Free Republic

A few weeks ago, 42-year-old Jared Bossly ventured out into his farm to plant alfalfa. Bossly’s farm in Brown County, South Dakota has been owned by his family for four generations. They grow corn, beans, and alfalfa in addition to raising cattle. They also plant trees all over the property as a windbreak to protect the herd. Bossley has put his entire life into his work, and has passed those values along to his children. He and his 17-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son work on the farm daily to do the right things for the land. Every spare penny the...

Arizona’s water is running worryingly low. Amid the worst drought in more than a millennium, which has left communities across the state with barren wells, the state is depleting what remains of its precious groundwater. Much of it goes to private companies nearly free, including Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company.Thanks to fresh scrutiny this year from state politicians, water activists and journalists, the Saudi agricultural giant Almarai has emerged as an unlikely antagonist in the water crisis. The company, through its subsidiary Fondomonte, has been buying and leasing land across western Arizona since 2014. This year The Arizona Republic published...

The Middle Eastern kingdom needs hay for its 170,000 cows. So, it's buying up farmland for the water-chugging crop in the drought-stricken American Southwest.Saudi Arabia's largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So it's turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop — the drought-stricken American Southwest. Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in California's Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Arizona,...

In the summer of 2002, shortly before I was elected to Congress, I sat through an eye-opening meeting with representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council and several local environmental activist groups. Hoping to convince me to support various water restrictions, they argued that San Joaquin Valley farmers should stop growing alfalfa and cotton in order to save water — though they allowed that the planting of high-value crops such as almonds could continue. Then, as our discussion turned to the groups' overall vision for the San Joaquin Valley, they told me something astonishing:

THE FOLLOWING IS BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS...... I have been on vacation, or as they say in England, "Drinking A Lot". I spent a day in The City Of Lights which is, of course, Spokane, Washington. It was their annual Lilac Day Festival where they celebrate, well, Lilacs. They have a parade and a car show and lots of fragrant bums, no, Lilacs. The bums are more pungent than fragrant. The parade was quite enjoyable. They had at least 150 Rodeo Queens riding their horses in the parade. Every small town around Spokane must have a rodeo and by logic,...

The California almond is getting a bad reputation. At least that’s what the numbers show. According to an April report released by the Pacific Institute, a non-profit research firm based in Oakland, almonds are not the most water intensive crop grown in the Golden State. In fact, almonds tie with pistachios for fourth place in the ranking of California’s water intensive crops and require on average four acre-feet of water per acre. One acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons of water. Alfalfa and rice are the top two water users, averaging five acre-feet of water per acre a piece, though alfalfa...

The detection of a small amount of genetically modified material in a Washington state farmer's non-GMO alfalfa crop constitutes a "commercial issue" only and does not warrant any government action, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The Washington state farmer had complained in late August to state agricultural officials that his alfalfa hay had been rejected for export sale because of the presence of a genetically modified trait that makes the crop resistant to herbicide. The event triggered a wave of concern from consumer and agricultural groups who have fought the government for nearly a decade to keep...

esident Barack Obama spoke at Saturday night's Alfalfa Club dinner in Washington poking fun at himself and fellow leaders. The annual black-tie banquet is an exclusive gathering of many of Washington's business and political elite. "You've heard it from the pundits: 'Obama is cloistered in the White House.' 'He's aloof.' 'He's in the bubble.' He's not connecting,'" said Obama. "And that’s why one of my big goals this year was to get out and be among every day, ordinary Americans -- like the men and women of the Alfalfa Club." The president, who broke into song at a recent fundraiser...

Maybe honest third party testing without influence from government or companies like Monsanto is called for. Are biotech crops safe to eat? Are Americans sicker now than 30 years ago? Are there any links between this food and our kids ailments? We may never know if Mr. Vilsack, the USDA and companies like Monsanto have their way.

Well, at least they were in the same room-- with a few hundred of their closest friends. Obama sat at the long, long head table in the Capital Hilton with Chief Justice John Roberts and former President George H. W. Bush near the podium. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sat with former First Lady Barbara Bush down at the far east end of the table. Yes, Palin looked beauty-queen elegant in her black floor-length gown with matching shawl and, no, I don't know whether she bought it at her beloved Anchorage consignment shop. Unlike Obama, Palin did not get a chance...

"I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the general would be 202 years old. And very confused.''

Obama appears tonight at the Alfalfa Dinner, a gathering of Washington's elite with Confederate roots, a fact on which the president remarked, according to excerpts from his prepared remarks: I am seriously glad to be here tonight at the annual Alfalfa dinner. I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused. Now, this hasn't been reported yet, but it was actually Rahm's idea to...

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) was greeted with a smattering of applause. But half a dozen other senators sauntered through without a murmur from the rubber-neckers, who seemed most excited about catching a glimpse of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama poked fun at his volatile chief of staff in a free-for-all roasting of Washington and its politicians Saturday night. Obama was attending the Alfalfa Club dinner, an annual black-tie event where the capital's political and business leaders give humorous speeches. After a day where Obama readied a new road map for bailout spending and faced questions over a second Cabinet nominee with tax problems, it was chief of staff Rahm Emanuel who was a target of much of the president's ribbing. "Now this hasn't been reported yet, but it was actually Rahm's idea to...

For those who need a little fix.

In what could be a preview of the 2012 presidential race, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington, D.C., Politico has learned. The Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee, making her first trip to the nation’s capital since the election, will join the President at the Alfalfa Dinner, a venerable gathering of the city’s political elite. Palin and Obama will both address the black tie crowd at the Capital Hilton, aides to each say.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will head to Washington this weekend, in a move certain to set tongues wagging about the former Republican vice presidential nominee's national aspirations. The Alaska governor, who ignited nationwide excitement in the GOP base when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) selected her as his running mate, will address the exclusive Alfalfa Club, an organization of prominent politicians and business leaders who hold a major dinner every January. Palin told the Anchorage Daily News she will attend the dinner because President Obama will be there. “How often will I have an opportunity to have dinner with the...

Our Gang Little Rascals "Fishy Tales" (1937)Our Gang-"Mush and Milk"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mush and Milk"-Part 2 of 2Our Gang-"Bored Of Education"The Kid From Borneo Part 1The Kid From Borneo Part 2Our Gang-"Mama's Little Pirate"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mama's Little Pirate"-Part 2 of 2 Our Gang-"Free Eats"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Free Eats"-Part 2 of 2Our Gang-"Mike Fright"-Part 1 of 2Our Gang-"Mike Fright"-Part 2 of 2 Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part1 of 3Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part2 of 3Our Gang-"Helping Grandma"-Part3 of 3Our Gang-"Hearts Are Thumps"Our Gang-Alfalfa`s Aunt

"OUR GANG" Whatever happened to these people? Well, here is is.....the "rest of the story" of Our Gang/center> ALFALFA Carl Switzer was shot to death at age 31. CHUBBY 300-pound Norman Chaney died at age 22 following an operation. BUCKWHEAT William Thomas died at age 49 of a heart attack. DARLA HOOD The Our Gang leading lady contracted hepatitis and died at age 47. BRISBANE Kendall McCormas, known as Breezy Brisbane, committed suicide at age 64. MICKEY DANIELS He died of liver disease at 55. STYMIE Mathew Bear led a life of crime and drugs. He died of a stroke...

Barbara Firsick's family roots touch on two centuries on the east side of Lancaster, but that history is now threatened, with the Los Angeles County Sanitation District 14 considering acquiring Firsick's land for agricultural use. The district wants the land because it needs some place to divert treated effluent water from the Lancaster Water Reclamation Plant, the county's sewer treatment plant. The treated effluent would be used on the agricultural land to water alfalfa. The district's effluent is now going into Piute Ponds, a manmade water fowl refuge, but the excess effluent is overflowing onto Rosamond Dry Lake bed, threatening...