You know what they say in show business, “The show must go on!”  And that was certainly the case yesterday afternoon when the 30-member cast took the stage at the Windsor Theatre in Hampton, Iowa, for the second and final performance of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic tale about a Christmas miracle in which the whole town unites to save George Bailey from personal and financial ruin.  Interestingly enough, the town of Hampton performed somewhat of a miracle yesterday when community members united to ensure the production would happen. 

Behind the scenes, people turned out in their Carhartts® and facemasks to blow snow.  Between  5 and 9 inches of snow fell across North Iowa on Saturday with wind gusts reported as high as 60 mph with sustained winds near 40 mph.   Overnight, wind chills dropped to 25 below zero.  Most businesses were closed on Sunday, and the majority of churches cancelled their morning services.

What a difference a few hours makes!  The snowplow cleared our road around noon, and I drove 35 miles per hour (mph) on my 12-mile trip to Hampton.  (I have a hard time keeping this speed even when I’m in a 30-mph zone, so the fact I drove this slowly is a true testament to the road conditions.)  Road conditions were extremely icy as it rained for hours on Saturday morning before it turned to snow.  Nonetheless, people made it to the theatre.  Tickets had sold out in advance for the Dec. 12^th performance, and all but a few seats were filled when the curtain went up that afternoon. 

The play ends as George Bailey, with his friends and family, all remember that life is really a gift to be cherished.  As the group sings “Auld Lang Syne”  George finds a note from his guardian angel that reads, “Dear George, remember no man is a failure who has friends.”

Thanks, friends, for allowing me to play a small role in this production.  Hats off to Leon Kuehner, who did an amazing job of directing and arranging music.  And I’d like to give a shout-out to the entire cast and crew, too.  It is a wonderful life, right here in Franklin County, Iowa!

Click here to listen to the Latham Seeds radio commercial.

Oscar Wilde is often quoted for saying, “Life imitates art,” but I beg to differ.  At least in this one instance, “art imitates life.” 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing “Mrs. Latham” in the Franklin County Players’ and the Franklin County Art Councils’ production of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.  Based on Frank Capra’s classic movie, this radio play takes place on Christmas Eve in the 1940s as the idealistic George Bailey considers ending his life.  Thanks to divine intervention – including an earthly visit from an angel named Clarence – Mr. Bailey comes to see how the world is a better place because he was born. 

The action takes place in one act with four commercial interludes.  And, yes, one of the commercials promotes Latham Seeds.  I had the pleasure of serving as “the voice” of Latham Seeds, which really took me back in time. 

It all started in 1947 when Willard Latham, my husband’s grandfather, founded Latham Seed Company and began producing seed oats for retail.  As business grew and the times changed, oats gave way to soybeans and the company evolved from a retail business to a dealer organization. 

The same values and principles on which Willard Latham founded the business more than six decades ago remain our guiding principles yet today: honesty, integrity and unsurpassed customer service.  As I say in our 1940-esque radio commercial, “Latham believes in the power of rural America and the independent spirit of the American farmer…  We sell only the highest quality corn, soybeans and alfalfa seed.  Our seed experts will help you select just the right seed to fit your needs.  Latham Seeds is located right here in Franklin County.  We’re family owned and operated, so we understand what you need to be successful.  Let the folks at Latham Seeds help you today!”

For nearly 30 years, the annual Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll has tracked changes in rural social networks.  This year’s Farm Poll introduced three sets of questions about agritourism, or the act of visiting a working farm or agribusiness for enjoyment, education or active involvement.  Although less than 1% of Iowa farmers currently host entertainment activities like festivals or corn mazes, 34% of respondents agree that Iowans should get more involved in agritourism.

Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds entered the agritourism arena this summer by hosting our first Latham Country Fair. Also, this summer I had the pleasure of touring Hansen Dairy, which makes a significant contribution to northeast Iowa through its agritourism activities.

Agritourism is a means to increase farm income and to expand tourism in rural areas, according to the 2010 Farm Poll.  And, several leaders in our area couldn’t agree more.  That’s why, beginning in January, I’ll be serving on a committee with the Hampton Chamber of Commerce that will explore how agricultural businesses can help expand tourism right here in Franklin County.

Exploring ideas that will provide entertainment, while educating the public about agriculture, truly fascinates me.  Rural Sociology courses were among my favorites in college, so it’s no wonder that I’m especially intrigued by the Farm & Rural Life.  If this topic also interests you, read more about results from the 2010 Farm Poll here:  http://www.soc.iastate.edu/extension/farmpoll.html.

Today I received an email from the American Soybean Association (ASA), asking soybean leaders and supporters to contact their elected representatives about estate tax reenactment and the biodiesel tax incentive. 

Tomorrow ASA farmer-leaders will be in Washington, D.C., participating in a press conference at the National Press Club about the need for Congress to enact estate tax legislation before Dec. 31.  If it’s not enacted by this date, the estate tax rate will revert to the 2001 rate of up to 55% with only a $1 million exclusion. This means it will be especially difficult to pass along farms, ranches and small businesses from one generation to the next.

Also tomorrow ASA members will participate in a biodiesel fly-in to urge members of Congress to extend the biodiesel tax incentive. Biodiesel is a key market for U.S. soybean oil and has been a key factor in supporting domestic soybean prices in recent years. It also reduces our dependence on petroleum and creates jobs.

If you’d like to contact your elected officials about either of these issues, click here.

(Source: American Soybean Association)

As farmers across the Midwest finalize their 2011 seed purchases, the decision of whether to plant more corn or soybeans is weighing heavily on their minds.  It’s going to be an interesting acreage battle as U.S. farmers get ready to plant, according to an article posted today by Wallaces Farmer.

Chad Hart, grain marketing economist for Iowa State University stated in the article, “The 2010 crop is the third largest corn harvest in U.S. history. It’s the largest soybean crop the U.S. has ever had. However, demand has built up so much on these crops that it’s putting real pressure on prices to move upward.”

Market prices for soybeans are predicted to be $13 or higher and corn is predicted to be $6 as the new calendar year approaches. As grain prices go up, input costs tend to follow. Fertilizer prices have already started rising with demand for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (N,P and K) strong. Weather conditions allowed a lot of anhydrous ammonia to be applied across the Corn Belt this fall, indicating a lot of acres will be planted to corn next spring. With so many corn acres locked in for 2011, Hart says that some of the increase in soybean production will come from double-cropping in the southern areas of the Corn Belt and in southern states.

To read this article in its entirety, click here.

Regardless of whether farmers choose to plant hybrid seed corn or high-tech soybeans, Latham® has a full lineup of top-quality products.  We take pride in working with our farmer-customers to help them choose the corn and soybean products that will help position them for increased profitability in 2011.

The excitement continues for the Iowa State football team as the Cyclones captured another big “W” on Saturday against Kansas. It’s a great time to be a fan.

Last Thursday I posted about Latham’s sponsorship of the Locker Room Show. Hopefully, you got a chance to tune in after the game and listen to Coach Rhoads and the players recap their performance.

I was especially proud this season of ISU’s win over Texas. I can empathize with what it’s like to take the field as an underdog – at Latham, we compete against the “big dogs” every day. But just as ISU has proved, underdogs shouldn’t be underestimated. We continue to offer the broadest, deepest lineup of corn hybrids and soybean brands available in the marketplace. And that’s why the same sense of pride I had for ISU as they captured the win against the Longhorns is similar to the feeling I have when customers call in with winning results against our competition.

I’d like to invite you to check out our two new radio spots that aired last Saturday during the ISU Homecoming game. Hear how Latham is proving underdogs shouldn’t be underestimated and why we think this is the best time of year.

As a proud Iowa State University alum and a die-hard Cyclone fan, I couldn’t be happier about the huge win the Iowa State football team had last week over their ranked opponent, Texas. (In fact, one of the biggest wins in school history!)

Email blast that was sent out to Cyclone fans after the big victory at Texas.

John and I both graduated from the College of Agriculture at ISU and are proud to support our team in any way we can. One way we support the Cyclones is by sponsoring the Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Locker Room Show, a post-game show where analysts, coaches and players share their thoughts about the game.

To keep the momentum going from the big win, you can vote for Coach Rhoads as Coach of the Year at www.coachoftheyear.com. (Note: You can vote daily!)

Cyclone fans will reunite this Saturday for ISU’s Homecoming. The Cyclones will be taking on Kansas with kickoff at 1 p.m. Be sure to tune in to Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Locker Room Show following the big game! For a listing of which stations air the show, click here.

Which team will you be rooting for this weekend?  Go Cyclones!

After receiving frequent and sometimes heavy rainfall through the month of the September, many farmers today are receiving the first measurable rainfall in the month of October.  The warm, dry fall weather allowed many to finish harvesting all of their crops before they had even started harvesting corn in 2009.  But after nearly 30 straight days of long hours in the field, many farmers are welcoming this opportunity to tackle their “rainy day” lists. 

A very informal and unscientific survey that I conducted today reveals the following “top to dos” for farmers across Latham Country:

1. Repairing machinery;
2. Doing bookwork;
3. Napping;
4. Meeting with my Latham sales rep to finish crop plans; and
5. Ordering Latham® seeds for 2011 planting.

I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than meeting with your Latham rep to finish crop plans and getting your seed ordered while the supplies are good. (However, my opinion may be a bit biased!)  Anyone who has seen the great results from Latham® L2440R2 knows this brand is going to be in high demand.  One Latham customer near Odebolt figures this Latham® soybean brand will deliver $150 more per acre because it yielded 15 bushels better than his next best yielding variety.  He achieved whole-field averages of 77 bu/A on an 80-acre field, 76 bu/A on a 110-acre field and 72 bu/A on a 48-acre field.  Another Latham soybean brand, L2984R2, went 73 bu/A across a 142-acre field near Adel, Iowa, while Bob Quinn from WHO radio was riding in the combine. You can also check out other great soybean results online at https://www.lathamseeds.com/yield-results.cfm.

We’re also hearing some great reports on the performance of Latham® Hi‑Tech Hybrids.  Recently, I rode in two different combines in northeast Iowa where our hybrids beat the competition by 30 bushels an acre.  One Latham customer commented, “I just made an extra $200,000 with Latham.  How can I afford to plant anything else?” For corn yield results, visit www.lathamseeds.com/yield-results.cfm. 

What’s your favorite way to spend a rainy day?  I absolutely love baking on rainy days.  Stay tuned for my “Great Pumpkin” cookie recipe this Friday, along with some rainy day activities to keep little ones from getting bored when they’re cooped up inside.