Position Or Purpose

It's been a beautiful, yet busy week for mid November. This is the time of year when fieldwork overlaps with getting ready for winter, meetings, selling, evaluating our past year, balancing where we are at, and planning where we are going. Our goal around here is to work for a purpose and not a position.

The guys continue to be busy with tiling, building pads, basements, waterways, terraces, and farm improvement projects for others. Thanks for the picture Mark.

BJ finished the week with spreading lime for Karl. Jim had stockpiled product from the quarry earlier this summer.

We're about caught up chiseling cornstalks on the ground going back to corn next year. Corn/soybean rotation is much simpler, less investment, and less work. However a farm business also needs to evaluate what has the possibility for a profit next year.

Many of you in our country had the pleasure of seeing the northern lights, either in person or pictures by others. They were as visible here in the Midwest as I have ever seen them.

With eight folks running for governor, it might seem difficult to pick who's best for Iowa. Adam is a man of faith, family, and freedom. He has servant hearted leadership. He was appointed by Governor Kim in 2021 basically to be the chief operating officer for our state. He, his wife Kasey, and sons Ryker and Mavrick, live in rural Runnells. Thursday morning Rob, Denny, Adam, and Rebecca came for coffee. Thanks for the visit folks.

Several years ago Dale was diagnosed with stage 4B cancer. After struggling with chemo, he decided that rather than being sick constantly, he would just finish his life with purpose, even in the midst of facing death. Dale flourished for an additional 5 years. Thanks for the picture.

Dale was the voice of the Pella Christian High School Eagles. He was a classmate, a friend, and part of our blog family, where he commented almost every week. Dale passed away Friday. As did Coach Staton, who was the first coach of PCHS football. Thanks for the picture Troy!

With Coach Staton, the coaching job was a purpose and not a position. Our son Mike was an assistant coach under Jerry, and has continued as Defensive Cordinator for the past 20 years. Thanks for the picture Kristin.

Kurt and Karl also played on that first PC football team. A couple of years ago I was blessed with a gift of the first PCHS football game ball. It was autographed by that first team. It was given by a friend as a thank you for an act of kindness.

Last evening we were invited to a musical worship service where Michael from the Booth Brothers sang.

Position is a place or title. Purpose is a reason. Purpose is an action. Servant hearted leadership takes purpose, whether leading a family, a farm, a football team, or a state. Blessings.

Dedicated To A Cause

This past Friday evening near Madrid, with a crisp northwest wind, John and Ella dedicated themselves to each other for life in their marriage ceremony. John is BJ and Cassia's third child. Ella is Matt and Heather's youngest. In the old days, John's great-grandfather and Ella's great-grandfather were best men at each other's weddings.

Little Oakley and Rosie, granddaughters of BJ and Cassia, wore their hats to stay warm. The food and fellowship afterwards were inside.

John and Ella publicly promised to be a family that would do their best, with God's grace, to serve the Lord. Both sets of parents publicly dedicated themselves to praying and supporting their children.

For rehearsal supper Thursday evening Kurt, Emily, and their boys made and served pizzas from their Boonies wood fired pizza trailer. The following morning, Jan took some extra pizza dough, and made breakfast dessert for us and our crew in the farm shop.

Farming this past week consisted of finishing chiseling for corn on corn next year. And applying anhydrous (nitrogen) for next year's crop. We also finished tankering and applying hog manure for ourselves. We're still helping others finish their fall tillage and applications.

A farmer must be dedicated for the cause of feeding the world as they prepare for next year. Even when the bottom line doesn't always make sense. It's been kind of "sell the rumor, buy the fact" with all the tariffs and trade talks being on again, off again.

The yellows, reds, and oranges, of the trees are all turning to browns in our area. Promising winter will soon be here. Winter is supposed to be a slower time. However with tax planning, family appointments, hauling grain, school programs, and seed selling, we will be quite busy till after the first of next year.

This morning's point isn't about kids and grandkids. It's a reminder for us all. Have you dedicated yourself and your family for the cause of serving the Lord? Joshua said, "Choose you this day who you are going to serve. As for me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord". Joshua 24:15

Choosing to serve the Lord doesn't just happen. It takes God's grace and our dedication. I do believe there are blessings to obedience. However I'm not talking about blessings of "things", but a cause. "I have no greater joy than that our children are walking with the Lord". III John 1:4.

Years And Promises

Yesterday I was blessed to work with grandsons in the morning, to attend a 70th birthday party for Sue and visit with friends in the afternoon, and go to the Boonies trailer in Leighton for pizza in the evening.

The combines are finished, however we're still working on cleaning up field edges, terraces, and waterways. Iowa has the ability to grow trash trees in fencerows and non cultivated ground at about 4 feet/yr.

The many trees we want and choose to keep just started to turn to their brilliant fall colors this past week in southern Iowa. This is a picture of a bluff overlooking the Des Moines River bottom on a farm we call Howell Station.

I was 9 years old when this movie came out. My parents took us to Des Moines for my first of a very few movie experiences in my lifetime. The Sound Of Music was the #1 at the box office for 30 weeks in 1965.

                                       

Thursday evening Jan and I attended a play performance of The Sound Of Music by the students, including grandkids, at Pella Christian High School. What a lot of musical talent in a high school. It was an excellent performance.

I was 24 years old when a neighbor and I bought and installed this old rock quarry scale for weighing crops at harvest time by two new bins here on our farm. At that time we also built a drive over pit for unloading wagons, more for safety than convenience since Jan and I always had small kids helping us. 

That hopper pit was built in 1980. And when we scooped out the spilled rotten corn, I'd say. "Boys, this is what beer is made of", hoping to deter them from drinking someday. When this pit was remodeled years later, I'd tell the grandkids the same thing. With everyone else working on other jobs Friday, I decided it was time to clean the hopper pit before things freeze. After scooping a skidloader bucket full of bad corn, I thought I was old enough to work smarter, not harder. So I went and found the V120 trencher/hoe. Thanks to Kasey and Matt for helping me finish up yesterday.

I was 35 years old when we received 8 inches of snow on a Wednesday/Thursday of Halloween week. We still had substantial acres of corn to harvest at the Denney farm, and the storm dropped the unharvested yield around 20%.

34 years later from that snowy week, we are thankful for  great weather this fall. And that our combine heads are already cleaned up and put away for the year.

Karl used Jon and Alex to tanker hog honey two and a half miles from his hog finishers. Karl and Kristin's 15th wedding anniversary was this past Thursday. 10/30/10.

While working with grandchildren, reconnecting with old(er) friends at a birthday party, and supporting kids with their venues, I thought about how blessed Jan and I are, after our health diagnoses in mid July. And I was reminded of this song that was released just after the farm crisis in the 1980s. We, and others, are standing on God's promises, have fallen on His grace that gets us through, are singing for joy with songs we remember, and yes, we have or will weep as one who is longing for their eternal home. Rich Mullins was my age. And at 42 years old he was tragically killed in an accident. Blessings.

Friday Night Lights

After 7 to 9 weeks of long hours, depending on the operation, most folks have finished harvest and moved on to the "what's next" projects we visited about last week. Our team finished up late Friday night in Jasper county.

 

We picked up 11 "to go" meals of burgers, fries, and onion rings at Iowa's Best Burger Cafe near Kellogg on Interstate 80. On the way back to the field we made a Caseys stop in Sully for a bottle of ketchup. I wished the Lynnville/Sully folks well as many were preparing to attend their playoff football game against Wapello. 

Twenty years ago there was a television series adapted called Friday Night Lights. It featured a football team in a close-knit community in rural west Texas. It was about a community, a team, and a dream, that depicted the trials and triumphs of life.

While finishing our last farm we listened to the Pella Christian game. They finished the regular season with 2 wins and 6 losses. At their playoff game Friday night they played a #1 seed in Clarinda with a stellar record, and fell behind 21 to nothing at halftime. In the 2nd half they rallied, and won the game 27 to 24. Mark and Stacy's, Anton, led the defense with 15 tackles. Thanks for the picture Coach Mike of brothers, parents, and cousins.

Kurt had dry fertilizer spread yesterday, and the chisels started incorporating it in as he is preparing for corn on corn next year. Even though both prices are low, next year's futures commodity markets favor corn over soybeans.

We have a Fendt tractor and recently I was asked what the 942 model number stood for. Teasingly the person said because that's how many buttons it has. Sitting in the cab is like sitting in the cockpit of a jet. However the tractor kind of grows on you, even if your 69.😊

Our youngest grandchild, Tatum, turned two this past week. We do have two younger great-grands with another on the way.

Our community lost a couple of folks this past week. Dennis, 64, was a farmer and a friend. Jayne, 62, was the sister of a friend. Both loved the Lord and are experiencing the "light" of their Savior in heaven.

All of you are part of a "community", a "team". As you look forward, what's your dream? Make sure you include a relationship with God and others. As you look backwards make sure your dreams include gratitude. "And what does the Lord require of you? Act justly, show mercy, and walk humbly with your God". Micah 6:8

What's Next

With the end of harvest in sight, what's next? Well, there's cover crop to seed on tougher acres, hog manure to apply, anhydrous (N) to put on for next year's corn crop, seed to sell, tillage to finish for corn on corn, field edges and waterways to clean up, soil tests to take, dirt work including dozing and tiling, tons of bookwork, and bins to core.

With our local corn processor on shutdown for repairs, we used our bins this week. We have just over 200,000 bu. of storage in smaller bins on farms we own or rent.

We have also started a newer bin site as a family with one larger bin so far. With five helpers with commitments yesterday, grandsons Elijah, Eliott, and Jackson ran the graincarts, keeping corn away from BJ and Kurt, who were combining, and loading Caleb, Matt, Pablo, Karl, and myself who were hauling to this bin where Malaki (5th grader) was in charge of unloading us in the pit as we rolled in.

We had several breakdowns this past week. In all cases our crew would rally around the issue with some removing the broken piece, while someone else would run for parts. Our parts runs ranged from Milan, Illinois, to Hartwick, to West Branch twice, and several local implement dealers and parts store in between. Kudos to the dealers who are open at night.

We have a number of road construction projects going on in our community. Like many communities, the purpose of the new roads are to keep the trucks from going through town.

What's next for you all after a hard week? Do you take a day of rest? I realize some of you are doctors and nurses, policeman and firefighters, pastors and assisted living help. It's not about rules. Does your lifestyle on Sundays honor God and others?

A number of you have confronted and reminded me I don't always get it right. God also got my attention this summer with my, and then Jan's health issues. So I include myself in examining my life with these questions. How are we doing at being an example to our family, our friends, and our community? Rosie (below), who was dedicated and welcomed to church last Sunday, is 5th generation in our family. My mother, Bynie, is still living, myself, BJ, Rachel, and Rosie.

What's next on your agenda today? Do you attend church? I'm not talking on-line. Does your church service convict you to honor God and serve others? Neglecting church and fellowship with others is kind of like running your engine with no oil on the dipstick. You can still run. For awhile.

Finally, what's next after life here on earth? The cemetery is not the end. There is either heaven, eternal reward, or hell, eternal punishment. I haven't heard hell talked about in 20 years except in swearing. It's still real. I'm a sinner. I deserve hell. However I'm redeemed because I've accepted God's payment for my wrongs. I'm looking forward to our eternal reward. Only Christ qualifies us for heaven. Please make sure you have an assurance, and not just a hope. I realize it's a heavy subject this morning. I just care about you all.

Catch Folks Doing Things Right

We live in a world today where it seems easier to accuse people for doing things wrong rather than complimenting them for getting it right. Acknowledging folk's efforts help them feel good about themselves. Folks that feel good about themselves produce results. Ten year old Malaki is unloading corn.

Last Sunday Omega Church recognized and thanked farmers. We attended and drove the Hybrid to church. After services there was an outdoor potluck and fellowship. Thanks Cyril, Jan, Elliott, and Olivia.

Do you consider yourself above or below average in your field? What's your field? What's average? Average is the middle of the best and worst. So half of us are below average and half of us are above.

We live in uncertain times. That sounds difficult. However I remember my parents saying they lived in uncertain times. It's part of life. We will fail at every goal we never make. Another thing. Someone famous once said, "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving them". Ezra and Jackson teamed up in one of the grain carts yesterday.

Most businesses lead with their best. Seed companies are no different. They start with processing and bagging the best seed they have. That's one of the many incentives to taking next year's seed early. Kudos to Karl and Becks Seed. We have two semi loads of new hybrids in with more scheduled.

Even though equipment is inspected and repaired before fall, breakdowns are part of harvest. A big thanks to our crew for adapting, when things happen. Semi tires and brakes, grain cart scales, and combines are the most common interferences with getting the crop out. Dean is replacing an electric header clutch.

Thanks to Kurt and Emily for supplying pizzas to the field crew for supper Friday evening. They were set up and serving pizzas at a venue in town.

This fall, the later in the season we harvest a field, the less yield we get. In the Bible it says, "Open your eyes and look to the fields, ripe with harvest". The longer we put off talking to folks who don't know the Lord yet, the less results we'll have when we enter eternity. Thanks for the picture Becks. 

2000 years ago, the church leaders brought Jesus a woman caught doing wrong, and demanded she be punished. Jesus said, "Alright, but let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone". When the accusers all slipped away Jesus said, ....."Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more". Drinking poison and hoping others suffer doesn't work. Let's catch folks doing things right.