My Job Depends on Ag Magazine

02/07/2026

Thoughts from the Tractor Seat....

https://mjdoamag.com/my-thoughts-from-the-tractor-seat-hang-tough/

02/07/2026

Anyone ready to go to the World Ag Expo next week? They did their top 10 products already, but let us know you think.

https://mjdoamag.com/world-ag-expo-top-10-new-products/

02/06/2026

New publication out! Check out our digital copy here: https://mjdoamag.com/recent-issue/

Or merchandise here: https://mjdoamag.com/merchandise/

Pick it up at your local store in our area, or subscribe.

11/22/2025

Let’s be real for a minute.

People love the idea of “the simple farm life” — you know, the aesthetic version with sunshine, content cows, and rustic charm.

But here in Whatcom County, the reality looks a lot more like this:

Milk is sitting at $13.43 per hundredweight.
Thirteen dollars and forty-three cents.
For one hundred pounds of milk.

Meanwhile, that same amount of money at the grocery store buys you maybe three gallons of milk — about 25 pounds.

Farmers get paid that number for quadruple the product.

And out here, that’s just one piece of the stress puzzle.

Because on top of impossible milk prices, farms in Whatcom County are dealing with something else:
water rights battles, regulations, uncertainty, and the constant threat that tomorrow’s rules might change everything again.

Some people don’t realize how heavy that is. It’s hard to plan for next month when you don’t even know if you’ll have legal access to the water you need next year. It is hard to build a future when you’re holding your breath waiting for the next hearing, the next lawsuit, the next political decision, the next restriction.

You try running a farm when you don’t know if:

• you’ll have enough water to irrigate
• your permit will be questioned
• restoration projects will cut deeper
• or someone who has never milked a cow in their life decides you’re the villain in their environmental story

It wears on you.
Quietly.
Constantly.

And the truth?

A lot of cows will be leaving Whatcom County in the coming weeks.

Not because farmers want that — but because they can’t hold on at $13.43 and fight water battles at the same time.

Who knows how many more will follow in the months to come.

Farmers are doing math at the kitchen table that looks more like triage than budgeting.

Which bill gets paid?
How much of my personal life savings needs loaned to the farm to cover bills?
Can we feed the cows next month?
Should we reduce the herd?
Can we survive until spring?
Can we survive at all?

We don’t farm because it’s profitable — if we did, we would’ve quit a long time ago.

We farm because we love the land, the animals, and the community we feed.

Because food matters.
Because people matter.
Because agriculture is more than an industry — it’s a calling.

But even the most dedicated people can’t survive the perfect storm of rock-bottom prices and water-rights uncertainty forever.

Not without something changing.

If you’ve ever said you care about where your food comes from…now is the time to care.

Now is the time to speak up.
To ask why the people feeding the county are being drowned by decisions made far from the barn.
To stand with the families who are trying to hold on with everything they have left.

Milk is $13.43.
Water rights are a battlefield.
And the chores still won’t do themselves.

But the real question is:
If things don’t change…how many farms will no longer need to figure out how to keep their barn lights on...because there is no reason to light an empty barn.

11/22/2025

10/03/2025

Boom or Bust? The Ag industry is making more money, but farmers are making less??? What the heck.

For the first time in California’s history, agriculture has crossed the $60 billion mark in crop production. A newly released report shows farmers in the state brought in $61.2 billion in 2024, a 3.6% jump from 2023 and the highest total ever recorded. Dairy held the top spot at $8.6 billion in va...

10/03/2025

What are your thoughts when you are in the tractor seat?

As I get older time is more relevant and real than when I was young. I’m 58 (which may seem young to some, but old to others) but if I live to be 75, that means I have about 17 years left on this earth.When I was 17 on the other hand, I figured I […]

11/17/2024

As a kid, doing nothing all day is boring. As an adult, it's something you almost look forward too.

11/14/2024

Special thanks to our sponsors at NVB Equipment in California. If you are in the California areas they service, check them out for bucket lift repairs, parts, and service. They are the best in the state.

NVB Equipment also offers commercial and agricultural air conditioning, heating, engine cooling & fire suppression systems, parts, and and service.

11/13/2024

If you know, you know. If not...then you are young now. Lol.

11/11/2024

Lets just say this is "John". Don't be like John if you have to work today, Monday, or really anyday. Be safe out there on that equipment and on the road.

(The guy in the video is just making a joke of course)

11/11/2024

Today please support our US Veterans. Their service, sweat, and sacrifices are part of why we as Americans together are protected and prosperous on the world stage. Let's make our Vets proud of that fact today.