I was born into this world 55 years ago this month. First born to my parents and also first born grandchild to both sets of my grandparents. If you have the option of choosing your birthplace within your family I would strongly endorse this one.

Having spent 55 years on this spinning rock I have learned a thing or two about life. Some came as complete surprise while others came with warnings and it’s become difficult to discern which was which. Things like….

-       Keep your eye on the ball – Which, as…

Well, wrap it up, put a bow on it, and say your last farewell to the year that was 2016. We survived it but I’m not giving away any secrets when I say it was a bumpy ride, to say the least. 

Our nation is at a crossroads, of sorts, and I hope and pray we can unite and move forward. We all have a “common ground” and the time is here to define just what that is and attempt to move forward – together. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this great nation is its diversity. The challenge of being diverse…

Well, it’s pretty close now – harvest time is nearly here. As I write this it is a Monday afternoon here on the farm. This morning we moved the grain cart, combine, two semis, and the mower to a field lane south of town. This farm, we affectionately call “The Home Place”, was the first land acquired by my family when they moved to Illinois in 1836. I am the sixth generation to farm this piece of land and it is an overwhelming honor to do so. From 1836 through 1941 every generation of my ancestry inhaled…

September 6, 2016

Well, it was a beautiful weekend for all the festivities around our area. I hope you got out and enjoyed it as much as Shelley and I did. We had a music-filled weekend as well as spending some time with great friends.

We started things off with a special Bill Poss solo outdoor concert Friday in downtown Mattoon. Bill did a one-and-one-half hour show near Sound Source Music on Broadway. Bill recently had a song picked up for a movie and, coincidentally, had the same song recorded on…

August 23, 2016

The days are getting shorter, the mornings cooler, and I can feel summer slipping away. I do love the changing of the seasons, I just wish winter was a lot shorter!!

Fall means harvest and we are gearing up for, what appears to be, a very good crop. The soybean market has come a long way since early 2016 but corn is in bad need of a price rally. The crop, as predicted, is large – but I can’t think it’s as large as “they” claim. We’ll see soon. It is always a pleasure to harvest a good…

Some years ago, now, I assisted a good friend on Wednesday nights at our church in working with fifth and sixth grade boys. We met every week that school was in session at our church and had as many as 17 boys each week in our class.

The first time we met during the school year was usually the Wednesday after Labor Day and my friend, John, (we were known as John and John – pretty original, huh?) would lay out the rules for the upcoming year. “We only have one rule, here”. John would say, “And that one…

June 14, 2016

Hello, once more, from the Prairie State.

Open mic at the Village Wine in Effingham this Wednesday at 7pm. Kat Blicken opens the show, followed by Jake Edwards, Parker Anderson, my friend John Beck is on at 7:45, then I will go on at 8pm, our multi-talented and gracious host Bill Poss at 8:15 and, my good buddy, Richard Rudy is the featured artist at 8:30. I enjoy hearing him very much, but if you’ve never heard him (or if you’re a fan, like me) come out and give him some support – he doesn’t…

June 8, 2016

DONE!!! Planting was finished early last week and the weekend rains brought everything up. It has been trying at times, to say the least, but we have seed in the ground and plants out of the ground - and it feels pretty good. Bring on summer!

I played and sang at the local Baptist Church over Memorial Day Weekend and, wow, that place has awesome acoustics. Really nice place. Theater seating, awesome stage, balcony – almost like the Grand Ol’ Opry – well, close enough for Casey anyway!!

I’ve…

May 26, 2016

Rained out, again!!! Nearly finished with the planting but was interrupted by a brief downpour earlier today. We now have 110 acres of soybeans to plant and then, barring any replant issues, we’re finished!!! It’s been a trying year, to say the least, but it always seems to work out in the end. Corn planting began on April 18^th and was completed on May 15^th, all-in-all not too bad with only 84 acres planted in May the vast majority of corn was planted in April – which is pretty good, all things…

May 2, 2016

Brrrr!! Although the calendar says it’s May the temperature says otherwise. We now have most of the corn planted (all but 84 acres) and nearly all of the corn we planted the week of April 18^th is up – whew, what a relief. The corn planted last week should be up in a matter of days but we’ll have to wait for the mud to turn to dust before we can finish. We’ve had an abundance of rain here over the past several days but, like Grandpa always said, “More rain, more rest”.

We have a Bluegrass…