The Prairie Panicle No. 18
A monthly report and recs list from West of 98
Welcome to West of 98! In addition to my weekly essays, I write a mid-month newsletter called The Prairie Panicle. It summarizes my writing over the previous month and offers additional reading/listening/watching recommendations ve strike my mood in the moment.
What I’ve Written
Let’s start with what I’ve written, because it’s the most notable news of the month. Last time, I promised the beginning of some work that sets forth my vision for an American agricultural policy that enriches the future of rural America. I started that project by writing a letter to new Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
This letter outlined my concerns with agricultural policy after World War II and some of my solutions for how to fix what ails the farm economy and rural America. In just a month, this letter has become the most-read work at West of 98 (already doubling the previous most-read piece) and it has driven a substantial number of new subscribers and conversation with people who share my ideas and concerns, who offer some thoughtful critiques, or who have their own ideas. Last week, it was picked up by the venerable and iconic “Livestock Weekly”. I’ll have more to say about that as soon as my hard copy arrives in the mail.
I do know that my letter has made its way to the USDA offices and to a few people within close proximity to Secretary Rollins. I certainly hope it makes an impact, but I do not merely clamor for an immediate response. This is not about instant gratification. I wrote this for the future of rural America:
I followed that letter by revisiting one of my favorite essays, recounting Jayber Crow’s vision of the gathered membership of Port William and how that might influence our own vision of our rural communities in the future:
For Texas Independence Day, I wrote about my evolving view of life in a changing Texas and what it means to me, with some thoughts about my own family’s Texas heritage:
The month rounded out with a revised and expanded version of my very first essay that launched West of 98 in November of 2017, before it was even called “West of 98.” It examines a community’s struggle with vacant buildings, compared to a culture of vacant people:
Online Reading
Last month, I shared the good work of my pal Basel Musharbash studying the monopolization of American agriculture. He’s done it again, this time at
’s antimonopoly newsletter “BIG.” Basel has launched a three-part series examining the roots of America’s skyrocketing egg prices. Spoiler alert, it’s not the bird flu or mere inflation. He’s got the receipts and it will infuriate you:
My friend Joel Hollingsworth (find him on Twitter at Untapped Growth, and more on him in a minute) wrote this sterling essay last year about the importance of soil health to civilization and the perils of printing endless dollars. It’s worth reading and thinking about:
Book I’ve Read
One of my Christmas gifts was “The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks”, which is a collection of anecdotes, sayings, and bits of wisdom from the Desert Fathers. These ancient Christian monks have inspired me through their influence on the likes of Thomas Merton, so I found it meaningful to get a hard copy of their sayings into my hands.
Wendell Berry Read of the Month
When people ask my advice on starting a Wendell Berry reading journey, I offer three recommendations: “Jayber Crow” for fiction, “The Unsettling of America” for non-fiction, and “The Work of Local Culture” as a standalone essay.
I consider that essay to be one of the single most powerful influences on my own work and I have cited it several times at West of 98. The visual of local culture as local soil is something that any gardener, farmer, or nature enthusiast can appreciate. If you’ve never read it, you should.
Listening Recs
Joel Hollingsworth/Untapped Growth recently appeared on the informative “Working Cows” podcast to discuss “Sound Money’s Role in Fixing America’s Broken Rural Economies”. If my writing interests you, this will fascinate you. It also shows the depth of the work that lies ahead:
Basel Musharbash just made his debut on the “Doomer Optimism” podcast to discuss anti-monopoly policies and the roots of populism with DO hosts Ashley and Nate. It’s an excellent listen. Stay tuned for my own exciting return to DO very soon!
What to Watch
TED LASSO IS COMING BACK! That’s reason enough to cue up AppleTV and be inspired all over again by AFC Richmond.
West of 98 Store
I just picked up some great commissions at Bookshop.org, thanks to some generous book shoppers! Any purchase at Bookshop supports independent bookstores instead of the Amazon leviathan, but if you purchase through my West of 98 bookstore. I receive a small commission that goes towards this humble project.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the Rural Church and State and West of 98 podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found.