Ramsey County

August 13, 2007

Howdy!!!

As I write this column today, I am reminded of grammar and spell check.  Many times we will do things or write things that seem to make sense and after an hour or a day look back on the subject matter or content of the material you have prepared and realize that it is gibberish or does make any sense.  Well this happened to me the last two articles.  Two weeks ago I rambled and last week sentences were out of place.  Writing of this style makes for a very hard read and also keeps the reader confused.  In last weeks article I meant what I said about the rewards of finishing a project and having it turn out better than expected, but the way I wrote the article did not make much sense.  Many people would say that is just the way I am but actually I enjoy writing this column and hope that you, the reader, can use part of this column for your everyday activities.  My intent is to write in a fashion where you can relate to happenings of your everyday life and know that you are not the only one that had something happen that was different. 

With this being said I learned a new trick driving yesterday.  I always try to drive defensively but yesterday I was not only a defensive driver but also one that appreciated being upright at the end of the day.  There are many things that can go wrong when putting your trust in the driver in front of you but when the dust settles there are drivers in front of the driver in front of you that can do something that causes a chain reaction.

Crickets???

My article last week of crickets and what to do with them little rascals, other than having them annoy us during the nighttime hours I did not mention another product that works very well in keeping most insects out of your home and that is “home defense”.  This product is made by many different companies and is applied around the perimeter of your home.  This application lasts for quite a period of time and does do a very nice job of keeping many different insects out of your house.  I also included Diazinon in my article and for most of us that product is no longer available.  There are many of you that have a quantity of Diazinon left and are able to use but for the rest of us other products are needed.

“Amber waves of Grain”

This past week there was a very nice commentary, on MSNBC, about “Amber waves of Grain”.  This commentary was taken in the Bismarck area and was very well put together.  The thing that caught my eye, as I watched the commentary over internet, was the fact that a bushel of grain can feed so many and yet be gone with one major weather front moving through.  This commentary talked about prices of commodities and how things look good for the American farmer but many people forget to realize the cost of getting the crop from the land to the table.  Inputs have risen, depending on the crop, to a point that above average yields are needed to breakeven.  The other point that the producer commented on was commodity prices.  I know that practices have changed and along with that also yields but my Grandfather told me that he sold wheat back in the thirties for $3.65 a bushel.  Other than this year this number still floats around every year for producers.  So, with that being said, let’s hope our local producers are able to harvest a bountiful crop and get rewarded for their hard work.  Producers are great at moving their dollars to local area businesses and this chain reaction makes a better life for all of us.  So, remember during this harvest season, take extra precaution when approaching harvest equipment on local roads. 

524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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