Producer Features

President of American Forage and Grassland Council 

What’s your professional background?

Bob Barker, from Waverly, Iowa, says, “Leonard Rayhons told me way back when I was in high school, ‘Bob, make sure you marry a two-bucket girl.’ I looked at him puzzled and said, ‘What's a two bucket girl?’ Leonard, who was 80-plus years old, said, ‘A two-bucket girl is a girl that can do two or more things at once – helping on the farm, no matter what the job, wash your hog clothes without complaining, have lunches for the tractor, manage the house and be the glue of the family.’”

The old adage “If you build it, they will come” is something Canadian grower Derek Axten swears by. He has found that through a mix of progressive practices, he can improve biological activity and soil quality, while achieving every farmer’s dream of increasing profitability.

There’s an old story about two men on a train. One of them, seeing some naked-looking sheep in a field, said, “Those sheep have just been sheared.” The other looked a moment longer and then said, “They seem to be – on this side.” (Mindfulness, Ellen Langer)

Growing alfalfa isn’t as easy as it looks, says Glenn Obermann of Monet, Missouri. “I don’t want anybody to go out and think they can just plant it and be successful.” He ought to know – he’s won the Missouri state hay competition three out of the last five years, and was runner-up the rest of the time.

Progressive Forage Grower Editor Author Mike Myatt (Forbes, Dec. 19, 2012) discussed the difference between leadership training (bad) and leadership development (good).