As Four State area farmers patiently wait for dry fields and soybean-stripping opportunities, prime wheat planting dates slip slowly by. At Mid-West Fertilizer’s Wheat Preplant workshop, Winfield agronomist Andrew Schmidt encouraged producers to use the wet weather period to develop a foolpr…

The 39th edition of the Ozark Fall Farmfest in Springfield, Missouri, has concluded after drawing farm and ranch enthusiasts from all over the Four State area.

From the highway, Murphy Orchard combines a homey, inviting storefront with a long row of pristinely cultivated apple trees. But the drive-by experience fails to disclose the more than 100 carefully curated fruit varieties the orchard produces each year or the personalized approach the growe…

For rangeland specialist Jim Gerrish, all of the complexities of soil health, pasture efficiency and ultimately ranch profitability can be broken down into just four ingredients: solar energy, water, soil minerals and carbon dioxide.

From first aid tips and avoiding insect bites to weed control and winter feeding strategies, the second annual Rural Ag Expo in Cherokee, Kansas, offered valuable tips for life in the countryside.

Combines were out in force this week as corn harvest continued after late season rains created adverse ground conditions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 9 percent harvest completion in Kansas, with 12 percent completion in Missouri and 15 percent completion in Oklahoma.

Bryan Jones’ “The Farming Game” anecdotally paints sheep producers as people drawing sympathy from their neighbors while secretly raking in profits from some of the smelliest, stupidest critters around. And yet — Porter, Oklahoma, sheep producer Joe Hopping farms by its philosophies and keep…

Nestled at the foot of the Flint Hills, Nextgen Cattle Co. is prepared to make its mark on the beef industry.

In a few short weeks, the Ozarks’ largest agricultural event will make its return to Springfield, Missouri. Make plans now to attend the 39th annual Ozark Fall Farmfest on Oct. 5, 6 and 7 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds.

Producers consider many factors when it comes to the health of their cattle herd or favorite horse, from gashes in their sides to vaccines for foot rot. Cherryvale Veterinary Clinic veterinarian Paul Cotterill, warned producers about many serious diseases in cattle and use-related injuries i…

Producers searching for profit intensifiers in a peaking cattle market will find new technology, cost-cutting strategies and on-ranch efficiencies, but may miss the main price producer of modern markets — the consumer.

Despite a more-than-welcome rainy morning last Friday, southwest Missouri cattlemen and cattlewomen packed the meeting room at the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center to learn how to survive the current drought.

When Jeremy Cantrell graduated high school, he had never given a set of reasons or placed a class of market hogs — but he was a smooth talker with a livestock love affair established early in his youth. It was enough to give Cantrell a shot at competing on a judging team with Eastern Oklahom…

Cover cropping today is anything but a one-size-fits-all approach or a fix-all fencerow prescription. During statewide Soil Health Sustainability for Cropland workshops, Natural Resource and Conservation Service experts taught producers to tailor soil health strategies to meet individual needs.

The agricultural industry literally relies on growth, so the growing use of technology in livestock marketing shouldn’t come as a surprise.

New features — including golf cart rentals, drone demonstrations and added cooling areas — at this year’s Four State Farm Show were a hit with visitors.

After 48 years, a member of the agricultural community in southeast Kansas has decided on his next chapter: Retirement. Phil O’Malley, owner of O’Malley Implement in Pittsburg, has sold his business to Heritage Tractor.

Visitors at the 2018 Four State Farm Show should notice a few changes as they browse the “Mall of Agriculture.” Although old favorites like the hay demonstrations and lawn mower test driving range are returning, several new features have been added.

Families and farming go hand in hand. This sentiment is especially true for the Jackson family, Benton County’s 2018 Farm Family of the Year.

When the Laytons first started raising show pigs about nine years ago, they didn’t know exactly what to expect — and selling a Champion Yorkshire boar for $150,000 at the 2018 World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, wasn’t even on their radar.

Wheat has had an unpredictable year — facing dry conditions, hail events and temperature extremes. While Four State area combines aren’t done rolling, test weights and protein are running close to average, while yields are slightly low.

Oklahoma educators found inspiration outside the classroom in unlikely venues as cattle and sheep ranchers, dairymen, vintners, pecan and bison processors, and farmers opened up their northeast Oklahoma operations for a new kind of learning. During the Ag on Route 66 Tour, an initiative of O…

Though family-owned dairies seem to be dying out, the future is vibrant at Gunter Farms near Conway, Missouri.

Lured away by softly dished foreheads and curious black eyes, Christy Ratliff spent much of her childhood days at dairy shows abandoning her grandfather’s Holsteins and Ayrshires for the undeniable magnetism of Jerseys.

Increasingly positive U.S. market conditions are developing for grain farmers despite turbulent trade negotiations.  Dry conditions in Argentina, late planting in Brazil, and building energy markets are giving economists cause for relief and optimism.

Farmers, agronomists and marketing specialists who gathered for the annual wheat tour at the North Central Oklahoma Research Station at Lahoma on May 11 experienced the kind of hot, windy weather that is likely to take a heavy toll on the maturing crop.

Improving delicate details became a theme during the annual Kansas State University Beef Cattle and Forage Crops Field Day held in Parsons, Kansas. As stateexperts gave summaries of their research and practical applications for farmers and ranchers, an emphasis on minute improvements in prof…

It’s been well known amongst the farm community that wheat has had a rough season. But just how rough hadn’t been determined.

For 44 years, the Four State Farm Show has brought the cream of the crop in agricultural technology and equipment to southeast Kansas.

When Clifford Hershberger began his Pleasant Valley Cattle Co. in the hills outside of Fall River, Kansas, the small but thriving operation consisted of just one animal — a bottle calf named Abigail. Today, with hard work and the support of five generations of farmers before him, Clifford’s …

Though it may be hidden in the hills near Warsaw, Missouri, Square B Cattle Company is not shying away from making its mark on the beef industry.

When Mark Morgan’s grandfather returned from World War II, he bought a fresh piece of ground near family land at the base of the Ozark National Forest, and settled in to producing one of the few crops the rocky soil could sustain — peaches. Today, Morgan represents the fifth generation of fa…

The third annual Ozark Spring Roundup drew in agricultural enthusiasts and horse lovers to the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Missouri, last weekend.

Now considered an endemic area, southeast Kansas has seen its fair share of anaplasmosis cases in the past year, a fact made even more concerning by restrictions on chlortetracycline. During the Kansas State University Extension Beef and Pasture meeting in Fredonia, Kansas, K-State Vet Diagn…

Spring is quickly approaching and that means Four State farmers are itching to get back into their fields.

Beside a coyote nosing through the brush, some out-of-season frogs thumping away in the pond and a pasture fire burning in the east, the gentle sound of mares lipping through fresh alfalfa is the only noise for miles. Even the wind feels hushed.

During Kansas State University Extension’s meeting on cover crops, soil health and grazing, held at Rich Falkenstien’s farm in Oswego, Kansas, participants discussed practical no-till practices and their on-farm implications.

In the day where “fake news” is running rampant on social media, “fake meat” probably shouldn’t shock many of us. However, companies are creating — and marketing — meat grown in a laboratory.

Farming and ranching are legacies built on blood, sweat and tears. Wilson county rancher Rod Vorhees’ birthright came in the form of a hand-me-down copy of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac and these instructions: “This book belonged to your grandmother. It’s much like the Bible — it’s fu…

Fescue is a nutrient rich, cool season forage option for Four State area ranchers. Despite its dense, lush appearance, fescue could be to blame for rate of gain and conception complications in cattle.

The last half of 2017 was a busy time for cattle rustlers in southeast Kansas.

Candor and logic are atypical currency in an age of misinformation. However, Kansas State University professor emeritus Barry Flinchbaugh tackled tough topics facing farmers today with common sense and a little bit of humor. During the annual Kansas Commodity Classic in Manhattan, growers of…

Barely breaking even is not the New Year’s resolution cattle producers want to make, especially in light of a promising end-of-2017 price jump.  In reality, many opportunities for profit still exist for cattle producers but it will take ingenuity, efficiency and common-sense to outlast upcom…

You’ve heard it countless times — “farmers feed the world.” However, few stop to consider just how a soybean grown in southeast Kansas gets to Mexico, Armenia or South Africa.

Calving season brings late nights, vet calls and nothing but trouble to many ranches. The key to feeling helpful rather than hopeless in dystocia situations is knowledge of the parturition process and making key management decisions in advance.

The New Year is not yet two weeks old but producers still have time to set goals for 2018.

On the commodity crop scale, prices and production consistently balance profits. Prices are high but production is low, or production is high and prices are low. This year the scale tipped slightly in favor of southeast Kansas pecan producers, with average production and slightly above avera…

Met with a mixture of hopeful curiosity and resilient resistance, talk of a corporate Tyson Foods facility has swept the Kansas prairie. Montgomery County is one of two counties in the state being considered as a prospective location for the poultry project and all of the opportunities and c…

As families gather around their Christmas trees this holiday season, few will take a pause from the opening of gifts or annual traditions to ponder how the Scotch pine, White pine or Frasier fir came to be in their living rooms.

Low birth weights and explosive weaning weights are bull selection factors commercial and seedstock cattle producers have emphasized in the last 20 years. The result is easier calving and calves with extreme growth potential post-weaning. But, are cow-calf producers reaping the benefits of t…