Dan stood at the gas pump and painfully watched the dollar amount go up as he filled his large tank. At the time he purchased his three-quarter ton pickup, he could justify the cost and size. He needed something heavy enough to tow a trailer loaded with equipment, pull anhydrous tanks, or lo…
John D. Rockton was born of humble circumstances in 1957. John D, as he was known to his friends, was ambitious and focused for as long as anyone could remember.
Lying flat on his back, Steve waited for the air to flow back into his lungs. It was a cool, dark rainy night and the mud and water had soaked through his jeans and jacket. One minute he had been walking toward the barn and the next he found himself on the ground.
An old man and a young man sat across the table from each other in a small diner. It had been an unusual day for both.
Ed and Mary had been married for a long time. Now in their early 60s, they could start to see changes in their lives.
The last 35 years of farming had been a long, hard run for Doug. He had farmed his entire life, but it had not been easy.
After finishing his weekend shopping, Tom sped down the road on his way out of town. As usual, he was busy with little time to waste. He drove past the homes of people he knew. If they were outside, he simply waved as he went by. He was too busy to stop. It had been this way for years.
As Jeff sat in the combine and watched the morning slowly disappear, he thought this was just another instance where technology had made his life miserable.
Jeff sat in the tractor idling with a grain cart behind him. He was sitting halfway across the field waiting patiently for his son to return with the combine. It took about 10 minutes to make a round and return to meet up with the cart.
Have you ever had someone tell you that life passes in the wink of an eye? Do you look back at your life and see it in stages? Are there milestones or events that mark slow transitions or abrupt changes?
What principles did you learn as a child? Did you find them to be helpful later in life? What things do you want to teach your children?
The rolling hills of northeast Kansas are different from the rolling hills of northeast Iowa. The soils, the seasons, the precipitation and even crop patterns are all different. But the challenges and underlying agricultural principles are very much the same.
Gretchen and Bill had been married for 35 years. When they first met, Gretchen did not consider herself a farm girl. However, she had been a fast learner and shared Bill’s passion for agriculture and was not afraid to work hard.
The old man and the old woman had spent the pandemic year home alone. With little work to do around the house and few community events to enjoy, their lives did not seem very full. The old woman regularly complained that they never did anything except sit around the house.
How are you spending your COVID-19 days? Do you feel isolated from others? Are you content to just wait until things improve?
What family traditions do you have? Did your grandparents pass down traditions to your parents that you now follow? Have you started some of your own traditions, hoping your grandchildren will one day enjoy them? How much does it cost to create a family tradition?
Editor’s note: This a continuation of the previous Money Today column.
George considered himself a good farmer, or at least better than most of his neighbors.
It had been a long day for Dave. He had spent it combining beans, or at least trying to combine beans. A flat tire on the grain cart and then sheared bolt inside the combine had consumed the entire afternoon. By the time he was ready to start again, there was a brief rain shower and then the…
William Lawrence Hamilton was a long name for a young boy to write. Over the years his friends called him Will, which was much easier to say and put at the top of his school assignments.
Dean woke up startled. Grudgingly he rolled over and looked at the clock. This was the third morning in a row that he had woken up at 4:30. He considered it the curse of old age not being able to sleep. It seemed to have gotten worse during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jeff watched the final truck rumble down the driveway with the last of his dairy cows. The last few months seemed like a dream. He never would have thought he would be out of the dairy business at age 50. Jeff felt he had spent his entire life milking cows. It was all he had known.
Do you feel you are in control of the things happening in your life right now? Or do you feel you can only react to what is going on around you?
Have you ever considered sharing your wisdom? Do you feel you have learned something during your life that is worth sharing?
Farming requires frequent evaluation and assessment. It forces you to be honest with yourself and your decisions. The story of two good friends illustrates the benefit of honest assessment in farming decisions.
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