Farming Methods
Canning Tips
For some people this time of year, canning seems to be a constant pastime, or maybe I should say passion—like when I was still peeling cucumbers at midnight after judging at the state fair. Who doesn't enjoy seeing shelves of jars of home canned tomatoes, peaches...
Is That Garlic I Smell?
When you scoop up a handful of cattle feed normally, you will smell scents of molasses, bread (from the distiller’s grain) and hay. However, during fly season you might smell garlic. Fly season is one of many seasons farmers and ranchers have in addition to the...
Soil Investor: Stop that Soil
If people could see one thing about our farm, I wish they could see how much we care. I think about our crops all the time. I think about it at the gas station when I fill up my tank with E151. I think about our corn when I diaper my 11-month-old daughter. There are...
Recycle, Repurpose and Reuse!
The agriculture industry has always been concerned about waste. I think it boils down to the fact that as farmers, we are efficiency-minded and economically oriented. We reuse parts of machinery and always have a stash of parts that may or may not have any future...
Cattle: The Ultimate Upcyclers
I have had a love for animals and a desire to live on a farm since I was a child. Little did I know my adult life would be spent caring for animals on a farm as I raised a family with my husband. For the past 41 years I went from knowing very little about raising...
What to Expect, When You’re Expecting – Sheep Edition
There isn’t a “What to Expect, When You’re Expecting” book for sheep producers, but we have started to create our own book. On our farm, we practice an accelerated lambing program, which means we are lambing every eight months. Since we are lambing more frequently, it...
Hailed Crops and Dad’s Advice
The older I get, the more I realize how smart my parents are. My dad has always had little tidbits of wisdom that he periodically sprinkles into conversations, and it is absolutely amazing to me how many times he is right. Recently we had a horrible hail storm here in...
Food Labels Q & A
My husband, Beau, and I are the fourth generation (raising the fifth) to farm the Klug family’s land in Columbus, Nebraska, where we raise cattle, and crops. My husband works alongside his dad and brother every day to ensure livestock are properly fed, watered and...
Planting Tomatoes for a Bountiful Harvest
https://youtu.be/XcioVPw1e2Y Pure Nebraska interview about planting tomatoes. As gardening time approaches, here are a few tips for getting the most from your tomato planting experience. Seed selection is the first decision. Look on the seed packet or the plant...
Prescribed Burning: Why Farmers Do It
Prescribed burning. It may sound like an oxymoron, but a prescribed burn is a valuable tool for farmers and ranchers as they manage grass and rangeland for grazing. By definition, a prescribed burn is a planned fire; it is also sometimes called a “controlled...