Tiffany, a newspaper reporter from the Osky Herald, stopped by one day and asked how corporate farms were doing these days. I told her we couldn't help her out much on corporate farming. However I mentioned what we valued as a family enterprise and told her we'd be glad to share those points so her readers get a picture of life on a family farm.
For 20 years we have described our operation with the words: Faith. Family. Friends. and Farming. The reason I added this story this morning is because Tiffany changed the focus of her story and nailed the values of family farming with her article about Mike and Adrienne's and our families operations. Kutos Tiffany. And thank you for being brave in a politically correct culture.
Food: We are going to use a little different format this morning. Sometimes I can get in a rut. Mark and Stacy's Elijah and Allison are finding mushrooms thanks to a warmer week. Thanks for the picture Stacy.
Favorite: Brian and Becky's Hazel has picked and is holding one of my favorite foods. The asparagus is coming on strong. It's a Sunday tradition at our house to cut and fix it for Sunday lunch during asparagus season. Thanks for the picture Becky.
Fish: I know. You are going to count more than 10 folks in this picture. However I'm not sure how to apply that to family and help who work closely together every day. Last evening after a busy week Mike deep fried some of the fish he has caught this spring. He also seasoned a pork loin and smoked it over an open fire. Thanks Mike and Mike and gals.
Fun: Last Sunday afternoon Jan and I stopped at Mark and Stacy's where a few dads and their kids were riding together enjoying a beautiful afternoon and time together.
Fast: Spring happened in a hurry this year due to a dry month. Much of the crop looks great. There is a little crop struggling to emerge in areas where the fields were wet early. Also, I'm getting calls recently asking how deep a fellow can plant soybeans as our moisture continues to go deeper as we wait for rain. We have not had rain since our two snow events 3 or 4 weeks ago. Below Alex is loading soybeans for one of our last custom work jobs. Thanks Alex for planting all the soybeans this year.
Finished: Many farmers in southcentral Iowa are finished planting both corn and soybeans. Kurt is cleaning out his hoppers. He and BJ plant the majority of our corn acres.
Kasey and Karl have been spraying ours and others crop acres. Kutos to them for the long hours and many miles. A big thank you to Jim, Pablo, Andy, Matt, and Lucas who alternate between other jobs to keep the spray loads coming to the fields with semis. Also thanks to Nathan, Brennan, David, Jim, and Dean for keeping long hours at Nutrien and getting us loaded.
Not often is the seed shed empty in early May. Thanks to Ezra and Elijah who helped Grandpa after finishing Grandma's jobs. I think they are saving their wages for motorcycles
Facts: I've counted to 10 after my thoughts on our countries situation. I would like to encourage you all to think on your own and measure what you hear with who is saying it. Kutos to my friend Phil who after hearing how many more deaths we had in this country from March 1 to April 4 actually checked it out and found out our death count was actually down 5000 folks in that 5 week period from a year ago. Also thanks to Jan, a nurse in South Dakota, who enlightened me about the facts of the Mexican families who work in the packing plants. Finally, I truly believe and it has been proven that many folks had already had the virus in late January and February including folks close to us. Meaning the fact is the death count from this pandemic is many times less than the common flu.
Falsehoods: I am convinced there are folks that are not telling the truth because they are enjoying the power and want us as citizens to be in a dependent state as we willingly follow their rules. The media is also very bias toward keeping us in fear. These folks are becoming farther and farther away from we the people in a solution to our situation as our towns and small businesses continue to suffer and die.
Future: I will say if you worry too much about tomorrow you are wasting today with the worry. However we as a country are at another crossroads between a continued culture of fear or getting our freedoms back and will have to have a face-off one of these days. Kutos to Governor Kim who has made Iowa one of the best places to live right now.
Forbearance: This last story is about God getting my attention. One of Jan's lines is we only know in part. Mark says we always have more to learn. A neighbor stopped by and asked if we could help him disk his CRP acres. He mentioned the field was full of stumps and he hoped a thank you would pay the bill. I had no problem with that. It's our job to help others. So one day this week in the heat of the planting battle I asked Mike if he would ride shotgun with the Ranger looking out for stumps and we would get that job off our list. After visiting with the neighbor we accomplished the job. However the neighbor followed us home, came into the office with his mask on, and thanked us from the bottom of his heart. We visited for some time about weather, crops, etc. My phone was silently ringing in my pocket and I knew their were planters waiting in the field on seed. I was getting fidgety thinking I had snakes to kill, meaning things to do in a hurry. I'm in a hurry too often. As I got up and headed to the office door telling him I was needing to go he stopped me cold with his next statement. He said, "Steve, I need to tell someone. Our son died day before yesterday. With our compromised health, we are not able to go see him or his family". Wow. Here was a fellow grieving and I thought my time was important. I gave him all the time he needed. I promised to pray for him and his family. And I promised him a hug when all this other stuff was over. Then I asked God to forgive me for thinking I was too busy for others.
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