By Chandler Bowers

As I am top dressing wheat with fertilizer and herbicide, I am reminded of the sacrifices that we all must make to keep the world revolving for generations to come.

There are lots of sacrifices made by farm families in order to keep their businesses profitable. Long hours, seasonal vacations, the unpredictability of Mother Nature—these are just a few of the challenges that we face. And that’s just the beginning of the “lessons learned at the end of a dirt road.”

So, if these lessons are so great, why would young people come back to farm and ranch?

By Mike Barnett

When I drive out in the country this time of year I think of Vegas, where the high rollers gamble their stake for a winning bet.

No bright lights, rustling crowds and the whir of slot machines in Central Texas. Instead, I see red and green tractors and a variety of farm equipment. It’s a different kind of gambling and farmers have anted up all winter, developing their game plan, preparing the land and laying down fertilizer. Now it’s time to go all-in and the rumble of high-powered machinery could be heard this weekend as farmers dropped seed into the ground.

By Justin Dauer

I’m often puzzled by the notion that livestock are abused in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

I know some of that sentiment is generated by images seen on television or the internet of animal mistreatment. Just to set the record straight, I think anyone who abuses livestock should be out of the business. I do not condone abuse of any animal for any reason. Neither do the other farmers and ranchers I know.

But I can tell you about the welfare of my livestock.

By Gene Hall

My co-writer of this blog, Mike Barnett, penned this week an entertaining piece about how telephones for farmers and others have changed, historically speaking.  I’d like to move that thought one step further.

Farm organizations, like Texas Farm Bureau, grew quickly in the 20^th Century because farmers felt isolated and alone in rural America.  Always near the end of the line when services made American life easier, rural Texans often could not speak for themselves.  They managed it by adopting policy positions and empowering Farm Bureau to speak for them.

By Billy Howe
TFB State Legislative Director

On May 29, Republicans and Democrats will go to the polls to elect their party’s nominee for the general election in November. But, in reality, they are electing the person who will win the general election and be your next State Representative, State Senator or Congressman.

Political reality is that every 10 years the Texas Legislature redraws the districts for these offices in a fashion where the outcome of the general election is pre-determined. Congressional and state legislative districts are so weighted either Republican or Democrat that the general election is meaningless.