Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2020 i Farm and Ranch Living

As we assembled this issue of Farm & Ranch Living, it became clear we had a lot of young animals on our hands. Between the calves in the Ag Diaries and Snapshots section to a photo feature celebrating your farms’ newest additions (page 48), it’s safe to say we like the little ones. All the same, we also appreciate the good work and fun farm events that simply wouldn’t be possible without a human or two. To that end, we’ve enlisted the help of tractor mechanic and author Rachel Gingell, a rising star in the heavy machinery world. Beginning on page 35, Rachel offers a fantastic rundown of her favorite tractor shows in the United States, so you may want to grab a pencil and start making plans. Within these…

Our goat Gus is so patient and gentle with my son, Dave. We have eight goats, six Angus, three rabbits and several chickens and pigs. Dave likes to try to ride Gus; he succeeds about a quarter of the time. TALLIE CZAJKOWSKI CATO, NEW YORK 1. HEARTS IN THE COUNTRY My daughter Brenda and her husband, Damon, have a small farm in central Missouri. Like many others around here, Brenda adores her farm animals. BETTY LOU JONES MARSHALL, MISSOURI 2. WHAT A WORKER! When I took this, we’d just had an orphan calf, and my granddaughter Abigail insisted on carrying the bottle. It was almost as big as she was! DEBBIE BORK HOMER CITY, PENNSYLVANIA 3. FEEDING TIME I raise Herefords but I’ve always wanted Longhorns. I bought Willa at…

COLLEEN PALMER EPPING, NH PREP: 45 min. BAKE: 25 min. + cooling MAKES: 2 dozen 1 pkg. devil’s food cake mix (regular size) 3 cans (16 oz. each) vanilla frosting 1 can (16 ounces) chocolate frosting TOPPINGS • Food paste in assorted colors • Decorating candies • White buttermints • Pink mint candy lozenges • Good & Plenty candies • Candy corn • Semisweet chocolate chips • Miniature semisweet chocolate chips • Miniature marshmallows, halved 1. Prepare cake batter according to directions. Fill 24 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 21-26 minutes. Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 2. For pigs, tint half of 1 can of frosting pink; frost 8 cupcakes. Attach miniature chips and mints for eyes,…

MANOR, TEXAS LAND 110 acres PRODUCT Beef, pork, eggs EST. 2009 Kelby Ranch was born of a desire to live a simpler lifestyle. My husband, Trey, and I both started our own businesses after graduating from Texas A&M University. He has a design-build landscape architecture firm and I run an event-planning company. Our lives were busy and we knew we wanted a piece of land to create an escape. Eventually we found a 20-acre cornfield—just a square of tilled-up dirt, really, with a small section of woods in back and a spring-fed river. We bought that land in 2009, and we were all in. After building a perimeter fence and a two-stall barn, we brought home two horses, Tanqueray and Captain. For the first year, they lived here alone, and…

MORE THAN 29,000 PEOPLE subscribe to the tractor repair videos my father and I produce on YouTube. What most subscribers probably don’t realize is that I’ve been attending America’s tractor shows since childhood. If you, too, love tractors but haven’t visited many shows, let’s get out of the shop and talk about some upcoming events you might enjoy. Here are 25 of my favorite tractor shows in the United States. 1 Gathering of the Green March 18-21, 2020 Davenport, Iowa This show takes place only every other year, so if you’re a John Deere enthusiast, make sure you attend in 2020. Reserve a tour of a Deere factory or local farming operation, and enjoy technical seminars on the grounds. gatheringofthegreen.com I have wonderful memories of going to the grounds…

1. HI, MOM! Mama Rose was lying at the door of her hut, protecting her babies, when this little one approached with a nuzzle to let her know he was hungry. JENNY GARCIA ELFRIDA, ARIZONA 2. MOO ’N’ MEOW These kittens were born under a calf’s pen, near the milking barn. Here, calf and kitten play a game of hide-and-seek. REGINA HOLMES MIDLAND, VIRGINIA 3. FINDING HIS FOOTING This colt was enjoying a fine sunny day at Outback Stallion Station in Caldwell, Idaho. DAVID R. STOECKLEIN 4. THREE OF A KIND Our three sweet, inquisitive pups—Annie, Sam and Bear—will grow up to be an invaluable part of the farm. STEPHANIE MORGAN EWING, KENTUCKY 1. KITTY ON THE CASE My sister Becky took this guy’s photo on her ranch in Ontario,…

We hid a drawing of a horseshoe like the one above on page 13 of the February/March issue. Then we drew names at random from all the readers who found it. Each winner received a year’s subscription to Farm & Ranch Living. We hid another one in this issue. It could be hidden anywhere, so keep a sharp eye out. Enter the contest on our website at farmandranchliving.com if you find it. From those submissions, we’ll draw additional names and send those readers a year’s subscription or subscription extension to Farm & Ranch Living. No purchase necessary to enter to win. Purchase will not improve your chances of winning. The sweepstakes is open to legal residents age 18 years or older of the U.S., its territories and possessions, or of…

Farm & Ranch Living readers are the heart and soul of this magazine. We rely on you to tell us about the rural life and what matters most to you and others in your community. That’s why we’re so excited to launch our volunteer Field Editor program. WHAT DOES A VOLUNTEER FIELD EDITOR DO? ➜ Submit great photographs and stories of the farming and ranching life. ➜ Tell us what’s on your mind. Is there a story you want us to cover? Let us know! ➜ Participate in conversations online. Share and comment on our Facebook and Instagram posts and join our Facebook Field Editors’ group. ➜ Spread the word. Get your friends, family and neighbors involved with Farm & Ranch Living magazine. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? As a…

“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. ... Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” —WENDELL BERRY In his 1977 classic, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, the writer Wendell Berry contended that good farming is lifeblood to our nation and its culture. He said that those who work the soil, care for animals and feed families engage in an almost spiritual practice that we, as a nation, have at various times been in danger of losing. When the book was published, small family farms were vanishing across the United States, changing our rural landscape and communities. Fast-forward to now, and it’s nearly impossible to argue that U.S.…

SEND US YOUR STORY Share stories and photos with us using the online form at farmandranchliving.com/submit. HELP US SORT THINGS OUT Include the name of the department your submission is for (Prettiest Place, Tractor Talk, etc.). For any photos you submit, please identify the people, city, state and year the photo was taken. We reserve the right to use submissions in any section of our magazine, or elsewhere. WHAT YOU’LL GET If we print your submission in the magazine, we will send you a complimentary copy of the issue in which it appears. PHOTOS We accept high-resolution digital images. Digital images should be about 4 x 6 inches at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch, or about 1200 x 1800 pixels. Photos must be in focus and of…

“TRACT-TOR” LOVE RUNS IN THE FAMILY My father-in-law, Fred Wainwright Jr., turned 89 years old on Jan. 23. Here he is with our 19-month-old son, who brought over his favorite magazine to look at all the “moo cows” and “tract-tors.” Fred is still farming and helps his six children with their farms, too. Weather permitting, he is on the tractor every day. DANIELLE WAINWRIGHT SOUTHAMPTON, NEW JERSEY STAFFING SUGGESTION We are writing to let you know that we really enjoyed reading the farm diaries in your October/November 2019 issue. It was refreshing to join Nathaniel Miller as he went about his routine on his Vermont farm. We actually think you should hire him! THE DIEHL FAMILY BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA Winter for the Win! I just finished reading the December/January issue…

Some youngsters will ask for a birthday cake with a superhero or Disney theme, but children growing up in the country are likely to have different ideas. When my friend Linda Snavely of Cottonwood, California, asked her son Jesse what kind of cake he wanted for his seventh birthday, he requested “tractors, a lawn mower and dirt.” Jesse’s detailed request was no problem, but it demanded a blend of imagination and skill. “It’s a family tradition passed on from my momma to let each of the children pick the type of cake they want for their birthday dinner,” Linda says. “My mom learned to decorate cakes, and I learned from her.” There’s no question where Jesse found his inspiration. The Snavely family—Brian, Linda and their sons John, Paul, Jordan and…

Podcasts—radio programs, essentially, in digital form—are swiftly gaining in popularity, and you’d be hard-pressed to name a topic that hasn’t been explored through this medium. Ag is no exception. If you’re new to the format, the Shark Farmer episode featuring Amanda’s interview (or any of the podcasts listed below) would be a great place to start. THE SHARK FARMER Rob Sharkey is a fifth-generation farmer who conducts fun, intelligent interviews with ag folks of every stripe. Rob’s bio touts his ability to “listen and relate to those spanning generations, time zones and the rural/urban divide,” and that sums it up well. Amanda Freund talks CowPots, dairy co-operatives and lots more on episode 155. sharkfarmer.com/podcast THE RUMINANT The Ruminant focuses on sharing knowledge with and among farmers and gardeners—novices and old…

INGREDIENTS 2 lbs. fresh figs, stems removed and cut into quarters (cut smaller for smoother preserves) 1 cup organic granulated sugar Juice of 1 large lemon 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 oz. sweet bourbon 1/4 cup water INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a medium saucepan, stir figs with sugar and lemon juice until coated. Add the vanilla and bourbon; stir thoroughly. 2. Cook over medium heat and stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the figs are juicy. 3. Add the water and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gently smash the figs with a wooden spoon until the fruit is soft and the juices begin to thicken. (Use an immersion blender if you prefer.) 4. Turn off the heat and spoon the spread into jars. 5.…

To learn more about the organization, find out how to become a host or see the full directory, visit wwoofusa.org. Here's some of what you might find: DELTA JUNCTION, ALASKA Northwest Land & Livestock, a multigenerational farm and packing facility. The family tends some 1,300 acres of hay and pastureland and raises 500 head of Galloway/Angus cattle and 30 farrow-to-finish sows. AGUA DULCE, CALIFORNIA A 100-acre llama farm with lots of other animals to care for, including chickens, a horse, potbellied pigs and a sheep. There is a vegetable garden and a lavender field to tend, as well as a variety of building and land maintenance projects. LAFAYETTE, GEORGIA A 50-acre farm with 6 to 8 acres in fields and orchards. They produce veggies, blueberries, fruit and timber. Between trimming…

CUSTOMER CARE For subscriptions, renewals, gifts, payments, account info and inquiries: Email: customercare@ farmandranchliving.com Visit: farmandranchliving.com/ customercare Write: FARM & RANCH LIVING CUSTOMER CARE PO BOX 5294 HARLAN IA 51593-0794 TO BUY SINGLE ISSUES OF FARM & RANCH LIVING Visit: shoptasteofhome.com REPRINT REQUESTS Email permissions@TrustedMedia Brands.com to request permission to reprint any material from Farm & Ranch Living. For information on bulk article reprints and poster printing, contact Sheridan Content Solutions, scsreprints@sheridan.com. EDITORIAL OFFICES  feedback@farmandranchliving.com FARM & RANCH LIVING 1610 N 2ND ST STE 102 MILWAUKEE WI 53212-3906…