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Fuel cost prompts road maintenance cutback

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Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 27 March 2012 14:59

Marion County road graders have been limited to a two-day work week for this summer to try to conserve on fuel that continually getting more expensive.

Randy Crawford, county road and bridge director, told the county commissioners Monday that by reducing hours, the county is following the lead of the Kansas Department of Transportation, which has a limited 10 percent of its road maintenance machinery engaged in a given day to save money. KDOT’s approach will change only if special needs...

Local rural land prices following national trend upward

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Written by Jerry Engler Tuesday, 20 March 2012 14:19

“When farmers are coming home with 20 to 30 percent more money from the elevator, they are willing to pay 20 to 30 percent more for the land,” says Lyle Leppke about rising land prices. Marion County is joining the rest of the country in the real estate boom that has led to rising prices for productive agricultural land.

Prices for both crop land and pasture land are climbing at rates that would have been seen as a fantasy two years ago.

Lyle Leppke, a Hillsboro-based real estate broker who has a special focus in farm land sales, said, “Two years ago you didn’t see land prices over $2,000 an acre here. Now we’re seeing $3,000 an acre and higher.”

Marion County Appraiser Cindy Magill said the higher land prices are beginning to be reflected in taxes with another big jump in values this year.

Magill said tax values not only depend on prices, but on such factors as whether ground is tilled or in pasture...

Farmers: dress for safety, not for style

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Written by John Schlageck Tuesday, 20 March 2012 14:19

If Billy Crystal’s Fernando character were to visit a Kansas farm this spring you can be sure he wouldn’t be telling many farmers, “Darling, you look marvelous.” You can also bet not many farmers step into the cab of their tractors wearing any of the high fashions portrayed on the pages of GQ or Esquire.

Looking good is great when you go to town, but safety and comfort are much more important when dressing for farm chores.

Let’s begin with the head, after all that’s where thinking about safety should start, says Holly Higgins, Kansas Farm Bureau safety director.

Head injuries are common on the farm and tend to be serious, Higgins adds. When doing work that involves head hazards trade your familiar ball cap or straw hat for...

Food editor to talk on Kansas cuisine at LIR

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Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 20 March 2012 14:19

Jane Marshall of Manhattan will speak Friday about the diverse cuisine in Kansas in her Learning in Retirement presentation titled, “Biscuits and Bison: Exploring Kansas Food Heritage.”

Marshall is an award winning food editor now at Kansas State University, where she teaches Food Writing and Development of American Cuisine in the Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics.

A native Kansan, Marshall holds a degree in home economics and journalism from KSU. She also is working on a food history and recipe book to help celebrate K-State’s sesquicentennial.

Prior to coming back to K-State, she worked for more than 25 years in journalism at several newspapers, including the Denver Post, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Houston...

Bartels turning trailers into harvest homes

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Written by Don Ratzlaff Tuesday, 13 March 2012 15:32

Kevin Bartel (left) and Larry Bartel have been preparing the interior of the crew trailer behind them and a second one in the machine shed in time for the harvest season. The trailers will be used to house workers who have signed on with Wright’s Trucking & Harvesting, based in Sidney, Neb. Larry Bartel, a longtime house contractor from Hillsboro, has been a member of the crew for 10 years now. A former longtime Hillsboro house contractor has turned his attention and considerable skills to a more mobile and temporary form of living arrangements.

Larry Bartel, working alongside his son, Kevin, is spearheading the interior work for two huge trailers that will provide lodging for up to 20 harvest-crew workers this summer—and hopefully for several summers to come.

The project was initiated by Kent Wright, owner of Wright’s Trucking & Harvesting LLC based in Sidney, Neb. Bartel has worked with that company each harvest season for the past 10 years after completing 31 years as a local housing contractor.

“We’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time and now we’re finally doing,” Bartel said...