Donald Scherber bought a Minnesota dairy farm in 1958. His son, John, bought it from him in 1995 and will probably pass it down to his children. For decades, the family has made a living selling the ...

This winter, I attended a livestock auction on California’s remote northern coast. Ranchers sat on plywood bleachers warming their hands as the auctioneer mumble-chanted and handlers flushed cows into ...