American Countryside » American Countryside

From Lumber Company to Feed Company

Tom — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:01:44 +0000

It all began with a lumber yard in Indianola, Iowa. Of course, today you don’t know this company for its lumber. You instead know it for the ingenuity that came from learning to sell that product…..

Preparing for Agriculture’s Future

Tom — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:01:52 +0000

The next 40 years are predicted to bring an ever increasing population both here and around the world. Food needs will rise and agricultural jobs will become increasingly important. However, despite those trends, some say there is little future for American kids who hail from small to mid-size farms. This professor is out to prove, it just isn’t true…..

Resolving Controversies in Animal Agriculture

Tom — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:01:09 +0000

It used to be that controversies in agriculture revolved around which color of tractor to buy or what kind of seed to plant. Those debates still exist, but these days, some of those debates have wound up at the ballot box in a number of states. How should those in agriculture engage consumers in these issues? It’s all a part of this professor’s class…..

Maximizing Animal Production and Producers’ Time

Tom — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:01:06 +0000

There are an increasing number of farmers in this nation who also have off-farm jobs. However, the farm can be just as profitable for them as it might be for a full time producer. So how do you keep a farm well into the black even if you can’t spend as many hours on the land?

Flying a World Record Endurance

Tom — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:01:33 +0000

If you’ve ever flown into the Las Vegas airport, you may have noticed a colorful Cessna airplane hanging from the ceiling over the baggage claim area. Most people think it’s just an interesting prop. However, it’s actually a world record holder, for no other manned airplane has ever remained aloft for more continuous days that this one…..

The 24 Hour Las Vegas Museum

Tom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:01:07 +0000

You may recall we recently discussed a pair of brothers in Mississippi who in 1935 set a record by keeping an airplane in flight for 27 straight days. It’s an impressive feat, but in 1959, two other men more than doubled that feat…..

The World’s Longest Flight

Tom — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:01:28 +0000

The longest nonstop commercial flight in the world is currently a Singapore Airlines route from Newark to Singapore. It’s in the air over 18 hours and covers over 10,000 miles. That’s nothing compared to this flight that took off from Meridian, Mississippi in 1935. The flight was measured in days, but you could say, the flight never went anywhere…..

Iowa’s Aviation Museum

Tom — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:01:03 +0000

For the past few days we,ve been in Greenfield, Iowa, home to the Iowa Aviation Museum. You probably never realized how many aviation firsts are tied to Iowa, including a car company that decided to try its hand at making airplanes. Its unique vision is preserved here…..

Charles Levine

Tom — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:01:35 +0000

Chalres Lindburgh was the first person to fly an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean. But lost in our history books in the name of a man who would most likely have beaten Lindburgh to the prize, if not for a court case that kept his plane from taking off from the very same airport……

Landing A Plane on a Boat

Tom — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:01:48 +0000

Today, aircraft carriers and the planes they transport play a vital role in country’s military might. However, have you ever given any thought to the first brave soul that attempted to take off and land a plane aboard a boat? It takes a courageous or perhaps very crazy individual to try it…..