Mid-sized farmers are stuck in the middle – too conventional and “toxic” for the foodies, too small to matter to Big Ag corporations. How do you participate in the food debate without becoming part of the menu? Or, with friends like these, who needs aliens? By Richard Oswald Farmers in America have a saying. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” This reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode where extraterrestrials visiting from outer space Read More …
by Richard Oswald The Occupy Wall Street Movement has been called “a potent political and cultural conversation”. On the other hand Occupy movements in cities like Washington DC have been called over reported and under attended. That is definitely not the case here because Occupy Langdon has been completely off the radar screen, totally undiscussed, and one hundred percent unreported. Until now. I’m breaking this thing wide open. Here around Langdon and all across the USA, less than Read More …
By Richard Oswald Some people may think it’s strange that the Nebraska Farmers Union and the Humane Society of the United States have found some areas of agreement. Not me. When I was a kid growing up on the big river bottom I had a couple of pets that fought like you might expect. Chip the Chesapeake retriever and Tom the barn cat never saw eye to eye at feeding time. To the victor went the leftovers. But Read More …
Published in The Yonder, 8/17/11 by Richard Oswald For the past 13 years, members of the Organization for Competitive Markets have gathered to talk about unfair markets and antitrust violations in the agriculture business. The voices were rising again last week in Kansas City. Agriculture and the people who build lives around it have never really been known to cry wolf. We seek understanding and occasionally we argue for fair treatment, but creating problems where none exist is Read More …
By Richard Oswald Robbers and thieves won’t let me be, they want all of it just the same My land, my animals, my seeds– they even want my name Land is getting awfully high, an acre is like treasure But take away this poor dirt farm and my life will have no measure Robbers and thieves won’t let me be, they want all of it just the same My land, my animals, my seeds– they even want my Read More …
by Richard Oswald Futures traders say “Rain makes grain” but it takes a whole lot more than rain to build the heads, pods and cobs of everything we grow. Growing a crop is much the same as building a factory. Both require energy and materiel. Factories, any factory, will wear out if not kept up. It all requires maintenance. In order to pay that cost farms and ranches need to earn a fair return on investment and labor. Read More …
by Richard Oswald These days, when a young man or woman makes the decision to farm for a living, it’s usually with the intention either to go with the flow or swim upstream against it. That’s the way it is. Young farmers must use the focused power of agribusiness riding the current like a surfer snug in the curl or like salmon that preserve their species by opposing the current. When I first heard of Eric Herm’s book Read More …
The Missouri legislature is passing laws that makes the world safe for Big Pig. That means, the world is a lot less safe for the rest of us. by RICHARD OSWALD One of my favorite pictures is one of Dad when he was about 10 years old, standing next to Granddad’s prize hog. A good caption would be “Are you gonna eat that?’ That’s about the way some of us in Missouri feel about the current CAFO hog Read More …