Producer Features

Last November, one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history screamed through central California. An entire nation watched as the town of Paradise went up in flames.

Alfalfa hay is the bread and butter of Alturas Ranches in northeast California – but what’s made the ranch a stalwart in the California hay industry might be a mindset bent on continual improvement.

Tom Kestell likes to joke his family’s physical stature means they’ll never be selected first when choosing sides for a basketball team.

Sometimes what has worked for years isn’t working anymore. Running a stocker program has worked for Cooper Brothers Farm for decades, but circumstances today have changed, and they’re converting to a cow-calf operation.

You’ve heard of the Texas two-step, a country dance. Let me introduce you to the Texas three-twist – cultivation, diversification and cooperation – involving sprigs, hay and custom work.

For the Rice family, farming has always been a family affair. With the sixth generation coming back to the farm, there is no denying farming is in their blood. Brothers Scott and Steve Rice operate a production alfalfa farm in Wilsonville, Nebraska, the town where they were born and raised.