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	<title>AgFax Editors</title>
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	<description>What we think.</description>
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	<copyright>Copyright &#xA9; AgFax Editors 2011 </copyright>
	<managingEditor>dferguson@agfax.com (AgFax Editors)</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>dferguson@agfax.com (AgFax Editors)</webMaster>
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	<itunes:summary>What we think.</itunes:summary>
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	<itunes:author>AgFax Editors</itunes:author>
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		<itunes:name>AgFax Editors</itunes:name>
		<itunes:email>dferguson@agfax.com</itunes:email>
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		<title>AgFax Editors Blog: I&#8217;m taking a college course online! OMG</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2013/01/31/agfax-editors-blog-im-taking-a-college-course-online-omg/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2013/01/31/agfax-editors-blog-im-taking-a-college-course-online-omg/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:52:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agfax editors blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coursera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learning on line]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://agfax-editors.com/?p=318</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Warning: This could go well, or not. I&#8217;ll let you know if I start having dreams of finding myself in a classroom wearing my pajamas. Don&#8217;t tell me you&#8217;ve never had that dream! I&#8217;ll be blogging in the next few weeks about what it&#8217;s like to take a college course online after many years out of the classroom. I graduated from college in 1974 (a long, long time ago) with an English degree. Over the years, I have been in classroom environments, including:  a year and 2 weeks in night law school (that&#8217;s another story) and a dozen-plus intensive learning environments to hone my photographic technique and Photoshop skills. There is a whole new concept for learning online and coursera.org is opening the doors of major universities to people who want to learn what they don&#8217;t know or better understand what they do know, but who don&#8217;t have the time, money or other resources to attend classes. And, guess what, it&#8217;s FREE!  The course I have chosen is offered through the University of Virginia &#8211; Darden School of  Business. Week 1 &#8211; Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses, Part 1 The first round of reading for this course [...]]]></description>
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		<title>AgFax Editors Blog: Coffee Shop Talk?</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2013/01/29/agfax-editors-blog-coffee-shop-talk/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2013/01/29/agfax-editors-blog-coffee-shop-talk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:17:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[agfax editors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://agfax-editors.com/?p=307</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Traditionally, every small town has a gathering place where locals either start their day with breakfast or stop in for lunch. Our office staff started wondering if the &#8220;coffee shop&#8221; talk was still a reliable source of information for farmers.  We posted the question below on the AgFax Facebook page. The answers surprised us and now we&#8217;re wondering if Facebook is the &#8220;new&#8221; coffee shop.Want to share your thoughts? Comment below or Email me at:  dferguson@agfax.com So, how much stock do you put in what you hear about ag stuff at the coffee shop – or McDonald’s or Dairy Queen or wherever local folks gather? Not much unless they are talking about something that worked or didn&#8217;t work on their farm. That way u know it ether cost them or made them money. Mostly it is incorrect info or something totally left field&#8230;or the questions of someone who knows absolutely nothing about farming,those are the ones I like to educate.  None, gotta find out for yourself. Zero. I don&#8217;t have time for the coffee shop bunch. As a rule, those are the ones not out there working as long as some of those that really get it done. They usually [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Farming: It&#8217;s Not All About US as Individuals</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/09/18/farming-its-not-all-about-us-as-individuals/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/09/18/farming-its-not-all-about-us-as-individuals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:22:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[connecticut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[massachusetts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new hampshire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new york]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[northeast agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rhode island]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://agfax-editors.com/?p=296</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most of us think of &#8220;real farming&#8221; as the place we happen to be practicing or living it (in my case reporting or photographing it).  Individually, that means our mindset is all about row crops or catfish ponds in the Mid-south, or Midwest corn and soybeans, or even the diverse fields of California crops from artichokes to cotton. But what about the northeastern part of the country? Reminds me, did you ever see one of those gimmick maps of the U.S. where the state of Texas is larger than the rest of the country put together? I think that&#8217;s what many of us envision about the northeast.  Everything above Virginia must be an extension of New York City, right? Nope. Not right. Contrary to the information we are usually exposed to, the business of agriculture, including commercial fishing and forestry, are key to the success of the northeastern region, which means they are key to our entire nation (including Texas!). A recent study from Farm Credit East, the largest lender to Northeast agriculture, found that: the 64,570 farms and related businesses throughout the six-state region of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire and Rhode Island produced an estimated [...]]]></description>
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		<title>California Rice Has a Long History</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/08/30/california-rice-has-a-long-history/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/08/30/california-rice-has-a-long-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:49:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[california]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[california rice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rice]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://agfax-editors.com/?p=290</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most of the time we southerners think of the rice growing states as Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, but today I was reminded that California also has a long history in growing rice. Based on the photos, the Rice Experiment Station Field Day this week in Biggs, California, looked just like any other field day with farmers loaded on trailers taking a look at the latest test plots while they listened to state rice specialists. The big difference is that the event was a celebration of the Biggs Field Station&#8217;s 100th anniversary.  And, it must have been a humdinger attended by 600 farmers and industry representatives. The station has come along way in the history of  California rice with the release of 44 varieties, ranging from late maturing and low yields in the early years to short, early maturing high yielders of today. The Complete Article &#160; &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>3 Young Farmers Go Viral With &#8220;I&#8217;m Farming and I Grow It&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/28/3-young-farmers-go-viral-with-im-farming-and-i-grow-it/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/28/3-young-farmers-go-viral-with-im-farming-and-i-grow-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jun 2012 22:49:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=284</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you recognize the song, &#8220;I&#8217;m Sexy and I Know It&#8221; then you can hum along with &#8220;I&#8217;m  Farming and I Grow It.&#8221; Or you can just spend the whole song laughing! Young Assaria, Kansas, farmer Greg Peterson hates the LMFAO song, but while sitting at the Sonic one afternoon and hearing the dreaded &#8220;Sexy&#8221; song, he decide to write his own version. Starring as &#8220;Rappers&#8221; in the utube video are Greg and his brothers, Nathan and Kendal who weren&#8217;t happy when they had to do the sunrise scene. It had been a long week of cutting wheat and feeding cows, but brother Greg kept the production going.  Their sister Laura helped with the video, which also includes their parents and 88-year-old grandmother. Greg Peterson posted the video on Utube on Monday, June 25, and within 24 hours, it went viral on YouTube and Facebook.  As of today, June 28, the video has been viewed a Million-Plus times! Take a look for yourself!]]></description>
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		<title>Competition and Agriculture: U.S. Department of Justice Releases Report</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/25/competition-and-agriculture-u-s-department-of-justice-releases-report/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/25/competition-and-agriculture-u-s-department-of-justice-releases-report/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:58:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Competition and Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Monopsony Power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Justice report on agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=274</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Free and fair competition&#8221; in agriculture is what Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, had in mind when he set up workshops to explore the subject in 2010.  The U.S. Department of Justice recently released this report from the workshops: &#8220;Competition and Agriculture: Voices from the Workshops on Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement in our 21st Century Economy and Thoughts on the Way Forward.&#8221; Yes, that title is a mouth full but it does make for interesting reading.  The full 24 page report is available as a downloadable pdf. According to the report, the intent of the workshop was to learn from real-world experiences of farmers, including farmers, processors, cooperatives, academics, and others who make agriculture their lives’ work. The workshop locations included: Iowa, Alabama, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington, D.C. Here are few highlights I found interesting: Poultry growers in the South expressed different concerns than row-crop farmers in the Midwest, dairymen in California and New York, ranchers in the Plains States, and hog producers in the Southeast. Moreover, producers in the same line of business did not always share the same perspective. Anticompetitive Mergers were described as beneficial concentrated marketplaces for agribusiness, but not necessarily good for farmers. High market concentration [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Photograph Captures a Small Town Moment in the 1930s</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/22/photograph-captures-a-moment-in-1930s-agriculture/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/22/photograph-captures-a-moment-in-1930s-agriculture/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:09:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=201</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One click of a camera decades ago offers a quick trip back to the late 1930s in downtown Cleveland, Mississippi, at the north end of Sharpe Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. This tidy row of Model A (correct me if you know for sure!) tractors stands in front of the first home of the West Implement Company, the local farm equipment dealership. That splash of newly delivered bright green John Deere models was like a magnet to local farmers. The hat-wearing individual in the foreground appears to ponder over one of the new tractors. Priced in the $800 to $1,000 range, it was a wide jump for folks who were still using plows and mules to work many Delta fields. Effects of the Great Depression would have been lingering making anyone question a financial jump into mechanized farming. Everything was changing. I&#8217;m guessing this was a Saturday based on the number of trucks and cars parked in the surrounding area. Saturday was &#8220;go to town&#8221; day for most people and the work day sometimes ended early. Families headed into town as a diversion from farm life, but mainly to buy the essentials. Deep into the photograph are the town railroad [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Mississippi Delta &#8211; If You Can Make it Here, You Can Make it&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/03/the-mississippi-delta-if-you-can-make-it-here-you-can-make-it/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/06/03/the-mississippi-delta-if-you-can-make-it-here-you-can-make-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:45:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L Ferguson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mississippi delta]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gone. Thatâ€™s the one word repetitive answer a newspaper reporter heard when he interviewed small town leaders about the Mississippi Delta&#8217;s shrinking population. Where are the people? Gone. Where are the jobs? Gone. I guess it makes sense for the Memphis newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, to take a poke at the region. Longtime Mississippi Deltans have considered Memphis, Tennessee, the â€œcapital of North Mississippiâ€ for years. I grew up there decades ago, and didnâ€™t make it to Jackson, the real capital of Mississippi, until I was 21. Why drive south when the bright lights of Memphis were less than 2 hours away? Thereâ€™s no doubt that the city of Memphis has noticed fewer Mississippi vehicles and less Delta dollars headed north on Highway 61 in the past 10 years. According to U.S. census figures, 16 Arkansas and Mississippi Delta counties lost a total ofÂ  more than 56,000 people from 2000 to 2010. Those are painfully drastic numbers which are often blamed onÂ  industry going elsewhere, changes in modern agriculture and theÂ  simple need to reach out and see what life has to offer elsewhere. Leaving the Delta is not a new concept, but neither is coming to the Delta. In [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>African Water Reserves &#8211; Up Until Now &#8211; Have Been An Unknown Quantity</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/05/29/african-water-reserves-up-until-now-have-been-an-unknown-quantity/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/05/29/african-water-reserves-up-until-now-have-been-an-unknown-quantity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 May 2012 18:18:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ernst Undesser</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ernst Undesser]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irrigation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[water]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=190</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Researchers are gaining a better idea about how much water Africa holds in vast, untapped reservoirs. Writing in the Christian Science Monitor, Pete Spotts reports on a study conducted by the British Geological Survey and University College London that quantifies for the first time the extent of the continentâ€™s underground water reserves and to some extent how accessible they are. At a time when many African countries are attempting to ramp up agriculture production, the report may have implications about where farm expansion might or might not be possible. Among the findings: The amount of water stored in the underground aquifers is some 20 times more than that in all the continentâ€™s lakes and 100 times that received from annual rainfall. The largest reserves lie beneath Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, and Chad, but are located far from population centers and stopped accumulating about 5,000 years ago.Â  Consequently these reserves will be difficult and expensive to access. Sub-Saharan Africa contains smaller aquifers that are closer to cities and villages, making them easier and more economical to tap into but also more vulnerable to contamination. These aquifers should, in theory, meet demands of rural communities and small irrigation needs if they are [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Shredder Versus Farm Burning Barrel</title>
		<link>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/05/28/shredder-versus-burning-barrel/</link>
		<comments>http://agfax-editors.com/2012/05/28/shredder-versus-burning-barrel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 May 2012 16:02:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Debra L Ferguson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[By Editor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Debra L. Ferguson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.agfax-editors.com/?p=187</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Doesn&#8217;t the inflow of paper into your life just drive you crazy? How about the stack of stuff that&#8217;s riding around in your truck, car, or dare I say it, piled in the bathroom? We&#8217;ve all got too much paper and too little time to deal with it. My worst moment recently was finding an important financial printout that was inexplicably lying amidst a pile of McDonald&#8217;s dirty cups and wrappers on the floor of my truck. Worse yet, I had been looking for this particular &#8220;very important&#8221; paper for a month. And, there it was &#8212; out in front of God and the garbage man &#8212; my very private personal data. I still haven&#8217;t figured out why that particular document was in my truck. Getting back to my shredder dilemma&#8230; I think our small office has put at least 5 units out in the local land fill in the past 3 years. Yeah, I&#8217;m tough on them. My paranoia about my &#8220;stuff&#8221; ending up on stealmyidentity.com (I made that up!) keeps that little machine humming. That factor is also linked with my need to get rid of credit cards. In heated moments of debt cleansing, I know I&#8217;ve shoved [...]]]></description>
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