With family and friends, I have spent some of the best hours of my life on the Buffalo, which was designated the nation’s first “national river” in 1972. The designation was well-deserved. Outside Ponca, Arkansas’ only elk herd can be heard bugling as it moves through the morning mist blanketing riverside meadows. Rental cabins – rustic or tricked out -- are plentiful, as are hiking trails, small-mouth bass, and friendly folks.

Continually seeking ways to do things better has paid dividends for Mississippi farmer Keith Morton.

The High Court squeezed seed patents back into Pandora’s box, but more cases will come.

A parade of rainy fronts marched through the Mid-South in April and early May, keeping farmers from making much progress on planting. A couple of weeks of dry, warm weather would help, but this planting season is definitely going down as another strange one.