Missouri Valley: LAND OF THE BIG MUDDY

On the heights of the Continental Divide the first snow is falling. Soon the snow packs will form, and a thousand rivulets, streaming down to the outstretched finger rivers of the Missouri, will freeze over. Across the lonely badlands and treeless plains, the rain is mild and gentle, and the Big Muddy and its tributaries are snug in their beds. In Iowa and Nebraska, in Montana and the Dakotas, all but the latest crops are in. For the farmers and ranchers of the Missouri Valley, one year of risk and struggle is ending, another...

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