Heartland Voices: USDA Rural Utilities Service

USDA Rural Utilities Service Administrator John Padalino shares his perspectives on water & energy issues in rural communities.

Wendell Nicholas & Eldon Schmidt, leading the way in SDI

Eldon Schmidt

Eldon Schmidt is a long-time irrigator that farms north of Copeland, Kansas. His farmstead and his fields have that well managed look; a place that gives one the impression that the place is tended by someone who cares....

Richard Wenstrom, an Early Adopter and Innovator

Richard Wenstrom farms in southern Edwards county of Kansas, an area where annual rainfall and sandy soils combine to make dryland farming a risky proposition but it is also an area underlain by the Big Bend Prairie portion of the High...

Dialogue is key to Ag Policy Changes

Dialogue between ag producers and leaders is the key to addressing policy barriers to innovative practices

The Prairie as the Model

When my husband and I started farming in the 1980’s, a thoughtful friend pointed out that we were relatively close to Salina, Kansas where there was some interesting work at The Land Institute. Eventually we got to know Wes Jackson...