Farm and Ranch Living February - March 2017

I AM EXCITED AND HONORED to be writing this Editor’s Letter, my first as senior editor of Farm & Ranch Living. And though you might not recognize my name, I think you will definitely recognize this magazine. Farm & Ranch Living has told a tremendous American story and built a lasting connection with readers over almost 40 years, and I’m looking forward to continuing that tradition. If you were able to trap a group of editors in a room together (please don’t, by the way), almost all of us would tell you we got into this business because we’re storytellers. You are great storytellers, too, and your tales inspire others like yourselves. We’re here to share them. The diaries in this issue come from families with deep roots in the…

The Best of Both Worlds When my sister sent me a Farm & Ranch Living subscription, I had wondered why. She lives on a dairy farm in South Dakota, but I live in the city. Over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed many of the articles about farm life but none so much as “Our Front Porch” by Kerry Taylor in October/November. It took me back to my childhood, when my parents and my nine siblings used to sit on the porch and do everything from chatting to breaking beans. We lived a mile and a half outside town, and the woods and ponds behind our house were our playgrounds. I was in tears when I got to the end of the story, thinking about all the wonderful times we…

Putting Down Roots Have you started a grassroot venture? We want to hear about the big idea that’s allowing you to fulfill your dream by living off the land. Head to our website and tell us about your line of work. Let us see it, too, by attaching a few pictures. Our Furry Friends There’s something special about farm dogs. Maybe it’s because they’re reliable help and the truest of friends. Either way, it’s time the trusty farm dog got its recognition. Share your favorite year-round tales and photos of your canine companions on our website. Diaries: It’s Your Turn! You love reading the farm family diaries featured in every Farm & Ranch Living issue. Now you can join this historic group of farmers and ranchers by working alongside us…

I raise rabbit breeds, and one Friday night we had a rabbit go missing from her cage with six 1-week-old kits still in her nest box. I set up a live trap and left the babies in the cage but hadn’t caught her by morning, so I brought the kits inside to hand-feed them. Remi, our border collie/Australian shepherd mix, had puppies just a few days after the kits were born. She accepted the baby rabbits as if they were her own and took over the feeding for me. The mother rabbit never came back, but five of the six kits survived. We still have one, another is now a house pet, and one is a grand champion 4-H show rabbit for a little girl in North Dakota!…

The Bounty of Winter I love the rugged beauty of winter and the culmination of all the work of the other three seasons. The flowers you dried in spring now grace the top of your piano, chilly mornings are perked up with a cup of tea from the mint and raspberry leaves you dried this past summer, and guests are treated to sweet cider and pumpkin bread from the apples and squash you picked in autumn. GRACE HANS WOODBURN, OREGON A Helping Hand Our 2-year-old daughter, Georgia, loves to help feed and play with all the animals on our farm. Georgia’s specialty is throwing feed to the chickens and keeping the other animals away so the hens can enjoy their food. She also loves giving the goats their…

1 Austin Beard wanted to check out the baby goats and thought this one looked like a Holstein calf. “The two kids look so cute together,” says his grandmother Sally Beard of Tillsonburg, Ontario. 2 “My grandson Cole spends as much time as possible with his baby goat,” says Cole’s grandmother Faye Kyle of Eunice, Missouri. “As you can see, the goat is getting a tight hug.” 3 Pyper Braun is starting early on her grandparents’ farm. Here she is at 7 months old holding a baby fainting goat, says grandma Karol Shellenbarger of Hale, Michigan.…