May 1, 2006 -- Scarlett O'Hara's Dad said it best —"the land is all that matters and in America that is what sets us apart from the rest of the world."

In the spring a young man's fancy is supposed to turn to love, but here at the Ranch, this older man's fancy turns to dirt. As the warm sun turns the cool, dark brown earth into an incubator of sorts, the urge to grow something on every available acre is difficult to control.

First there was a flower farm. Then there was an airstrip for the experimental airplane. After that, the spring urge made Glenn and Robbie turn several acres in front of the house into a two hole golf course, complete with fancy golf course grasses.

This spring several acres were cleared along the runway and behind the house.. Seven acres of unplanted land, a temptation we could not resist.

Once the land was cleared, burned, and plowed, we knew some kind of seed would be planted. Our decision about what to do with this land was clearly dictated by the price of gas at the pump, and the word "ethanol" was jumping through the media like a Mexican bean. So the idea to grow a crop from which this popular product could be made was a natural for us.