Thanksgiving

Chef Bryan Flower hurries toward one of the raised “free-to-pick” vegetable, flower and herb beds that flank Neptune North residence and dining hall on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.

Thanksgiving will be here soon, and while the best organizers among us may already have everything in place, most of us are probably still working through our shopping lists.

Ron Dykstra knew from a very young age that he wanted to farm.

What a great harvest we had, huge crop and great weather to harvest in. Aside from the dusty road conditions, I do not recall an easier harvest ever.

During the first two weeks of June, the Rahn family is going in many different directions, including making hay and spraying a second pass of herbicides to control weeds in their crop fields.

I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving with family and friends. I hope you had the opportunity to take some time to relax and reenergize your mind and body. I hope you allowed yourself some time to rest.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, some will be traveling a few miles down the road to gather with family and friends. Others may travel a few thousand miles.

Demeter is a common name in the grain trade. For example, Indiana-centered Demeter LP was a family-owned, regional grain business for more than 50 years.

The mill and store are very busy getting ready for Small Business Saturday. This special shopping day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a chance to support local businesses.

My philosophy is I need something to get me motivated every morning. What do all you grain farmers use as motivation after harvest?

There should be no shortage of turkey at the grocery store this year, according to the National Turkey Federation.

Most Americans will enjoy a special Thanksgiving meal this year, according to the October 2023 Consumer Food Insights Report out of Purdue University.

The cost of purchasing a turkey could be lower this Thanksgiving, thanks to a drop in avian influenza cases and a recovery of the turkey population in the United States.

How can every harvest be so similar and yet completely different? The goal is always the same — get everything through the combine and into bins, and yet there are so many circumstances that come into play.

I am a firm believer in lifelong learning. It seems as though that takes a lot of time these days, as I sometimes struggle with the technology advances and everything being “apps.”

On my way to Kansas City a couple of weeks ago, I stopped at a Dollar General store to pick up some Halloween candy for the kids that come by our stalls at the American Royal cattle show.

Chris Gould started harvest combining his Plenish beans and is pleased with the results for the first time he has grown the high oleic soybean variety.

Finally there’s no more talk of drought. The recent rains have kept the pastures looking good. Harvest in this area is probably on par with other years — many finished with beans, but not so much here.

Classifying Holstein cows gives dairymen an unbiased evaluation of the phenotype of their cows. “That information is used in two ways,” said Maureen DeBruin, classifier for Holstein Association USA.

The rush is on as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season ramps up. It seems like there’s never enough hours in the days or days in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. We will be sending the last of our pastured hogs to the locker, so one less winter chore. We take orders in the spring from our regular customers and add a few more for new customers and buy our Berkshires from Ralph by East Peoria.

Today it is like winter here in northern Illinois — a rain/snow mixture with the cold wind blowing. As I like to say, it is “wool weather!” Those wool socks, sweaters and jackets feel so cozy.

Americans look forward to celebrating the simplest of gifts and gathering with family and friends around the table during the holiday season. It is also often a time of giving thanks as Illinois farmers mark the end of another growing season.

Even though it is becoming the dreaded winter out there, it is good to feel the fresh air and get away from the noise. No, I am not thinking of the traffic or another distraction, but the constant pounding we have taken from the political ads.

We have about 500 acres of corn to do, so we’re almost done. The mid-May planted corn yielded really good. The late-May and early-June corn had good yields, but it didn’t fully mature, so the test weight is lacking, which kept it from being really good.

If you don’t understand the allure, gyrating value and many crack-ups of cryptocurrency, a few words from New York University’s Nouriel Roubini, the economist who predicted the 2007-2008 housing collapse, might help.

The weather in November has been surprising. The warmer temperatures have been really nice. We had a chance to complete many of the projects on our fall to-do list. Harvest around us is going strong and it is a pleasure to see the combines in the field.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. I keep looking at the 10-day weather forecast for a return of fall, but so far it looks more like winter to me. Harvest is now over for us and thanks to my neighbor’s drill we have 75 acres of wheat that’s looking good.

Well, with the coming of fall, the breeding flock goes into landscaping duties, so they have been traveling from farm to farm, making farmettes look pretty. With the warm weather we’ve had, it’s been fun and nice, but reality hit the third week of November.

I was just on the road heading to another Farm Bureau meeting when one of my granddaughters called to say hello. She peppered me with questions about where I was and why I was going there. After I hung up, I smiled and thought, “I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.”

Several studies by reputable psychologists from The University of California, Davis, and University of Miami and University of Pennsylvania, published in a Harvard Health report, found that giving thanks can make you happier.

As widespread rains begin to slowly refill lakes, reservoirs and rivers, Thanksgiving thoughts turn back to the southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth where the Mississippi River, just a mile from our dairy barn, was a constant, often dominating presence.

Making the Thanksgiving meal can be stressful because there are many things that can go wrong. So, here are fixes to the most common fails. But first we’re going to make an emergency kit like an insurance policy in case of disaster.

With Halloween and the midterm election in the rearview, I’m ready for the holiday season to begin! There is much for which to be grateful this Thanksgiving. I love the holiday season first and foremost because Christmas celebrates the birth of my Savior.

This has been an amazing fall. We never know what to expect, but we’ve only had a couple of days off and the corn has dried down great. This field is 20% and yesterday the moisture was at 18%. We were fearful a month ago about drying costs, but it worked out.

Turkey prices this year are around 20% more expensive than in 2021, according to Jayson Lusk, professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Thankfully, the price increase has slowed down.

The average consumer seems to think about nutrition in a way that’s similar to experts, according to the Consumer Food Insights Report, which assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies, and trust in information sources.

At the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo, held Oct. 26-29 in Indianapolis, nearly 70,000 students, advisers and guests from across the United States congregated in and around Lucas Oil Stadium to celebrate the successes of FFA members.

In a season traditionally overflowing with good things to eat, let’s add another entry to the dessert table, shall we? I’m talking about pumpkin bread pudding. This recipe elevates bread pudding to holiday worthy status.

Steve Pitstick started harvesting soybeans about a week later than he planned this year. “Part of that is due to the later than normal start in the spring and we had a cloudy, somewhat cool summer,” said Pitstick who farms about 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans near Maple Park.

Lincoln Slagel enjoys doing research and when his college roommate introduced him to craft beer, he looked deeper into it.

It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to show gratitude for the good things in life. According to “The Health Benefits of Gratitude” from PIH Health, focusing on good things may improve your mental and physical health.

In the marketplace and in politics, nothing changes the outlook and direction of valuations and policy more quickly and more dramatically than an event. An event can be a shock felt around the world.

Southern Illinois has had some nice weather over the last few weeks. We are getting a little rain along, but not so much yet that is making for too much mud. We have been anywhere from low 20s to low 70s, but nonetheless have made for some really nice working days.

‘Tis the week after Thanksgiving and holiday baking is officially in season. As we gear up for all the hoopla and fa la la la la-ing, who has time to bake cookies?

I’ve been hooked on the Paramount Network series “Yellowstone” since the first episode aired in June 2018. It is rife with offensive language, corrupt politicians and corporations, but the writing is tight and the story, about a sixth-generation Montana rancher fighting to keep his land, is relatable to most in agriculture today.

As I continue traveling around the country, everywhere I visit, I’m hearing from farmers and ranchers that can’t get needed supplies like fertilizer, crop protectants, parts for equipment and even some seeds for next year’s planting season.

It’s a rare day when I don’t have an avocado “in waiting” on my kitchen counter. And when it’s just ripe, guacamole is bound to be on the dinner menu as an appetizer with tortilla chips or as a final crowning dollop on a quesadilla, taco or grilled fish.

Harvest 2021 is over at Meier Grain and Livestock Farms. We were able to get the last of the corn out of the field before the latest rain. Some of it still needs to go through the dryer and some is dry enough to go straight to filling our December contracts in a week and a half.

The rain in late October and early November is not a favorite of farmers. For my pastures, the rain has given them extra life. The sheep should be able to get enough grass until the end of November with only a little supplement.