Articles

Did you know it is 4230 miles from Manhattan, Illinois to Honolulu, Hawaii? Did you know that about 2 people die per year from parasailing accidents, and every two years someone dies from a shark attack? That means you are about 4x more likely to die parasailing than from a Read more

I have heard a phrase that makes me bristle. But I will come back to that later. In 1987, when I was only 24 years old, I bought my first and only farm. At the time it was a very good buy. I have since spent the rest of my Read more

It is that time of the year. Time to test the fire extinguisher in the house and not out in the field. I still remember an article about fire safety that I read years ago. It stated that the #1 and #2 cause of fires in the home were electrical Read more

Earlier this year I received a comment from a reader named Jerry. He stated that if my dream of being able to travel more ever happened I should write about it. Well, here goes. After years of hearing how many people love the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, my Read more

Wow did the weather change! After a month or so with little to no wind at all fall, came blowing in with a vengeance. After writing two weeks ago about the ever-constant threat of combine fires, I was literally on edge each day with low humidity and strong winds. A Read more

Have you ever put a decimal point in the wrong place? In the movie Office Space, the employees hatch a plan to steal from their employers by installing software that will funnel all the minute fractions of a dollar of each transaction into their own account. The plot goes astray Read more

How much is one coyote worth? Forty years ago when I trapped a few coyotes each winter they were worth about $15-$30 each. I am not sure if they have value now even with today’s inflation, but I know at least one is costing me money. My chicken coop has Read more

Does everyone know who Warren Buffet is? How about Howard Buffet, his son? I have contemplated many different ways to take this weeks article while I sprayed my corn with herbicides. Where will my overactive mind take us? Howard Graham Buffet, Warren Buffet’s son, farms in Illinois. He wrote the Read more

He was an amazing man, and he had an amazing life and wife. Last week this paper ran the obituary of Robert George “Bob” Fitzer. It was an honor to have known him. Bob passed many stories of his life as a farmer on to me in the 30 plus Read more

I have had an underlying dilemma that has come full circle. Horses may possibly be the dominant livestock in Will County. For those who have never taken care of a horse there is one issue that can be overwhelming, manure. Horses cannot be potty trained; the manure never ends. Here Read more