Livestock 4-H Club. He is the son ofBruce and Audrey Burton. Kyle attends Indiana Wesleyan

see BURTON pg. 5

see MCDADE pg. 5Olivia McDade won the 2012 Great Darke CountyFair Junior Fair Showman Contest. (Ryan Carpephoto)

Health District offers West Nile info Drought doesn’t stop local corn maze Dairy debate grows in Ohio Pork Festival coming soon!

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of Western Ohio




Year in ReviewAgriculture

2012

see 2012 pg. 13

By Ashley [email protected]

Outside of the agricultureworld, most just see tractors,cowboys in jeans, andsmelly pigs. However, thosewho know this part of theworld will tell you different-ly.You could say that classi-

fying the farming communi-ty with tractors, cowboysand smelly pigs is a stereo-type. Sure, all those thingsare associated with and areused in the farming commu-nity, but that is just the tip ofthe iceberg.The word farmer by defi-

nition is a person who ownsor manages a farm. Whenone owns a farm, from smallscale to large, it take morethan just feeding and plant-ing to keep it up and run-ning. There is a lot of time,energy and of course money,put into farms every year tohave positive yields and highcarcass value on animals.Farmers are always work-

ing to making the biggestprofit, just like big-namecompanies. However, thebiggest difference betweenthe farming business and thecorporate world is the pas-sion that is put into farming.All businesses want to

meet that bottom line ofprofit, and this is also true inthe farming business.However, in the farmingcommunity it is not justabout the money, it is aboutdoing something you lovethat has been passed downfrom generation to genera-tion.Farming can be a big

business or small scale fami-ly business. When talking ofbig business in the farmingworld, crops can bring inmajor cash flow, especiallyin the Midwest. In 2010,Ohio was ranked 8th forcorn, 6th in soybeans, and11th for wheat nationally.The United States as a wholein 2011 ranked 3rd, withChina leading the world inagricultural output.Yes, crops are the main

products from farms in gen-eral, however they are notthe only thing that is pro-duced.Crops are products that

are very important not onlyto the farmers, but to con-sumers as well. For farmersit is a pay check, for con-sumers it means foods suchas flour, oil, textiles,sorghum, and substances formedical uses.For a farmer, the number

one goal is to feed America.Crops can give us manythings, however animals arejust as beneficial as crops,with food being the mainuse.The first things that come

to mind when you think ofanimal byproducts are milk,bacon and steak.In 2010 Ohio was ranked

nationally 25th in cattle,10th in milk cows, 9th inhogs, and 13th in sheep.Animals not only provide uswith food, they also can pro-vided medical and surgicalneeds. Pigs currently arebeing used to providehumans with heart valves,aid in skin grafts, and some-day soon researchers areplanning for the use of piglungs in humans.Aside from those uses,

animals, just as crops, canprovide textiles, like hairbeing used in belts, theunderside of pig skin tomake pig suede fabric, andthe wool of sheep used in theproduction of cloth, thread,yard, carpeting, felt, andupholstery.With all the human needs

for animals, their byprod-ucts, food and other con-sumer needs, it is no wonderwhy farming has evolvedinto a business.From the beginning of

time from the Chan Dynastydown though the ancientEgyptians, there has been aneed for these same items aswe now use, except now wehave evolved a bit more withthe thanks of the technologi-cal advances of this worldand of course, time.However the same basic

practices are still being usedtoday.Farmers really are the

jack of all trades if you thinkabout it. Farmers can be seenas a stock market analyst,experimenter, electricaltechnician, farm equipmentmechanic, animal breeder,meteorologist, and a contrac-tor.The stock market watch-

ing is not just for Wall Streetthese days. Stock marketprices are being watchedeveryday by farmers allaround, with the same motto:buy it low, sell it high. Itemssuch as corn, soybeans, cot-ton and rice are just a fewitems that can be foundunder the CommodityExchange.The Commodity

Exchange is traded world-wide based on agricultureproducts and raw materials.Raw materials include itemssuch as sugar, rice and more.This market differs from oth-ers because it can also becontract based, meaning thata seller can sell future prod-ucts, such as just-plantedcorn — on delivery the pricewould be guaranteed fromthe time the contract wasdrawn.Farmer…the experi-

menter?You might be scratching

your head on this one, but itis a common thing. Thinkabout it…take a ride into thecountry and you are likely tosee several different types ofsigns promoting the seedcompany that farmer isusing, whether it is a tradi-tional seed or hybrid, thecultivator of that particularland is trying possibly thenewest seed formula or try-ing an old method.Why is this done?When it comes to plant-

ing, the most important thingis knowing your land. Thebest yields come from know-ing what type of soil youhave. This is the one mostimportant thing and a greattool to the farmer.Soil type will determine

what types of seed to use, thedepth the seed needs to be inthe soil, and the type/amountof fertilizer used. Soil alsodirectly controls the healthand quality of the type ofcrop that is being planted ina field. The better the soil,the better the chance theyield will be good.There are so many differ-

ent types of soils and differ-

ent techniques out there,knowing what works can bean experiment. A seed com-pany can and will recom-mend what is best for a par-ticular scenario, however itdoes not always work theway it is expected.Therefore, farmers may“experiment” with differenttypes of scenarios to findwhat is best for them.As with cars, mainte-

nance must be done on farmequipment. During the win-ter, or the off-season, farm-ers are tinkering with theirtoys. Manual labor itemssuch as engine work, sprayerhoses, and general tune upsare currently being done toprepare for the upcomingplanting season that issneaking up very quickly.Many will seek outside

help from their dealershipconsultants to help aid themin getting a leg-up on nextyear’s yield, such as GPStrackers, yield outputdevices, computers, grid sys-tems — the list can go on.Nowadays, the demand

for technology will continuein the agriculture communi-ty. Not only are planters,tractors, and harvestersbecoming more computer-based, but the animal pro-duction side is catching up ata high speed. As we look tothe future, you and I willcontinue to see more devel-opments in high profitableanimals such as hogs andcattle.More and more people

outside the agriculture com-munity are gaining interestin what exactly goes on inour world. The success ofany business depends onpromotion, marketing, sup-port, and awareness. Themore of these items we seein the farming communities,the better off they will be.Farming truly is a way of

life, a passion. The morepassion that is put into some-thing, the more it gives theperson a sense of enjoymentand self-gratification. Thefarming business is not justabout money….yes that isimportant — but the bottomline of why farmers do whatthey do is that they love it,and would not trade their lifefor another one.

Ashley Fritz is the leaddesign of ACRES of WesternOhio. She is also a former 4-H member and current 4-Hadvisor in Preble County.

of Western OhioRegional Publisher - Frank Beeson

fbeeson@ohcommedia

Editor-in-Chief of Acres - Gary [email protected]

Acres of Western OhioEditor - Christina [email protected] Designer - Ashley Fritz

[email protected]

The Register-HeraldEditor - Eddie Mowen Jr.

[email protected] Manager - Leslie Collins

[email protected]

Advertising StaffDarke County - Deb [email protected]

Preble County - Betsy [email protected]

ClassifiedsDarke County - Mary Bevinsmbevins @dailyadvocate.comPreble County - Billie [email protected]

Contact ACRES of Western Ohio428 S. Broadway (P.O. Box 220) | Greenville, Ohio

Phone: 937.548.3151 Fax 937.548.3913

ACRES of Western Ohio is a monthly publicationof The Daily Advocate, partnered with The Register-Herald, to serve Darke, Preble and Wayne counties.ACRES is available at The Daily Advocate, The

Register-Herald, advocate360, and acresmidwest.com,and registerherald.com.

to share?got newsWe are looking for people who are familiar,live and/or work in the agricultural communi-ty and would like to submit information orpress releases to share in our publication, thatcovers anything and everything agriculture.

2A ACRES of Western Ohio | January Issue

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By Matt Aultman

I recently read an articleabout how the Secretary ofAgriculture Vilsack out-lined how agriculture isbecoming less and less rele-vant. I went through a mul-titude of emotions when Ifirst read it and I came to anepiphany that he isabsolutely right.

As a farming communi-ty, we have become unitedand we have also becomesmaller as a percentage ofthe total U.S. population,and some say we are smallbut carry a large voice thatcommands an emotionalresponse from many. Thoseof us in the farming com-munity have been trying toteach people about agricul-ture and we need to take thenext step of getting othersmore involved.

We all remember thatfeeling being similar towhen we were in school;the homework, sciencefairs, and gym class and theurge to be at home doingsomething totally notschool related. This is thefeeling that needs to beovercome to help bridge thegap between the food andthe farmer.

Our world is morphingto come full circle to whatI’ve been told life was likeduring the 1930’s. At thetime people bought locallyoff their neighbors and theyknew where our food camefrom. Secure food sourcesand family values are some-thing that many in societyare currently striving foragain. Now is the time thatwe need to come to a real-ization that each and everyone of us possess these val-ues and skills and we needto share it with the world.

You can ask yourselfhow we can become rele-vant in the near future whilewe strive as a community tohelp feed the world. This isa question that I fear mychildren will be askingwhen they get to my age.With the many people that Ideal with in a month’s time,either farmers or businesspeople, I have came to thecommon consensus that weare all striving to stay rele-vant and the ability to begood stewards of the land.

My mother said it best,“we never own the land wefarm, but simply are stew-ards while we are aboveground and we must carefor it so the next generationcan live as well as wehave.”

This can be accom-plished by following thebest scientific practicesavailable and listening toyour farm. A man from oneof the farm insurance com-panies spoke to a group offarmers recently and coinedthat last little bit perfectly,“Listen to the farm, and letit speak to you what itneeds done to it.”

What I am suggesting isthat if we let everyoneknow what we do on a dailybasis, we will be able tohelp tell the story of agri-culture, and it will helpshake the shroud of mys-tery. It also begins to bridgethe generational gap fromOld McDonald’s farm tothe business that agriculturehas become today.

Gone are the days ofdiversification on each farmand more specialization to afew commodities. This waywe can focus our time,resources and energy to bestewards of our land. Alongwith bringing a better

understanding of that com-modity, produce it in anefficient and environmen-tally conscience way. Thisalso allows for the moreeconomical use of availableresources and the conserva-tion of water.

We are now in the 21stcentury and if we look tothe way farming practiceswere accomplished at thebeginning of the 20th cen-tury; we have had greatadvancements to produc-tion, the efficiency of ourtime and the use ofresources. Imagine whatfarming will be like whenthe calendar rolls to the22nd century, and theamount of mouths that willneed to be fed. Along withthe growing populous, thiswill teach all of us to domore with less, and becomemore efficient and transpar-ent to the consumer.

So, with the holiday sea-son upon us, this is the per-fect time of the year toshare with your friends andneighbors. This past yearwas a trying year for a lot ofpeople and it helps us toremember the value of whatwe have and value of thosearound us. I may be youngand a little wide-eyed, butthe agriculture communitywe live in has shown me inthe few short years I’vebeen on this Earth that weare blessed and lucky.Happy New Year and wish-ing prosperity to you andyour own in the comingyear.

Matt Aultman is theChairman of the Darke Co.Chamber Ag Committeeand Chairman-elect of theDarke Co. Farm Bureau.He can be reached at [email protected] comments.

Is agriculturerelevant?…I believe it is.

Ryan [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY – Asthe foreign market for natu-ral rubber becomes morevolatile, scientists and farm-ers alike are researchingalternative sources of thevaluable compound.

Traditionally, rubber hasbeen produced from theHevea rubber tree (Heveabrasiliensis), which growsprimarily in Southeast Asia.But the region has grownunstable due to the expan-sion of neighboring coun-tries and industrialization ofthe region, so scientists arelooking for economic rubberalternatives.

The Ohio StateUniversity AgriculturalResearch and DevelopmentCenter are looking to theCossack Dandelion(Taraxacum kok-saghyz) asthe next major rubber pro-ducer, and have created aformalized consortium ofinterested businesses andagricultural scientists calledthe Program of Excellencein Natural RubberAlternatives (PENRA).

The Cossack or RussianDandelion has almost identi-cal qualities compared tonatural rubber harvestedfrom the Hevea tree, and inmany instances is easier togrow.

While rubber is presentin our everyday lives, manydon’t realize its impact onthe world.

“People don’t realizehow important rubberis,”PENRA ResearchDirector Dr. Katrina Cornishsaid. “There are 40,000 dif-ferent things made with nat-ural rubber, and 400 medicalproducts.”

Rubber alternativeresearch couldn’t be happen-ing at a more vital time, as

the demand for the naturalresources continues toincrease while the globalsupply is unreliable.

“We’re far more at riskfor not having rubber thannot having enough fuel. Ifwe don’t have any rubberhere, we have no airplanesand cars will go back togoing 30 miles per hour,” Dr.Cornish said.

According to PENRA,the United States imports1.2 million metric tons peryear, and if the U.S. Doesnot begin domestic produc-tion, the country will beforced to pay extremely highprices for tire rubber and/orface global shortages.

“We really do need to getgoing on this as quickly,because we are facing such amassive shortfall of naturalrubber production.”

And national companiesare have already recognizedthe dandelion as a primaryrubber alternative.

In May of this year, theBridgestone Corporationannounced that through theirresearch with PENRA, theyhad determined that Cossackdandelions could become arenewable, commerciallyviable source of tire-graderubber. That’s why Dr.Cornish and otherresearchers at OSU areworking to commercializedomestic sources of naturalrubber while developingprocesses and markets fordistribution.

The Ohio Department ofDevelopment (ODOT) hasfunded a pilot processingfacility in Wooster wherethey’re able to process large

quantities of rubber fromCossack dandelions, and thePENRA is planning to createa larger full-scale plant inthree years.

Dr. Kornish’s researchextends from the germo-plasm to the processing ofthe dandelion itself, whichwill at some point be used tomake both latex and solidrubber using different pro-cessing plants. The Cossackdandelion also producesinulin (not to be confusedwith insulin) which is asugar that could be used innon-food applications orprocessed into bio-ethanol.The major benefit of usingthe Cossack dandelion as thenew source of rubber is thatit can be grown right here inthe United States, includingOhio.

“It can be grown by any-one in Ohio; the whole stateis in its growing region. Itcan also be grown inCanada,” Doctor Cornishsaid. “Basically if you took ahorizontal line halfway upthe (United States), north ofthat that line you couldgrow, and south of that lineyou can’t. So there’s a lot ofgrowing regions.”

PENRA hopes to intro-duce the Cossack dandelionas a mainstream agriculturalcrop soon, but the task isn’twithout its own challenges.

“The main issue with anynew plant introduction iswho’s going to pay for thefirst crop, because you can’tget a farm loan if you’venever sold it before,” Dr.Cornish said. “So a largescale processing plant willbe needed in the next few

years, and before that some-one’s got to plant the acres.”

PENRA has alreadysetup several acres in differ-ent parts of the state this fallto see how the crop estab-lishes itself in the differentareas.

And so far, the responsefrom local farmers is opti-mistic.

“We’ve talked with some(local farmers) and the reac-tion is generally very posi-tive. I think everybodywould love to have anotherprofitable crop on their slateof things to grow, and I thinkthis one is going to veryprofitable because demandis there,” Dr. Cornish said.

The Cossack Dandelionwill eventually be grown asan annual crop, and farmerswould aim to plant as soonas the frost melts in thespring. PENRA is currentlyresearching the best time topull the plants for the mostyield.

The Cossack dandelionsis grown in rotation, andgrows in well-drained soiland heavy wet clay. It canalso grow on marginal landsthat aren’t’ being used forother crops.

PENRA’S goal is to cre-ate and maintain a full-scaleprocessing plant in threeyears and have competitiveregular farming in the regionin five years.

So don’t be surprised if ina few years you notice theCossack dandelion growingin a field near you.

Ryan Carpe is a staffwriter at The DailyAdvocatein Greenville.

ACRES of Western Ohio | January Issue 5A

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GREENVILLE – Matt andMorganAultman, born and raised inDarke County, were recently select-ed to participate in the Our OhioCultivator program for 2013.

Our Ohio Cultivators accepts alimited number of participants eachyear to share their opinions and openlines of communication amongOhio’s agricultural community inhopes of building a balanced groupof representatives across the state,Matt Aultman said.

In order to become a member ofOur Ohio Cultivators one must be amember of the Farm Bureau wholeads by example, lends their voice,helps cultivate local foods or helpsgrow their local food community,Aultman said. Our Ohio Cultivatorshave a love for Ohio living, includ-ing local foods, wines and events,Aultman commented. They are“influential leaders, forwardthinkers, and community-minded,”he concluded.

The Aultmans currently live ontheir family farm raising sheep,goats, chickens and rabbits and farmalong with Matt’s parents andgrandparents raising soybeans,wheat, corn and other produce, hesaid. The couple recently startedbeekeeping and have planted manyorchard trees and raspberries, andthis year they plan to erect a green-house and will attempt to try their

hands at raising fish and plantsthrough an aquaponics system, theysaid.

Their goal is to help bridge thegap from the food to the farmer andhelp with the small business mantraof shop local and buy local becausethese businesses are the ones thatsupport our schools, community andlocal programs, they stated.

Our Ohio Cultivators is a groupthat works to expand local initia-tives, building partnerships and sup-porting Ohio farms. Those partici-pating in Our Ohio Cultivators givetheir input throughout the year via aclosed Facebook group, hoping togenerate a buzz around the topicsthat involve Ohio’s agriculturalcommunity.

The Aultmans became involvedafter talking to a previous member,and Morgan brought it to Matt’sattention while surfing the Internet,they said.

“After looking at the ad, it lookedlike that would be something that wewould like to be a part of and con-tribute something back to our com-munity,” Matt Aultman stated. “Thisprogram will give us an opportunityto highlight our local foods andshowcase them to all of Ohio.”

The program offers a chance forthe Aultmans to meet with othermembers and discuss agriculture,but also to see how different piecesof agriculture are affecting theircommunity, they said.

“This program offers eventsacross the state for us to attend, and

these opportunities will allow us tobring that information back to ourcommunity,” Aultman stated. “Italso means a lot to us especiallybecause of our two children; theyget to be a part of this experiencewith us and gain from the programas well.”

The Aultmans look forward tothe experiences they will gain dur-ing this adventure, as well as thenew friendships and connectionsthey will build and sharing theirexperiences with the community,they said. They will have the oppor-tunity to be featured on OurOhio.orgor in Our Ohio magazine, as well asbeing able to register early forevents, to which they may receivediscounted or even free admission,they said.

The couple hopes to pass theknowledge they gain from this expe-rience on to their fellowDarke coun-tians, they said, and anticipate thatthere will be many opportunities.

They’re going to attempt to putforth all that they can and hope toget welcomed back as a second yearcultivator, the Aultmans comment-ed.

Those interested in learningmore about Our Ohio Cultivators in2014, because the deadline hasalready passed and participants havebeen selected for 2013, can [email protected] or [email protected].

Heather Meade is a staff writerat The Daily Advocate in Greenville.

Aultmans named to Our Ohio Cultivators

Morgan and Matt Aultman

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FORT LORAMIE -The West Ohio AgronomyDay will be held on Jan. 14at St. Michael’s Hall in FortLoramie. The day willbegin at 7:30 a.m. with alistening session and break-fast sponsored by the OhioSoybean Association, fol-lowed at 8:30 a.m. by anupdate from the grain mar-keters of Cargill andTrupointe Cooperative. Theprograms dealing withPrivate Pesticide ApplicatorRecertification Credits forfarmers and continuingeducation units forCertified Crop Advisorsthen begin at 9 a.m.

Once again, Purdue’s Dr.Fred Whitford (AKA “Fredfrom Purdue”) will be withthe group, this time talkingabout “Keeping the TrailerHitched to the Truck.” This

year’s line-up will also seeDr. Robert Mullen fromPotash Corporation present-ing on phosphorus andnitrogen management as itrelates to soil fertility andDr. Terry Niblack fromOSU discussing nematodesin corn and soybean cystnematodes. Dr. LauraLindsay, also from OSU,will talk about using all thetools of the trade in maxi-mizing soybean production.Additional topics to beaddressed include covercrops, resistant weed man-

agement, fumigation,manure management andfly control. Pesticide Re-certification Credits areavailable in CORE andCategories 1, 2, and 6.

The group will also beholding the same pro-gram/same categories thatevening beginning at 5:30p.m. for those not able toattend during the day.

Farmers who want to re-certify their private pesti-cide applicator’s licenseshould go online at pest-ed.osu.edu to either register

with a credit card or todownload the form to payby check. Forms may alsobe picked up at any OhioExtension office. If not reg-istered online, the complet-ed form can be submittedwith the $35 fee on Jan. 14.

For those just wanting toattend for the informationand fellowship, the cost is$10 if signed up by Jan. 7 tobe paid at the door on Jan.14. A single call to 937-498-7239 or email [email protected] saves$5!

For more detailed infor-mation, visit the DarkeCounty OSU Extensionweb site atwww.darke.osu.edu, theOSU Extension DarkeCounty Facebook page orcontact Sam Custer, at 937-548-5215.

West OhioAgronomy Day

to be held Jan. 14


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TRACTORSCase 2590 1979 5723 hrs 1979 5723 hrs, 3 remotes.....16,000Case IH Farmall 45 A, 2011 51 hrs, 2WD........................14,900Case IH MX200 MFD 2001..............................................95,000Case IH 5240 2wd Cab 1995 4849 hrs new paint ...........35,000Case IH 7110 ..................................................................42,500Case IH 7220 ..................................................................52,500Farmall C 1949 with Woods 6 ft belly mower....................2,500IH 284 1980 3403 hrs 2wd, diesel, woods 6 ft mower......3,600IH 884 4848 hrs with 2250 loader ..................................12,500IH 886.............................................................................12,500IH 1086 1976 7050 hrs, 2 remotes, good paint ..............10,000IH 1486...........................................................................14,500John Deere 2440 1979 4264 hrs, loader.........................12,500New Holland 8670 MFD, 1995 4204 hrs, duals...............69,000

SKID LOADERSCase 420 2008 601 hrs 84” QA bucket, new tires...........19,900Case 450 2007 1929 hrs 73”,HD coupler, cab and A/C ...29,000Case 465 2008 6041 hrs 81”, HD Coupler, cab/ AC ........26,500Case 40XT 2002 5806 hrs QA new wheel motors .............9,500

DISKS & PACKERS & MULCHERS & HARROWSIH 490 22’ Disk scrapers, good blades, 1 bar harrow .......8,500IH 496 22’ Disk 7-1/2’ spacing, scrapers ........................13,000Unverferth 220 dbl rolling basket w/harrow 30 ft..............9,300

FIELD CULTIVATORS & CHISEL PLOWSAllis-Chalmers 1300 FC 24 ft w/3 bar harrow ......................950Brillion 27-1/2’ FC 7-1/2 Nok-On sweeps, 4 bar levler ....12,000Case IH TigerMate 200 FC 22.5ft, 5 bar harrow ..............28,500Hiniker 1224 24’ Field Cultivator, single bar harrow..........2,900John Deere 960 FC 24 ft w/ single bar harrow ..................4,900John Deere 960 FC 30 ft w/single bar harrow ...................6,900John Deere 2700 Disc Ripper, deep tillage 5 shank ........19,000M&W 1700 Earth Master 7 shank ...................................15,000DMI 527 Ecolotiger blue, 5 shank ...................................16,500

DRILLSJohn Deere FB-B 13X7 grain drill, fert, grass seeder ........1,200

PLANTERSCase IH 1250 12 row 30”, liq, 2012 500 acres, coming..95,000

COMBINESIH 1440 1981 5291 hrs 2WD no RT, beater as-is............7,900IH 1440 1982 4116 hrs 2WD, RT, beater as-is...............12,000Case IH 1640 1988 3943 hrs 2wd, chopper, IH eng........21,000Case IH 1644 1994 3955 hrs 2wd beater, RT..................36,500Case IH 2188 1995 .........................................................72,500Case IH 2377 2006 1591 rotor hrs, 2WD, RT,chop,FT ..139,000Case IH 2388 1999 3115 rotor hrs 2WD, chopper..........69,000Case IH 2388 2003 2040 rotor hrs 2wd RT,chop ............95,000Case IH 2388 2004 954 rotor hrs 4WD RT, FT,chop......159,000Case IH 2577 2008 .......................................................179,000Case IH 2588 2007 1746 rotor hrs, 2WD, duals ...........169,000Case IH 7120 2010 875 rotor hrs, 2WD........................229,000John Deere 9750STS 2001 1551 rotor hrs 2WD.............99,000

CORN HDS/PLATFORMSIH 820 20 ft, wooden bats, manual fore and aft ................1,500Case IH 1020 20’ Grain Head 1986 SCH knife...................6,500Case IH 1020 20’ 1986 SCH, Johnson Rock Guard...........6,900Case IH 1020 25’ 1989......................................................5,900Case IH 1020 25’ 1988, 3” bolt on ..................................12,000Case IH 1020 20’ 2004 SCH, poly ...................................17,500Case IH 1020 25’ 2011 3” bolt on, rock guard, FT ..........21,000Case IH 1020 30’ 1994 FT, SCH knife, oil bath ..................7,500Case IH 1020 30’ 1998 FT 3” bolt on knives, poly skid ...12,000Case IH 1020 30’ Grain Head 1999 rock guard FT 3”......12,500

Case IH 1020 30’ Grain Head 2000, FT ...........................13,860Case IH 1020 30’ 1997, FT, SCH, Rockguard ..................14,900Case IH 1020 30’ 2004 3” bolt on knife, field tracker......17,500Case IH 1020 30’ 2004....................................................20,000Case IH 1020 30’ 1995 SCH, field tracker, poly skid .......23,000Case IH 2020 30’ 2009 3” bolt on knife, field tracker......16,500Case IH 2020 35’ 2010....................................................19,000Case IH 2062 30’ 2007 Draper........................................42,000Case IH 2162 35’ 2010 Draper........................................55,600Case IH 2162 40’ 2011 Draper........................................65,000John Deere 930 30’ 2000................................................10,000John Deere 930 30’ 2001................................................14,500IH 863 6 row 30” ..............................................................3,900Case IH 1063 6-30” Corn Head 1986 ................................8,500Case IH 2206 30” 2003 manual adjust knives, lights ......29,000Case IH 2208 8-30” Corn Head 2003 field tracker ..........40,000Case IH 3408 30” 2010...................................................42,000

AUGERSMayrath 62’ X 8” Swingaway ............................................3,150Mayrath 62’ X 10” Swingaway- mech drive, corn screen..4,900Mayrath 62’ X 10” Swingaway- mech drive ......................5,500Mayrath 62’ X 10” Swingaway- mech drive ......................5,900Cardinal 45’ X 8” bottom drive, pto......................................750Koyker 72’ X 8” Swingaway hyd drive...............................1,250

HAY TOOLSCase IH MD92 9 ft Disc Mower. 3 point ............................8,500New Holland 488 Mower Conditioner................................4,900Massey Ferguson 3 pt 7ft sickle mower, belt drive............1,250

ROTARY CUTTERS & FINISH MOWERSBush Hog 105 5ft rotary mower 3 point...............................500Bush Hog ATH720 6ft finish mower 3 pt, RH discharge....1,200Bush Hog 206 6ft rotary mower 3 point...............................200Bush Hog 306 6ft rotary mower 3 point............................1,050Bush Hog 2615L 1000 pto, front and rear chains .............9,500Ford 910 6 ft rotary mower 3 point ......................................500Land Pride FDR2584 7ft finish mower, 3 point, rear disch1,595M&W 15 ft rotary mower, hyd fold, 540 pto .....................7,500Woods M5 5ft 3 point rotary mower....................................500

WAGONS & BOXES & CARTSJ&M 250 box 10 ton gear 11L-15 tires .............................1,200J&M 250 box 10 ton gear, 11L-15 tires, lights..................1,250J&M 250 box JD gear, 15 ft hyd seed auger .....................2,900J&M 350 box 13 ton gear 10.00x20 tires..........................3,650J&M 350 box 13 ton gear 10.00x20 tires..........................3,650J&M 350 box 13 ton gear 10.00x20 tires..........................3,650J&M 350 box 13 ton gear 10.00x10 tires, holds 300-325.3,650J&M 750-14 Cart, red, tarp.............................................23,000Kill Bros 250 wagon 11L-15 tires, lights ...........................1,150John Deere 400 Grain Cart front fold auger .....................5,250Kill Bros 300 Center Dump 10.00-20 tires ........................1,900Kill Bros 375 wagon 12 ton gear, 10-20 tires, lights .........3,200J&M HT874 header trailer fits up to 25’ ............................3,200J&M HT874 header trailer fits up to 25’ ............................3,500

MISC.FFC Big Bale Spear 2 lower/ 1 upper skidloader QA .............900Case 2-12” pull type plow ....................................................500King Kutter 7 ft Grader Blade like new.................................375

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How much is your farmland worth? The answer tothat question is usually pret-ty easy. A farmer can call hisCounty Auditor’s Office andget the latest appraised valueof his land, and he can alsocontact a local realtor todetermine his land’s marketvalue, or sale price.A farmer can also calcu-

late his land value based onthe state of Ohio’s “CAUV”formula.So an acre of farm land

can have several “values”depending on what thisvalue is needed for.In 2012, however, the

easiest answer to the ques-tion, “How much is yourfarm land worth?” is this:“It’s worth a whole bushel ofmoney more than it was ayear ago!”If fact, it is very possible

that Ohio’s agriculture landis worth more today than atany time in history. And thatis in real dollars or adjustedfor inflation dollars.To many people, that

comes as a startling revela-

tion. But to those in the agri-culture business, or thosewho deal with appraising thevalue of land, it is no sur-prise at all.From many angles, it has

never been a better time tobe a farmer.Now I will tell you that

there are a lot of farmerswho will scoff at that notion.At least they will scoff at itpublicly. But I suspect thatdeep inside, they probablyknow that despite things likethe 2012 drought, the rash ofregulations and laws andgovernment paperwork, therecession and competitionoverseas, what farmers areearning for what they pro-duce could be at an all-timehigh.And that is part of what is

driving these record agricul-ture land values.According to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s“Land Values 2012Summary” the value peracre of Ohio’s farm landrose 13.6 percent over 2013,with an average price peracre of about $5,000.That’s back up by county

after county where propertyreappraisals are being donethis year. A survey by

ACRES of Southwest Ohiofound that all the countiesdoing these reappraisals thisyear - required of each Ohiocounty every six years bythe county Auditor - wereshowing significant increas-es in agricultural propertyvalues. That is even whenthe value of residential prop-erty in those same countieswas going down.Of course, for property

tax purposes, the appraisedvalue of land and the marketprice of the land are two dif-ferent things. But both num-bers are trending upwardhere in Ohio.A third measure is also

showing farm land valuegoing up. The CAUV -Current Agricultural UseValue - is also way up. InHighland County, forinstance, this measure offarm land value jumpedmore than 40 percent in thelast year.CAUV is a real estate tax

assessment program whichgives owners of farmland thechance to have their parcelstaxed according to theirvalue in agriculture, ratherthan full market value. It isthe result of a referendumpassed by Ohio voters inNovember, 1973.Most farm-ers take part in this programbecause it means a savingsfor them in real estate taxes.But that is the “other

side” of all this good news.Ohio State Extension expertBarry Ward, predictedrecently that while 2012 wasgreat for Ohio farm landvalue, 2013 might just beeven better. That’s greatnews … sort of.Because as the value of

the land rises, so does thetax obligation, regardless ofwhich measure is used tocalculate what the landowner owes.As we start 2013 this

month, predictions are verypositive about land value,

and that is based on whatmost people expect to berecord prices for crops peracre this year. That predictedincrease should offset easilyany increase in taxes forfarmers when they go to paytheir tax bills next year.At least, if all goes

according to plans…

Gary Brock is the Editorin Chief of ACRES.

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Andrew Meikle was aScottish inventor credited for theinvention of the threshingmachine. Without him we maynot have the combine harvestersof today.

He was born in East Lothian,Scotland to a millwright father.Andrew and his father wereengineers in the field of powergeneration and transmissionwhen power was generated bywind, water and animals. Hisfirst successful invention camein 1772 when he invented thewindmill ‘Spring Sail’, whichreplaced the simple canvasdesigns previously used withsails made from a series of shut-ters that could be operated bylevers, allowing windmill sails tobe quickly and safely controlledin the event of a storm.

With such materials as stone,wood, leather, and (in limitedquantities) cast and wroughtiron, Meikle designed and madethe first successful threshingmachine in 1786.

Meikle’s threshing machine

used fluted rollers to feedsheaves of corn to a rotatingdrum which beat the corn againsta curved casing (the concave).The ears of corn and the chaffthen fell through a grating whilethe straw continued horizontallyout of the drum casing. Then,Meikle used an invention of hisfather’s, a mechanical fan whichcould be used to separate theears from the chaff.

By adding sieves it wouldcontinue to refine the separationof the corn from weed seeds.The threshing machine in itsearly state appears primitive butwas sophisticated at the time,involving the use of gearing to

feed the sheaves into the drum atthe right rate.

Once all the tinkering andadjusting was complete, Meiklebegan making threshingmachines for sale in 1789.Meikle’s threshing machine wasa mounted machine typically ina barn or a mill, it took almost 50years to make the transfer over toa mobile unit like most of usknow today that was belt drivenand seen at many steam shows inthe summer. Other inventorsimproved the effectiveness of thedevice during the next few years,and by 1800 it was in generaluse.

Before Meikle’s invention

ears of corn had to be separatedfrom the stalks on which theyhad grown by men wieldingjointed wooden sticks (flails) aslow and laborious process. Therate of threshing, as this wascalled, limited the output ofwheat, oats and barley as foodfor people and horses, and as theraw material for brewing andwhisky distilling. The fixedthreshing mill, powered bywater-wheel, windmill, or ani-mal power rapidly became astandard feature of all farms.

There are few, if any,mechanical devices of Scottishorigin which have had such animmediately transformative

effect on a major industry andthe supply of food, and had sucha lasting impact on economy andsociety. He passed the 27th dayof November in 1811 at HoustonMill and is buried in EastLinton’s Prestonkirk ParishChurch Kirkyard.

In 2011, 200 years later hewas one of seven inauguralinductees to the ScottishEngineering Hall of Fame.

Andrew Meikle contributedto agriculture by developing abetter way of removing the grainfrom the husk and stalk to makeagriculture more productive, sothank you for your contributionto agriculture.


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Andrew Meikle - Inventor of themechanical threshing machine

By Ryan [email protected]

Pardon the word play,but John Hand didn’talways make furniture byhand.An aerospace engineer

for 25 years, Hand left thecorporate world three yearsago for a simpler, family-oriented life. That meantgiving up a good job andgood money to be closer tohis and his wife Lisa’s fam-ilies, while raising theirown children in a home thatput God and family beforeanything else.That was nearly 20 years

ago. Now, Hand is ready forhis next venture.Enter Treasured Times

Wood Works and CountryStore, a family owned andoperated business thatmakes furniture and clocksthe old-fashioned way —from scratch. Or, by hand,if you’re into that wholeword play thing.Hand has enlisted the

help of his friend, EverettMoore, who has 40 years offurniture-making and

woodworking experience,and his two sons, Samueland Joseph. John wasinspired by the woodwork-ing and manufacturingcommunity that is HolmesCounty — Amish Country,to those of you who havemade the nearly 200-miletrek.“I’ve really studied the

businesses in HolmesCounty the last 5 years tounderstand why they didwhat they did. They used tobe a farming community,but about 25 years ago theyevolved into a wood manu-facturing business becausethey couldn’t support theirfamilies on the land.There’s over 400 of them inthat area,” Hand said.“So we went up there

and got to meet a lot offolks who were kindenough to open their shopsto us and show us what theydid and answered any ques-tions we had.”Closer to home, they

visited local woodworkingoperations, to get a betterunderstanding of woodshoplayout, equipment, suppli-

ers, etc., according to John.“There are numerous

local cabinet and cabinetdoor woodshops,” Johnexplained. “But no wood-working shops which con-centrated on furniture andclock-making.”Hope and Moore are

hoping to fill a niche mar-ket long-absent in PrebleCounty and surroundingareas.Treasured Times is

located on a 10-acre proper-ty between West Alexandriaand Gratis. The propertywas built in 1819 byFranklin N. Fudge, andlocal lore says tunnels fromthe days of theUnderground Railroad rununderneath the property.Hand’s house sits on oneside of the property, wherea country store is in itsbeginning stages, and thewoodworking shop is onthe other side in an oldbarn.That old-time atmos-

phere is only part of theallure of Treasured Times.

The rest of it comes fromthe craftsmanship and inti-mate detail put into its fur-niture — cupholders andmagazine racks in porchswings, tables that extendto what seems like 20 feet,and refurbished antiquechairs that look as if theywere just made new.Hand said the business

idea originally came fromwhat he saw as a need forquality furniture that couldbe made better than some-thing two or three times asexpensive.“I think there’s a need in

the area, I really do. We goout to stores and see thingsthat come in from offshoremanufacturers. It may lookgood, but it’s cheap and willfall apart in time. I thought,can we do better? And Ithink we can,” Hand said.Treasured Times offers

heirloom quality, customhandcrafted hardwood fur-niture, as well as reproduc-tions and restorations. Thestore sells handcrafted fur-niture, clocks, wind chimes

and books, among otherthings. The business oper-ates under the motto“Quality, Delivery, Trust.”Treasured Times is

located at 6417 EnterpriseRoad, West Alexandria.

Hours are by appointmentonly. Call (937) 787-9663to schedule an appointment.

Ryan Peverly is a staffwriter at The Register-Herald in Eaton.

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John Hand (far right), Everett Moore (far left) and Hand’s sons Samuel (standing) and Joseph (sitting)comprise the team at Treasured Times WoodWorks. The business, which also features the beginnings of acountry store, offers heirloom quality, custom handcrafted hardwood furniture, as well as reproductionsand restorations. (Ryan Peverly photo)

T

By Heather [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY -NewYear’s resolutions aren’tjust for those who are over-weight, sedentary or strug-gling to break a bad habit.Farmers can resolve to avoidpoor management practicesor implement better produc-tion techniques in 2013.

Steve Leer, communica-tions consultant/senior writerfor Purdue University’sAgComm news and publicaffairs and publishing units,collected farmer resolutionsfrom Purdue University crop,livestock and agriculturaleconomics specialists.

According to BobNielsen, extension corn spe-cialist, farmers should resolveto improve hybrid decision-making.

“Look for hybrids that notonly have high yield potentialbut also a demonstrated abili-ty to consistently achieve thatpotential across a wide rangeof growing conditions,because you cannot predictwhat 2013 will bring in termsof weather,” stated Nielsen.

Nielsen also said farmersshould resolve to spend moretime in the fields with thecrops, as “this will help youbetter identify the yield influ-encing factors most importantto your farming operation.Then work with your advi-sor(s) to develop strategies tobegin managing those fac-tors.”

The third resolution is towork toward improving theoverall efficiency of yournitrogen management pro-gram.

“Take steps to reduce therisks of N loss, such as leach-ing, denitrification andvolatilization,” Nielsen com-mented.

Shaun Casteel, extensionsoybean specialist, said farm-ers should resolve to read thevariety tag.

“Seed size varies fromyear to year. The drought con-ditions - timing and duration -have impacted seed size -small and large - germinationand vigor. Your planter set-tings and seeding rates needto be adjusted accordingly,”Casteel explained.

Farmers should resolve totake stand counts: “Plant pop-ulations of 100,000 to120,000 plants per acre opti-mize return in investment.Early season stand countsprovide the opportunity toverify your seeding rates and

emergence potential.You willalso be scouting the field forpressures of weeds andpests,” commented Casteel.

They should also resolveto harvest grain above 13 per-cent moisture.

“We are losing out on aportion of our yield when weharvest below 13 percent.Note that this might meanhaving to set the combinemultiple times based on thetoughness of the stem andease of pod threshing. Youwill gain yield in waterweight and reduce the lossesdue to dry grain and headerloss,” Casteel stated.

According to KeithJohnson, extension foragespecialist, it’s important tosample soils for nutrient lev-els.

“Follow through with theaddition of limestone and fer-tilizer recommended by thetest. The application of ablended fertilizer like 12-12-12 and calling this your fertil-izer program is not a wisedecision,” Johnson explained.

Farmers should also scoutfields weekly to determine thewell being of the growing for-ages. They should evaluategrazing pressure, presence ofpests, including weeds,insects and disease, and pos-sible nutrient deficiencysymptoms, Johnson stated.

Farmers could resolve toevaluate the possibility ofgrazing corn residues in theearly fall, which could reducefeed cost substantially forbeef and sheep producers,said Johnson.

Ron Lemenager, exten-sion beef specialist, suggestedfarmers resolve to take feedsamples and have them ana-lyzed for nutrient content byworking with a nutritionist toformulate rations that willminimize cost and optimizeperformance. Another possi-ble resolution is to adjustrations for cold stress, to min-imize losses in weight andbody condition.

“For each 10-degree dropin wind chill factor below 30degrees, the maintenanceenergy requirements increaseby 13 percent for cows inmoderate body conditionedwith a dry, winter hair coatand 30 percent for thin cowsor cows with a wet or summerhair coat,” Lemenager said.

Farmers could also createa business plan of where theywant to go and how they planto get there, Lemenager said.

“It can help not only whenyou go to the bank for a loan,but also when the IRS does anaudit,” he finished.

Hog farmers could resolveto closely monitor feedingprograms, since feed is 70percent of swine costs, saidBrian Richert, extensionswine specialist.

“This includes sticking toyour feed budgets, being vig-

ilant in your feeder adjust-ments, monitoring your feedparticle size and analyzingyour feed ingredients.Analyzing your feed ingredi-ents is critical when you feedmore byproducts with theirincreased variability, and witha bad growing season thisyear even our corn and soy-bean meal needs to be ana-lyzed,” Richert commented.

Farmers could resolve tocollect and use records. Theyshould be culling the lowest-producing females, monitor-ing drug use, conductingtimely euthanasia and evalu-ating all costs across all phas-es of production, said Richert.

Swine farmers could re-evaluate vaccination andmedication plans by meetingwith their herd veterinarian toensure they are meeting theherd’s health needs, Richertcommented.

According to Chris Hurt,extension agricultural econo-mist, farmers could alsoresolve to never say, “It can’thappen to me.”

“The 2012 drought was astark reminder that bad out-comes can come to our farmsand businesses. Evaluate anduse the tools to help reducethe terrible financial conse-quences that can come from

bad outcomes. Start with a re-evaluation of crop insurancealternatives,” Hurt stated.

Another resolution farm-ers could make would be todesignate 2013 as a learningyear, he said.

“New technology is com-ing at us quickly. There willbe a new farm bill to learnabout. Tax laws will likelychange. New farm productsare emerging. Brand newopportunities will be present-ing themselves. Be sure tocommit time to increasingyour knowledge and to theimprovement of your deci-sion-making skills,” Hurtremarked.

Hurt also said farmersshould resolve to review theirfamily’s succession plan andupdate their estate plan.

“Even if you have a greatplan, remember the laws arechanging. At the very least,learn about those changes and

how they affect your plan. Ifyou don’t have a plan, thenew laws will give you a greatreason to get started,” Hurtcommented.

Other crop and livestockmanagement tips are avail-able at Purdue’s AgriculturalProducers information page,ag.purdue.edu/pages/produc-ers-index.aspx. The OhioState University and PurdueUniversity partner in exten-sion to bring current agricul-ture research to the communi-ties in our states.

For more detailed infor-mation, visit the DarkeCounty OSU Extension web-site at www.darke.osu.edu,the OSU Extension DarkeCounty Facebook page orcontact Sam Custer, at 937-548-5215.

Heather Meade is a staffwriter at The Daily Advocatein Greenville.


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535 Farm Supplies/Equipment

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ACRES of Western Ohio | January Issue 13ABy Ryan [email protected]

DARKE COUNTY -The U.S. House and Senateannounced a short-term farmbill extension on Dec. 29which would continue theactive polices of the Food,Conservation and EnergyActof 2008 and halt the immi-nent threat of accelerateddairy prices.In a statement to CNN,

Senate AgricultureCommittee ChairwomanDebbie Stabenow said theshort-term farm bill exten-sion “also prevents eventualdamage to our entire agricul-ture economy.”Despite the agreement,

house leaders have not yetagreed to put the bill on thefloor. In addition to the one-year extension, the HouseGOP is also considering aone-month extension bill andanother that would extendexisting dairy policy thatexpires Jan. 1.The threat of milk nearly

doubling in price at around$7 caused legislators fromboth sides of the aisle toresolve the situation as quick-ly as possible.Ohio remains a chief

manufacturer in the dairyindustry, and farmers expectany changes to the bill couldhave a large impact on thestate’s agricultural polices.According to statistics

provided by the OhioDepartment of Agriculturefor 2010, Ohio produced5,240,000 pounds of milk,ranking the state 11th in milkproduction. And nearly 12percent of all Ohio agricul-tural commodities consist ofdairy products.In 2012, Darke County

ranked 7th in the state formilk production with an esti-

mated 8,000 dairy cows inthe area.While the extension came

just in the nick of time,Secretary of Agriculture TomVilsack said in an earlierinterview with CNN that hewas not pleased with theprocess.“It is unconscionable that

we don’t have a farm bill.This is just historic.You haveevery single major commodi-ty group and farm group inthe country united in the mes-sage to get this work done,yet Congress doesn’t get itdone,” he said. “You can’tpoint to a time when

Congress has been this reluc-tant to pass farm legislation.”The farm bill is the feder-

al government’s primaryagricultural policy and leg-islative tool, and Vilsackhighlighted its importancefor rural community mem-bers.“When you consider what

rural America does, it pro-vides most of the food, a lotof the water, almost all of theenergy and fuel, as well asmany, many jobs connectedto what happens in ruralareas, there should be agreater appreciate for whattakes place in rural America

and a greater concern on thepart of all of us to make surerural America is healthy andprosperous,” he said.The 2008 farm bill has

far-reaching consequencesfor every agricultural state, asit deals with conservation,rural development, agricul-tural research, nutrition pro-grams and other aspects.Vilsack warned as early as

October that if there was notan extension of the existingbill or a new bill on Jan. 1 orshortly thereafter, permanent1949 agricultural law wouldgo back into place, whichwould drive up the prices of

dairy products along withother farming goods.In the October statement,

Vilsack said that letting the2008 Farm Bill expire wouldleave the “USDA with farfewer tools to help strengthenAmerican agriculture andgrow a rural economy thatsupports 1 in 12 Americanjobs.”Vilsack continued build-

ing on the importance of thebill by saying “Withoutaction by the House ofRepresentatives on a multi-year Food, Farm and Jobsbill, rural communities aretoday being asked to shoul-

der additional burdens andadditional uncertainty in atough time.”But the short-term exten-

sion doesn’t come without acost.According to the

Congressional Budget Officein a report issued on Dec. 28,a one-year extension of theFood, Conservation, andEnergy Act of 2008 couldcause more than $1 billiondollars in changes to directspending.

Ryan Carpe is a staffwriter at The Daily Advocatein Greenville.

Farm bill pushed to one-year extension

AP Photo/Susan WalshSenate AgricultureCommittee member Sen.Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.walks past reporters onCapitol Hill inWashington, Monday,Dec. 31,2012.

year, we need to see theresults and how politics hasaffected agriculture. Fromlocal referendums and stateoffices to U.S. congression-al seats and the presidency,the November 6 electionwas another talked aboutnews item of the year.When all the votes werecounted, America re-electedits president, Democratsmaintained control of theSenate and Republicansheld onto majority in the

House. The Farm Bill as ofwriting this article hasfailed to make it to theHouse floor for a vote. I’msure they’ll extend the oldversion or not, we don’tknow anymore what thisCongress plans to do, but alittle about the Farm Billhistory over the course ofthe past 14 months. LastNovember the House andSenate agriculture commit-tee leaders developed abipartisan, bicameral pro-

posal for the super commit-tee; however, the committeeannounced it would not beable to reach an agreementbefore its deadline. Thisaction (or inaction) meant aformal process of reautho-rizing the farm bill wouldtake place in 2012.Throughout the spring boththe House and SenateAgricultural committeesheld hearing to get a FarmBill written. Then finally onJune 21, after considering

more than 70 amendments,the Senate approved thepassage of the farm billwith a 64-to-35 vote. A fewweeks later, the HouseAgriculture Committee eas-ily approved its version ofthe farm bill. Good right,wrong the House leadershave held off on bringing itto the floor for a vote. Thenwith the September 30thexpiration date looming theHouse of Representativescould not find enough votes

to pass a one-year extensionof the 2008 Farm Bill, sothey adjourned in Augustand the 2008 bill expired onSeptember 30. Currently inthe lame duck session,Congress has one lastchance before the end of theyear to take up the 2012Farm Bill. If it fails to passthe bill, the process willbegin again in 2013.Drought, Politics,

Education and Awards hasbeen a large part of last

year, and this coming yearI’m sure a lot of this willcontinue to affect us aswell. I know one thing is forsure; the agriculture com-munity will overcome whatis thrown at them and perse-vere to produce a safe andabundant crop that will helpfeed the world. With 2012in the books and 2013 onthe horizon, I want to saygood luck, be safe, and Ican’t wait to see what hap-pens this year.

2012 from pg. 1

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The Amish CookBy Lovina Eicher

Wednesday evening andsupper is over. Everyonewent their own way, somereading, some writing, andsome still down with the flu.Yes, the flu bug hit us. So farit has only been sonBenjamin and my husband,Joe. Their symptoms were ahigh temperature, cough,aches, and chill. I called thedoctor and he said their isnot much they can do. So Iam playing nurse and tryingto keep their temperaturesdown and trying to keepthem comfortable.I hope it stays away from

the rest of us. Joe is caughtup at work so he is off workuntil after New Year’s Day.It was a good thing that hedid not have to leave as hewoke up with a temperatureof 102. I hope he will be bet-

ter to enjoy hisbirthday whichis Saturday the22nd. Thiswill make

him 44yearso l d

already.Last night we had an easy

supper of eggs, toast, andcheese. Verena fried theeggs and Loretta made thetoast so I got out of helpingwith supper. We have eggs,eggs, eggs around here.After the holidays I hope tomake noodles with a lot ofthem. Elizabeth arrivedhome safe and sound fromtheir trip to Kentucky. It isalways nice to know wheneveryone is back homeagain. Christmas is comingup fast and I still have notsigned any cards.Seems I get later every

year in getting them out.Tomorrow night is the ele-mentary Christmas programat the school. Joseph,Lovina, and Kevin are excit-ed about it. Friday will be a1 /2 day of school. Soundslike we have some snow andwind expected for tonight.Their might be a possibilitythat there will be no schoolFriiday. I remember oneyear on our way home fromthe school Christmas pro-gram it snowed alot. It washard to find our way homewith the fresh snow coveredroads in the dark. The nextmorning school was can-celled but the children weredisappointed because sowere their parties.

We were surprisedwith Christmas car-oloers onen i g h t .

Was some of the familiesfrom our church. They had ateam of horses and a haywagon to take them fromone place to the next. Agroup of people stood out-side on our porch and sangChristmas carols.This is now Thursday

morning and it israining and verywindy. It

is the first morning allweek that Benjamin wokeup without a fever. He saidhe feels lots better. It is hardto keep him down when heis sick. He had a 104 tem-perature one morning andwas walking around. It

doesn’t take much of a feverto put me in bed. I just nevercould walk around with ahigh temperature. Today Iwant to bake bread andmake something forElizabeth to take somethingto the factory for the carry in

on her

line. Didn’t realize I didn’thave too much yeast onhand so make I won’t get tobake as much as I thought. Iwill close this column wish-ing you a blessed Christmas.Those of you who travelmay you arrive back safely.Also: get well wishes to allthe people with illnesses,may you have a completeand speedy recovery. Andlast, but not least, let usremember the families inConnecticut during thissorrowful time. Such atragedy. May God bewith them.God’s blessings to

all.

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Sautee onio

n and bacon fat and mix all

ingredients and add a dashof pepper. Pour into a 2 qu

art casserole and bake at350

for 25 to 30 minutes. Goodserved over toasted bread

or English muffins.

6 to 8 bacon slices1 medium onion, sliced1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup milk5 hard-boiled eggs, grated

2 cup shredded cheese

Bacon and Egg Bake

the Amish Cook

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