Country Lifestyles
***ONLINE EXCLUSIVE*** PROFILE- John Riggs: The cowboy behind the pulpit
By Jessica Crabtree
John Riggs’ roots take him back to Wray, Colo. In the northeast part of the state, Wray, Colo., sits close to both the Kansas and Nebraska state lines. Much of Riggs’ youth was spent in the dirt, dust, mud and manure. The middle child of three children, Riggs grew up with two sisters whom he was usually pestering. Riggs’ grandfather, Leon Riggs, was a Horned Hereford breeder and is where Riggs’ love for cattle came from. Not a big producer by any means, 100 cows, but it was where Riggs spent a great deal of time. “I was drawn towards it. I loved everything about it!”
Riggs’ father, Larry Riggs also had cattle. His father was a feedlot cowboy. Riggs said in some way he was always connected to the cattle industry. “We grew up dirty,” Riggs said laughing. “I spent a lot of time there feeding cattle.”
After graduating high school in Wray, Colo., Riggs attended college at MidAmerica Nazarene University Olathe, Kansas for an ag business degree. The choice was due to two things: one the college had an ag department and the other, it was a Christian school. Riggs found Christ at a young age. As he grew, faith became increasingly important to him. To read more pick up the June 2015 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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