If you pull something like this from
between your corn rows, keep it.

     Take care of your soil and it will take care of you. Especially around Hiddenite, North Carolina. Ninety-year-old Renn Adams and his siblings own a farm there where every once in awhile you might plow up an emerald or two. There was a time when the Adams family charged folks $3 a day to wield their shovels and take away any green goodies they might find. Terry Ledford, described in newspaper reports as a family partner, pulled an emerald out of the dirt a few years ago, and he could tell right away it was none of those run-of-the-mill emeralds, fit more for show-and-tell than a jewler's setting. Ledford's stone was big and dark and, well...big. After some cutting and polishing, processes that removed more than four-fifths of the stone's weight, the end product was a 65-carat gem about as big as a quarter and as heavy as a AA battery. It was cut to resemble a similarly sized emerald once owned by Catherine the Great, empress of Russia. That stone sold at Christies in New York this past April for a cool $1.65 million, which even if the Adamses and Ledford split it a few ways, is a sight better than 300-bushel corn. So, next time you're picking rocks, you might want to look down now and then to be sure it's not just a chunk of flint in your hand. AP writer Emery P. Dalesio wrote a gem of a story about the find, which you can read here: http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_us_carolina_emerald.html

Lyle Klingaman talks to visitors about
his high density grazing methods.

     High density grazing cuts feed costs and boosts profits for a Pa. cattleman with a herd of 20 Angus cows. By moving his animals from pasture to pasture, sometimes as often as twice a day, healthier grass, healthier cattle and a healthier bank account he told a group of about 25 curious farmers who turned out for a field day at his Mainville farm. The farmer, Lyle Klingaman, along with the Columbia County Extension Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service hosted the field day. Lancaster Farming correspondent Lisa Leighton covered the event and prepared a report which you can read in our current edition. Or check it out online at our website here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/High-Density-Grazing-Taking-Smaller-Bite-of-Farmer-s-Profits


     If I ever get old, I want to be like Mary Maxwell. http://www.caregiverstress.com/2010/07/a-reminder-that-laughter-is-the-best-medicine/