Fact or Fiction?
In today's information age where everybody's got a venue and is pedaling something, it's hard to know when you're dealing with facts, someone's spin, or just plain fiction.
With some very powerful and monied interests lined up against U.S. farmers and ranchers, understanding the facts about exactly who produces all of our food and fiber in this country is made all the more difficult.
In fact, the Illinois Farm Bureau recently conducted a survey that uncovered some of the public confusion over who is responsible for feeding and clothing America.
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Connecting in Rural America
 In urban and suburban America, it's easy to take advantage of high-speed Internet access. It's available everywhere: at home, at the office, at the local Starbucks. In fact, we are so spoiled that some of us even get put out when we aren't able to get online on an airplane.
In rural America, though, broadband Internet access is still a luxury. Because the population density is low, it is difficult for service providers to recover equipment costs, and rural customers may have to purchase expensive equipment to get connected. The consequences of this speak for themselves: according to the most recent USDA census, less than 32 percent of the nation's farms have broadband connections.
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The Miracle of Corn
 When you stop to think about it, farming is nothing short of a miracle. Earlier this month, Jerry Ploehn of the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council pointed this out to a roomful of farmers, lawmakers, reporters, and others in the agriculture community at the Minnesota Agriculture Leadership Conference in Brainerd, MN.
"Look at this," he said, showing the room a single kernel of corn. "Plant it in the ground, and before you know it, you'll end up with this," he continued, holding up a full ear of corn. "One kernel becomes 560 kernels. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is."
Mr. Ploehn has a good point: it IS pretty amazing. Anybody would jump at the chance to invest a dollar if we knew that it would yield $560 within a matter of months.
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