Trey Bouler fulfilled a longtime dream when he was named superintendent of a golf course. No doubt, work was needed at the Beau Pre Country Club in Natchez, Mississippi, although he has been more than up to the task.

The Beau Pre course is a beautiful one, but it struggled with multiple issues, including algae, encroachment and nematodes.

Enter Redox TurfRx™, including OxyCal™ to bolster calcium, NatureCur™ for root development, Supreme™ to help turf growth and K+™ for summer stress.

“I was very excited how fast I started seeing turnaround, which drew me in even more to Redox,” Bouler said. “It has been awesome.”

He said his TurfRx™ experience confirms his approach to not skimp on fertilizer expenses.

“We make our money in the golf course industry on our greens,” Bouler said. “That is not a place to skimp, at all. I’m a firm believer in the best nutrients possible for my budget. If I have to back off on something else, something else is going to be backed off on. I will not compromise on nutrition for my putting surfaces.”

Resilience is part of the DNA in agriculture, but there’s a massive difference when the adversity being faced is away from the farm and involves a loved one.

Grower James Rickert and his wife Casey faced such adversity when their young daughter Emersyn contracted Hemolytic-uremic syndrome caused by E.coli.

Earlier this year, Emersyn battled through a multi system shutdown, kidney failure, coma, seizures, neurological complications, a collapsed lung and multiple infections.

After 10 weeks in the hospital, Emersyn is home and vastly improved. She started her first day in kindergarten and even had a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The Rickert family hopes Emersyn’s courage will inspire others facing huge life challenges.

“She’s my hero, and I don’t know how she does what she does every day,” Casey said. “She’s still processing the trauma in her own way. Nothing phases this kid. She is defying the odds after what she went through.”

“I look at life differently,” James said. “I realize that every day with my family is special. I have never appreciated it as much as I do today.”

Emersyn continues her recovery and recently made a Gingerbread house with a horse on top. She also put her Christmas request in to Santa Claus for a tiny dog.

The rural-urban divide in our country continues to widen. Mike Twining of Willard Agri-Service, one of our great ag retailers, is working hard to help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers.

Twining was among the speakers at TedX Talks in Arizona and Philadelphia. His speeches presented a compelling case for smarter food buying decisions and a continuation of sustainable agriculture, meaning doing more with less.

He said his work in this area has been very encouraging.

“It has been really exciting to see the engagement I’ve had,” Twining remarked. “It’s such a neat opportunity to get outside of my normal obit and talk to people, who are sometimes two or three plus generations removed from the farm. ... It has been really gratifying to see how excited they get to actually learn about it and talk with someone still involved in agriculture. I think the vast majority of people are genuinely curious and generally think positively about farmers and agriculture. That has certainly been my experience.”

Find out more about Mike’s talks on the TedX YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxTalks


More from Mike:
Saving the Planet With Your Food
Eating Our Way to a Cleaner Planet