Agriculture
I haven?t always live in the country, but I?ve never really lived in the city either. I spent most of my life on a small acreage right on the blacktop outside city limits. We didn?t farm or raise cattle or hogs. We did however have a couple of horses and cows throughout the year and baled about 20 acres of hay. We never owned and new or fancy equipment because it wasn?t necessary. We cut, raked, & baled our hay with a JD 70! My grandpa used to farm before my grandma wanted to move to town so I?ve been around farming for most of my life.
I met my boyfriend in 2010 and we fell in love. I was working on a nursing degree and he was right off the farm working on a degree in ag power technology. He is now a fulltime ag mechanic at the family shop and helps out with the family farming operation and hog buildings. I am a part-time RN and secretary at the shop. In 2012 he bought a house so I moved to the country to live with him. We also adopted a black lab-mix puppy who has become a big part of our life. I?ve live in the country for over a year now and have learned so much. I love living out here and wouldn?t change it for anything.
Since moving to the country and moving in with my boyfriend I?ve ?joined? a 5,600+ acre corn & soybean farming operation, hog building operation, and ag repair shop business. I do help out with the farming operation but it generally doesn?t involve operating the equipment, I pick up parts, drop off food, and move trucks around to different fields. I do however enjoy riding in the tractor or semi with my boyfriend. The operation owns the hog buildings, but not the hogs. We rent out the buildings. But that also means that we are responsible for repairs. And I have spent far too many hours helping weld gates and slap-patch the floors in the hog buildings. The ag repair shop is what takes up most of my time. I am a part-time secretary at the shop, besides all of the bookwork, phones calls, etc. that means service calls, getting parts, and helping work on tractors. My boyfriend also has an ag repair business on the side, so I do all of that bookwork, taxes, etc.
Tractors have now become part of my daily life. And although I?m not in the tractor farming daily or out feeding cattle at 5am, agriculture is still a big part of my life. During the spring and harvest the shop gets VERY busy. Often I am there on my own taking phone calls and helping customers, while my boyfriend is off on service calls. During these times my boyfriend is in charge of the shop while his father is in a tractor. It?s a busy job and takes a lot of work. During harvest we get much more field time then in the spring, that?s just how things work out.
I?m definitely an agvocate. It?s important that farmers get the public?s support. People don?t understand how much work farming takes or how farmers are the reason they have food on their plates. I hate when people say how farming is easy and a lazy person?s job because you only farm a couple months out of the year. This isn?t the case at all though. In fact in our case, everyone besides one person who is in-charge of all off-season farm related stuff, has a job outside of farming: mechanic, business owner, manager, nurse, jailer, lawyer, and some others! It?s nice to see kids that are just graduating high school going into farming or ag-related industries.
- What Makes A Farmer, Producer, Rancher...
Living in a itty bitty town, one 4-way stop light, and neighbors 1 or 2 miles away is the life for me. I don't live on a great huge farm, honestly I live on a very tiny farm. I have 15 chickens, a golden retriever, a heifer (lives at a different farm),...
- Hewitt Farms Inc. Of Minnesota!
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- Beckstead Family - Custom Harvesters & Ranch Operators
For our next feature, please welcome Tana Beckstead and her family as they share with us their unique agricultural story! Our agriculture story is made up of Beckstead Harvesting LLC, Mount Oxford Ranch and Oxford Mtn. Ranch LLC. We are Doug and...
- The Road To Ranching
Today we welcome Shelli Mader. She writes to us about her parent's road to ranching and how agriculture has been part of her life. Her story is one that I think a lot of people can relate to in agriculture. She also offers advice for beginning farmers...
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Meet Steph and Lance Miller of Alabama. This proud farming family raises cotton, peanuts, poultry and much more! Miller Farms is located in North Alabama in an area called Sand Mountain. My husband, Lance and I farm with Lance?s Uncle Jim and Aunt Nell....
Agriculture
Brandi in John Deere Green
Today we welcome Brandi who shares with us about the mechanical and repair side of agriculture and what it takes to keep her family's business running year round. Welcome Brandi!
My name is Brandi and I am the blogger behind In John Deere Green? I blog about my life in smalltown Iowa.
I haven?t always live in the country, but I?ve never really lived in the city either. I spent most of my life on a small acreage right on the blacktop outside city limits. We didn?t farm or raise cattle or hogs. We did however have a couple of horses and cows throughout the year and baled about 20 acres of hay. We never owned and new or fancy equipment because it wasn?t necessary. We cut, raked, & baled our hay with a JD 70! My grandpa used to farm before my grandma wanted to move to town so I?ve been around farming for most of my life.
I met my boyfriend in 2010 and we fell in love. I was working on a nursing degree and he was right off the farm working on a degree in ag power technology. He is now a fulltime ag mechanic at the family shop and helps out with the family farming operation and hog buildings. I am a part-time RN and secretary at the shop. In 2012 he bought a house so I moved to the country to live with him. We also adopted a black lab-mix puppy who has become a big part of our life. I?ve live in the country for over a year now and have learned so much. I love living out here and wouldn?t change it for anything.
Since moving to the country and moving in with my boyfriend I?ve ?joined? a 5,600+ acre corn & soybean farming operation, hog building operation, and ag repair shop business. I do help out with the farming operation but it generally doesn?t involve operating the equipment, I pick up parts, drop off food, and move trucks around to different fields. I do however enjoy riding in the tractor or semi with my boyfriend. The operation owns the hog buildings, but not the hogs. We rent out the buildings. But that also means that we are responsible for repairs. And I have spent far too many hours helping weld gates and slap-patch the floors in the hog buildings. The ag repair shop is what takes up most of my time. I am a part-time secretary at the shop, besides all of the bookwork, phones calls, etc. that means service calls, getting parts, and helping work on tractors. My boyfriend also has an ag repair business on the side, so I do all of that bookwork, taxes, etc.
Tractors have now become part of my daily life. And although I?m not in the tractor farming daily or out feeding cattle at 5am, agriculture is still a big part of my life. During the spring and harvest the shop gets VERY busy. Often I am there on my own taking phone calls and helping customers, while my boyfriend is off on service calls. During these times my boyfriend is in charge of the shop while his father is in a tractor. It?s a busy job and takes a lot of work. During harvest we get much more field time then in the spring, that?s just how things work out.
I?m definitely an agvocate. It?s important that farmers get the public?s support. People don?t understand how much work farming takes or how farmers are the reason they have food on their plates. I hate when people say how farming is easy and a lazy person?s job because you only farm a couple months out of the year. This isn?t the case at all though. In fact in our case, everyone besides one person who is in-charge of all off-season farm related stuff, has a job outside of farming: mechanic, business owner, manager, nurse, jailer, lawyer, and some others! It?s nice to see kids that are just graduating high school going into farming or ag-related industries.
Thanks Brandi for the great feature! Be sure to check out her blog, In John Deere Green, and also be sure to look her up on Facebook!
- What Makes A Farmer, Producer, Rancher...
Living in a itty bitty town, one 4-way stop light, and neighbors 1 or 2 miles away is the life for me. I don't live on a great huge farm, honestly I live on a very tiny farm. I have 15 chickens, a golden retriever, a heifer (lives at a different farm),...
- Hewitt Farms Inc. Of Minnesota!
Today we welcome a great farming family from Minnesota! Meet Sara and Mark Hewitt! Welcome to life as a young farm wife in rural, southern Minnesota! My name is Sara Hewitt and I farm with my husband, Mark, his brother, Ray and my in-laws on a 3,000...
- Beckstead Family - Custom Harvesters & Ranch Operators
For our next feature, please welcome Tana Beckstead and her family as they share with us their unique agricultural story! Our agriculture story is made up of Beckstead Harvesting LLC, Mount Oxford Ranch and Oxford Mtn. Ranch LLC. We are Doug and...
- The Road To Ranching
Today we welcome Shelli Mader. She writes to us about her parent's road to ranching and how agriculture has been part of her life. Her story is one that I think a lot of people can relate to in agriculture. She also offers advice for beginning farmers...
- Miller Farms
Meet Steph and Lance Miller of Alabama. This proud farming family raises cotton, peanuts, poultry and much more! Miller Farms is located in North Alabama in an area called Sand Mountain. My husband, Lance and I farm with Lance?s Uncle Jim and Aunt Nell....