As I was outside with my kids waiting for them to catch their big yellow bus to begin another school year, I was reminded of how all of the back-toschool excitement is similar to the anticipation of fall on the farm. Being that it’s a new school year, the kids are understandably excited to return to school.

ife By Rachael Brooke Rooks County’s Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent Harvesting Drought Stressed Corn as Forage Before directly grazing or mechanically harvesting the corn as forage, check the labels of all chemicals that were applied. Be sure all pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) applied to the crop are cleared for forage and the minimum harvest interval has been met.

The most important thing is to get out and vote in November. It is the best way for us to make our voices heard. It was ingrained in me early on that if you did not participate and vote, you really had no right to complain. I know I still get a feeling of pride every time I go to the polls and cast my vote. Regardless of how I feel about the slate of candidates or the issues I am voting on, I do get a great deal of satisfaction participating in the process. It isn’t perfect, but it is the best in the world. So go cast your vote and wear that sticker with pride, you earned it.

Trees Losing Leaves from Summer Stress There are three situations we may run into regarding tree leaf loss this summer. The tree may produce yellow leaves scattered throughout the canopy of the tree, all the leaves on a tree may turn yellow and drop or the leaves may turn brown but stick to the branches.

The world belongs those who show up. That simple idea has become one of the cardinal rules in my life.

Blue Green Algae Season Calm, sunny, dry, and hot days of summer create ideal conditions for blue green algae to thrive in our livestock ponds. Blue green algae occurrence is sporadic making its threat unpredictable.

It’s ironic how I checked my weather app multiple times daily as we harvested wheat in June. We wanted to get the crop out of the fields before the summer storms rolled in, which always offers the potential of damaging hail or winds and could put harvest on hold while things would need to dry up.

ATV Safety It’s the time of year where many of us are enjoying the outdoors; for some this includes riding ATVs. To prevent injuries please follow The ATV Safety Institute’s Golden Rules: • Always wear a DOT-compliant helmet, goggles, long sleeves, long pants, over-the-ankle boots, and gloves.

Blister Beetles Blister beetles are notorious for quickly stripping vegetables (especially tomatoes) and ornamentals of their foliage. There are several species of blister beetles which vary in size (often between 0.5- 0.75 inch long) and color (such as black, gray or brown-striped), but most are recognized by their elongated, narrow, cylindrical, soft bodies with middle body part (thorax) narrower than the head or wingcovers.

We have turned the calendar to July, and that means different things to different people. For students and teachers July means summer is at the halfway point, and the first day of school is near. For those of us in agriculture it means haying season and watching fall crops grow. In the Farm Bureau world, July is the start of county Farm Bureau annual meetings.