I recently had a national agricultural television station on in the background while I was working at the computer. My youngest son came in to ask me something and wanted to know why I was watching that.
“Because I want to know what’s going on in the world,” I told him.
We didn’t have RFD-TV until recently when I subscribed to a streaming service to watch the National Finals Rodeo. RFD-TV was one of the channels included in the package. Normally I cancel the service after the NFR is over, but this year I’ve kept it for a month longer because I’ve started watching RFD-TV’s Market Day program.
I listen mostly to make sure I’m current on farm and ranch sector news, but sometimes I catch interesting stories that I’ll jot down in my future idea file. It doesn’t hurt to see what others are reporting on. Plus, the morning mainstream media shows are nothing but entertainment news anymore, and after the first cycle, it’s tiring.
I’ve been writing for the Journal for 20-plus years, and sometimes it’s hard to not revert back to that never ending cycle of this story happens at this time of year. January and February mean farm meetings and major convention coverage. March and April is similar with spring break and Easter packed in there. May to August is summertime events—and the heat. Then September to December is the race to the finish line. More than once I thought to myself, “I know I’ve written that before.”
Editor Dave Bergmeier suggested writers take a look at the stories we wrote in 2025 and send him a summary. I had a couple of cover stories due, a column or two and some other stories on my plate, so it didn’t exactly get pushed to the top of the to-do list. So here we are. I wanted to share some of my favorite stories from last year.
I think my favorite cover story for 2025 was probably the specialty livestock issue. I interviewed Richard Duff about his bison herd in northwest Kansas. A haphazard spotting of a couple of bison in a nearby town ledhim to create a herd of his own. Now 50 years later, he’s still raising bison and has seen the ups and downs of the industry. Check out the story at hpj.com/2025/07/18/heritage-respect-of-bison-at-center-of-western-kansas-ranch/.
Runner-up would a recent cover story about the Great Plains Antique Tractor Club in Hutchinson. A conference call with three guys obsessed with antique tractors and pulling competitions brightened my day. Find that story at https://hpj.com/2025/12/19/antique-tractor-club-more-than-just-tractors/.
I was able to write a few editorial columns in 2025, and one of my favorites was from July. Despite differences in location, one thing remains steady in agriculture was a column I wrote about a trip to Rogers, Arkansas, for the Ag Media Summit. On the tour afterward we visited the West Family Farm and learned about Civil War history of the area around Prairie Gove, Arkansas. Former Journal intern, Lindsay (West) Kennedy showed us around the farm, and her dad spoke about the history of it and growing hay and raising chickens. Find that story at hpj.com/2025/08/15/aug15-editorial-kylene-scott/.
Finally, probably the one story that stuck with me was one when I interviewed Garrett Love. Love farms in southwest Kansas and is vice chair of the National Sorghum Producers. We talked about how he hasn’t seen a year quite like 2025. There was more than enough rain early on, and he had a great sorghum crop. He also recognized how hard it is to be profitable in agriculture right now without export market availability. That story can be found at hpj.com/2025/10/11/sorghum-vice-chair-sees-challenges-this-year/.
No matter what subject I get to write about, it’s nice to chat with people or listen to them speak about important issues in agriculture. If you have a favorite, let me know, or if you have a story you want to tell, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].
