Jennifer Kiel

1 week ago | farmprogress.com | Jennifer Kiel

With 39 years of continuous no-till experience, Les Seiler says this planting season was one of the worst for getting through dead crop residue on his farm in Ohio’s northwest Fulton County. Seiler farms 1,700 acres, including acreage in Michigan’s Lenawee County, with son Nathan, brother Jerry and Jerry’s son, Jerad. They raise corn, soybeans and wheat. Planting started with soybeans April 24.

1 week ago | farmprogress.com | Jennifer Kiel

On a three-quarter-mile-long field in northwest Ohio, a rain gauge at each end of the field tells the story for much of Ohio’s May planting season. During one event, “We had 2 inches [of rain] on the west end of the field and 4 inches on the east end,” says Jeff Duling, who farms about 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, red clover, cattle, hogs and some chickens in Putnam County. Check out Duling’s rundown on the planting season by clicking on the video taken June 9.

2 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Jennifer Kiel

Having grown up on a hobby farm with cows, horses, sheep and goats, Sara Coakley set her sights on becoming a veterinarian. After high school graduation, she moved out of her childhood home in Granville, Ohio, and started attending Columbus State Community College. Things seemed to be on course, but the idea of eight years of student loans weighed on her. With her parents out of town, she returned home to dog-sit.

3 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Jennifer Kiel

Feeling a dull pain on the back of my head, I ran my fingers through my hair and noticed a little bump on my scalp. This was two days after Mother’s Day, when I had taken a stroll through the woods behind my mom’s house where I grew up. Tromping through the woods, I had my eyes zoned at finding some morel mushrooms, but more so to enjoy the peace of nature and celebrate the end of winter.

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Jennifer Kiel

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series. The next story will highlight the producers’ yields and dig deeper into cost of production and return on investment. “The idea is not to let wheat have a bad day — spoon-feed it just like corn,” says Brad Kamprath of Ida, Mich. Timing is critical with wheat, everything from planting to nitrogen applications.