My View Compared to Yours

When I turn onto our dirt road and our farm comes into view I am overwhelmed with many emotions.Yesterday I realized I am seeing the farm much differently than you, the general public, may be viewing.

Let's compare notes.

Consumers may see big blue tubes that according to them hold poop, water, and even missiles. Those are a few of the items I've heard from visitors.

What I see is my father-in-law. He was a short, stern looking man with a huge vision that has provided two more generations with life on the farm. This is the first Harvestore he put up in 1960. Back then some of the community viewed him as being aggressive in his land purchasing. He was a good business man that had great insight into the future. When I see the silos I see a man in coveralls, weathered and worn. Working so hard he would fall asleep standing up. And I'm grateful for his vision and work to provide.

Some people see this as wide open spaces, something they long to own. They envision tearing around on 4 wheelers, dirt bikes and snowmobiles in the winter. And, to our dismay there are some people who actually think that they have the right to just that - without permission. And, since we have so much land there is no reason why they can't back up to a field and dump their garbage also. After all, the farmer has so much what is this going to hurt?

What I see is food for our BEBs - Brown Eyed Bossies. This is an huge investment for our business. I also see a glorious green carpet that has grown from tilling the dirt, sowing the seed and watching God grown the alfalfa. The smell of fresh mown hay is aroma therapy at its best.

What many see is cruelty to animals. After all look at that horrible contraction and four people mistreating that cow.

In reality what you are viewing is four people working to save a calf. This cow had been trying to give birth. Normally this is a natural occurrence. This time she had some trouble. The calf was large and was just not cooperating and needed assistance. The metal object - calf puller is used. It gives positive control over pulling. We pull, release, pull and release following the mother's natural actions. This has been a life saver more than once. Thankfully we don't have to use this often. What you don't see is the hours, efforts and prayers spent on this animal before the calf puller came into use.

What some see is a big ol tube of poop that draws flies and smells bad. Just a note of information for anyone thinking of moving out to the country side where there are farms. There will be poop. There will be smelly breezes blowing at times. And there may be flies. That's just the way it is and those things were here before you chose to live here. If they might be a problem to you, consider another dwelling area.

Yes, this is a manure tank with manure. Farmers were recyclers before recycling became cool. Cows are living creatures that eat and poop. We have a lot of poop that needs to be recycled. There is a precise process when spreading poop. Our land is plotted out and the soil is tested as to what it needs. We are monitored and log where the manure is spread.

For most, including myself at times, this looks like a pain in the neck to follow on the road. This is "can't wait til I can pass" on the road. Everyone is in a hurry to get where they need to go and then this big piece of machinery or other tractors ruin your plans.

For us, this is home for Farmer and the boys for many hours in the spring. This is where kids sleep on the floor, family rides on the buddy seat and dogs catch a ride. This is where I go at midnight to ride along to keep someone awake while trying to finish the fields before the rain comes. This is the beginning of the cycle of sowing and reaping.

This looks like a crock pot of Bar-B-Q.

This looks like a fridge full of drinks for a hot summer night party. While it could be for that, the food and drink are for our employees. I try to periodically make crock pots full of chili, soup, bar-b-q and other goodies for our guys. I want to show them how much we appreciate the work they put into our operation. I bring drinks out to the fields and leave them in tractors to keep everyone replenished. During the busy times I become "meals on wheels farm style". We could never do this without the great team we have.