Western Nebraska Observer - Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Grandpa Tommy was reminiscing, “It’s a shame everybody couldn’t go through the Great Depression.” I know what he meant. I think. He didn’t mean it like “It’s a shame everybody hadn’t been in a concentration camp or had polio.” He...

Annette George, owner of the Soup ‘R Market, picked up the list of her New Year’s resolutions: 1. Replace cracked glass on the meat cooler. 2. Walk two miles each morning before work. 3. Lose 15 pounds by summer. 4. Take a class in Spanish. She t...

As 2012 winds down I thought a little reflecting back would be a good thing to do. Sometimes it helps to look back on your successes that you were a part of over the past year and take a hard look at your failures to keep you humble and to continue... Full story

The Nebraska Forest Service announces the 2013 Western Tree Care Workshops in Chadron, Scottsbluff, Sidney, Valentine, North Platte, and McCook in January. These full-day workshops will address some of the challenges associated with growing trees...

The dry conditions that began in May and then escalated into a drought of historic proportions is the state’s top agriculture story of 2012, Nebraska Farm Bureau said in releasing its annual list of the Top 5 Nebraska Agriculture News Stories of... Full story

Nebraska Farm Bureau’s voting delegates reiterated their support for efforts to reform Nebraska’s tax system as a means to provide tax relief and help enhance Nebraska’s economic competitiveness. Property tax relief was chief among concerns...

We started out the year in Pasadena riding in the Rose Parade as part of RFD-TV’s 100 Palominos entry. I came home with flowers in my hair!  It was one of five speaking programs I did (out of 65 in 2012) that were in California. The National Wes...

‘Twas the morning after Christmas, and all through the Mule Barn truck stop’s philosophy counter … “Happy Boxing Day!” said Herb, settling in and flipping his cup to the upright and fillable position. “Boxing Day?” said Steve. “It cer...

I hope everyone is able to spend the holidays with friends and family spreading good cheer throughout our region. We have the results of our cover crop biomass sampling back and the cover crops performed about like we thought they would. I think we...

Fruit and vegetable growers, both large and small, are becoming increasingly aware of the food safety issues related to field-grown produce, and the importance of food safety to consumers. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in...

Moustaches have become de rigueur in certain lifestyle choices; mountain men, Arctic explorers, Fu Man Chu-ists, carnival acts like the bearded lady and cowboy poets. As we know, if something becomes popular, the government soon tries to get...

When Pop Walker sneaked out the kitchen door the other day, it affected all of us. He’s been a resident of the Rest of Your Life retirement home for several years now. He still remembers who said what during combat in Europe, but has a hard time re...

In the past couple of articles I’ve talked about how we have added diversity into our cropping rotations to diversify markets and improve soil health. We have added field peas into our dry land cropping rotation which has allowed us to diversify ou...

Todd Parsons, a well known Kimball County farmer/rancher was re-elected to the Kimball County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Committee for a three year term by the voters of the Bushnell Local Administrative Area (LAA) on December 5, 2012. Parsons will...

In the wake of a series of regional drought conferences with farmers, ranchers, business owners and other stakeholders, USDA is entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and...

The South Platte Natural Resources District received a clean bill of health in its financial practices, according to the annual audit results presented to the board of directors at the District’s December board meeting. Presenting the report,...

Henry David Thoreau wrote a whole book about a pond and never got wet.  He simply took the time to ponder. I, too, find myself pondering life’s mystery; like what is the purpose of a dewclaw? To measure the dew? Why do horses have canine...

It was Herb who discovered it. He went into the Read Me Now bookstore to ask Sarah if she had the latest Farmer’s Almanac (he always plants vegetables in the bowels of something) and found she had hired a Santa’s helper to talk to the children....

My trip to Pierre, South Dakota went well considering the wintery conditions I drove through on my way there. We had a couple of inches of snow here in Alliance and as I drove north through the Hay Springs and Rushville area they had significant...

Social media has become an exciting way to enhance a farm or food business’s marketing activities, allowing the owner, or manager, to connect directly with customers in new and meaningful ways. Often, it’s these connections, or relationships,...