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! 

Analyzing from the Airwaves with Trinity Lewis

Today we welcome Trinity Lewis - an Ag Broadcaster!  She is doing her part to share her view on agriculture !

Hey everybody and welcome to the Country Café of the Airwaves, well at least that’s how I begin my day! My name is Trinity Lewis and I currently reside right on the border of Western South Dakota and North Eastern Wyoming. I am the fifth of six kids, and our family reaches back as far as we can date as agriculturists, either farming, ranching or extension work of some kind. I was raised on a commercial cattle ranch where we had a large emphasis on sheep production as well, today though my life is slightly different.

 

When I was a junior in high school I had the opportunity to intern an ag broadcaster in Sturgis, SD. This experience allowed me a platform to discuss some of the real issues facing agriculture at the time. After that I was hooked and throughout the next bit of high school I grabbed a mike every chance I got and loved to share my passion for agriculture with anyone and everyone.

Following high school I had some unique opportunities that further solidified my faith in the greatest industry in America. I was able to travel every inch of my state as a Wyoming State FFA Officer and then I had the opportunity to cover a lot of the US as a collegiate livestock judger. Every operation visited in that time had something unique about it. One cow-calf operation we visited raised cow dogs too. Another unique facility that sticks out in my mind was a cattle operation that had hogs and corn and the thing that made it different was the numerous generations who had lived there. The family running the place then had the same last name as the family who had originally settled there centuries ago.  Is there anything more American than that?

Speaking of families and generations, I am now married to a Western Wyoming guy who spends his days as a logger. We started Lewis Log Cutting and Clearing almost a year ago and we are blessed to be able to say it continually grows. Justin’s hard but close work with forestry has opened a whole new part of agriculture for me and I love to research and speak on behalf of keeping our forests sustainable and healthy now as well.

Today I have the opportunity to host a 54 minute daily radio program, “The Country Café of the Airwaves”,  that reaches from Canada to Colorado, Bismark to Billings, Midwest Wyoming to Marshall Minnesota. I’ve heard it said that agriculturists do a great job of raising everything except their voice so that is my goal every day when I pull the mike down and click the “on air” button. I have to tell you, this longstanding program was started by a radio great in our region and he has fashioned the program to be a smorgasbord of topics. To keep our listeners tuned in I do the same but make it a daily goal to add a bit of agriculture, stir in some American patriotism and sprinkle some God talk on top of all the rest.

Although radio and speaking are my passions I also have the opportunity to do some freelance writing and blogging as well. You would be welcome to join me online anytime  www.analyzingfromtheairwaves.blogspot.com where I do my best to share all of the good ag life brings and the ways that country people are some of our country’s best assets.  

 

Thank you Trinity!!! Be sure follow her blog and check her out on Facebook www.facebook.com/AnalyzingFromTheAirwaves! 

As Trinity said - we need all of our farmer and ranchers to raise their voice! You can tell your story next! E-mail us at foafeature@gmail.com to be the next FOA feature!

Linda - Texas Ranch Girl

Today we welcome Linda – a Texas Ranch girl.  This busy gal is busy agvocating and living life to the fullest on with her husband on their ranch in Texas.

From my childhood in Texas to my travels around the world - my heart has always belonged to my family and the ranch.

My family farmed rice and raised cattle in Katy, Texas - when Katy was a small farm town. Dad always told the story about his biggest decision on the school board was to buy a second school bus for the kids in the Addicks area to get to Katy High School. And now for those of you who are familiar with the area, I think there are five AAAAA high schools. My Dad was a great cattleman - my Mom a sweet Southern lady. So my childhood went from guns, horses, working cattle to piano and ballet. But I can tell you now - the horses and cattle won out and stole my heart.

We lived in the country on the ranch - my grandparents lived on either side of me. My family and our neighbors were my world and my extended family. We were so loved - so protected. We were also disciplined and had chores, but our world was so safe and secure. That did not mean we did not have trouble - but when you did - neighbors pitched in and helped - loved you through. They were all God-fearing, hard-working family oriented people. Integrity was everything - land purchases, farm deals, cattle purchases and sales - all done on a man's word and his hand shake. Life was real on the ranch - life and death - disappointments and victories - successes and failures.

I was always into mischief - but I made good grades - graduated from Katy High School - then on to The University of Texas in Austin for my B.B.A. with a major in marketing. Foleys Department Store (now Macys)  hired me for their executive training program - Fashion Merchandising.

I am married to Gary and I have two sons, Scott and Christopher. So my life has been filled with all the love, laughter, and drama of two sons - and a career in fashion merchandising - and the ranch. But my travels - the famous personalities I met - the social engagements - the boys many activities - football games - fell short with my Dad the rancher. Believe me when I tell you that ranchers were way ahead of the times in the women's lib movement - you always got to work just like the guys on the ranch. The week-ends belonged to the ranch and there were always cows to work - hay to haul - pastures to mow - fences to mend - and any other project Dad could think of to accomplish while you were at the ranch. So I spent Monday through Friday in a fast paced world of fashion - many weeks in New York - but home was always back at the ranch. It certainly kept me grounded.  I would go from whistling down cabs to whistling in my horses – skyscrapers to barns – executives to cowboys – delis and 4 star restaurants to campfires – drivers and limos to pick-up trucks and trailers – fast talk to slow talk – Broadway stars to star studded night skys.

If you have spent most of your time in a high stress office and not had the opportunity to saddle up and work cattle in 100 degree temps - from sun rise until the sun sets - with a bunch of cowboys who know no pain and fear is out of the question.......then you have missed the true meaning of "sweat equity". And you have missed some great stories. And that is what I want to share with you. I have traveled the road of board rooms - designer clothes - stiletto heels and I want to take you on the trail where our board room is open pasture with cows grazing - our jeans are Wranglers - and it's all about the boots and spurs.

I want you to know what really happens on a working ranch - how we work hard and play hard - how a good cup of coffee with friends and one of Gary's chuckwagon meals is better than any 4 star restaurant - how 24-7 is a way of life - and how we are always available for each other and we really do leave the light on for you.

So saddle up and join us for the ride of a lifetime. That's what it is - life!! This is one trail you don't want to miss. So let's ride out.

Thanks Linda for a great feature!!  You can follow her on her blog Texas Ranch Girl. 

How did you become involved in agriculture? What's your story?  We need it! E-mail us at foafeature@gmail.com  

Mandy and Brian - Aussie Farmers

Today we welcome a special guest from Australia.  Mandy and Brian are cattle ranchers in New South Wales! 

 

G’Day Mob,

Greetings from the Land Downunder. I have been greatly enjoying reading through these profiles on Faces of Agriculture and learning a little more about farming in the USA; and I thought I could lend an Aussie perspective.

 

My husband, Brian, and I own a 2,000 acre property in northern, inland New South Wales (NSW) where we run a cattle trading business. The country here is undulating woodland with plenty of rocks and spring-fed streams – hence the property name “Rocky Springs”.

 

Brian grew up on high country stations(ranch) in New Zealand and worked as a head-shepherd before coming to Australia. I spent my early years on a dairy farm in southern NSW and then on small acreage (14 acres) while at high school but I wasn’t a farmer. I went to university and studied geology and met Brian on a drill rig in the deserts of Western Australia.

 

We both harboured a dream of getting back to the land so after making some money from the mining boom of the early 1990’s, and after a few detours, we bought our first real farm in 2004. And hasn’t it been a learning curve.

2004 – 2010 were drought years in Australia so we learnt the hard way. We started with a steep, rough block with hopes of breeding Santa Gertrudis cattle but the drought and the hills shunted us towards the tougher Brahmans. Then we moved to Rocky Springs and in 2009 realised that breeding was not working for us. It was about this time that we happened upon a methodology developed by your very own Bud Williams, which taught us how to be profitable in any market. So now we are principally a trading operation (I still have a breeding herd of 2 Brahmans!) running anywhere from 200 to 900 cows depending on the season. With a bit of work we are confident in any climate, whether it be drought or flood.

Pasture in Drought

 

Bud Williams also developed Low Stress Stock Handling, which we employ on our farm. With Brian in the sale yards (sale barns) a lot of the time, I find myself often working our cattle alone and using LSS methods has given me a confidence I may not have otherwise had.

 

One of my most satisfying moments in the last few months was taking eighty unweaned angus steers (bought out of different sale yards), weaning them at Rocky Springs, working them through our yards and selling them a few weeks later as one mob. I loaded the steers onto the semi-trailer truck and the driver commented “Gee, you’ve done a good job with these, the buyer is going to love them”. The whole exercise made me proud of what we are doing – in this case taking unruly cattle, and being able to sell them as a quiet, well behaved mob a short time later.

We are not rolling in gold coins on the farm yet but we have a strong idea of what we want to achieve:

 

Make this farm profitable without outside income

Manage our cattle quietly and to the highest possible standards

Enhance the pasture quality and the environment

Employ from and contribute to the local community.

I blog at www.rockysprings.wordpress.com and the focus of my writing is not so much the technical aspects of what we do, but the soul, which is my passion for rural Australia.

Thank you for the opportunity of sharing my agricultural story with you.

  

Pasture in a good year.

 

 

Thank you Mandy and Brian for giving us a taste of Australian Agriculture!!!  Good luck to you and keep up the great work!  Be sure to follow this ranching couple on their blog and learn more about Ag Downunder!

 

 

What's you Ag Story? Tell us about it! E-mail us at foafeature@gmail.com 

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 acre corn and soybean farm called Hewitt Farms, Inc. in Le Sueur, Minnesota. My husband and I were just married in September so we are still newlyweds on the farm!

I am a 5th generation farmer, growing up on a soybean, corn, cattle and hog farm. My husband and I currently rent the land that my parents used to farm. My parent's farm has been in our family for over a century now and was inducted into the Century Farms program! In fact, my family lives in the same house my great-great grandfather built in 1906! My husband is a 3rd generation farmer growing up around crop farming. Farming has a special place in our hearts as we continue the traditions our grandparents and great-grandparents started.

 

I grew up with all kinds of animals. I don't think my mom was too happy that I insisted this baby lamb come into the house with me.

Both my husband and I have jobs off the farm. My husband is a diesel mechanic for Ziegler CAT, working on farm equipment and heavy machinery. I work as an intern for the Minnesota Farm Bureau. My job at the Minnesota Farm Bureau involves working on the Ag Cab Lab. It is a tractor cab and a combine cab that allow children to get in and virtually plant or cultivate a field. It is really exciting to watch the kids interact with the game and the discussion that is sparked with their parents. Hopefully one day, some of these children might find themselves working in agriculture too!

 This is an applicator, a piece of equipment we use to help combat weeds and bugs in our fields. We also do custom application for other farmers.

Something unique out about our farm, is our agriculture business that we have too. Hewitt Drainage Equipment specializes in water management for farmers all across Minnesota. We sell tiling equipment, Golddigger tile plows, tile stringers, and do custom tiling. We do a lot with GPS technology and mapping tile lines as well, making it a lot easier for farmers to know where their tile is and fix it when a problem arises. We think it is pretty cool that through agricultural tiling, we help the soil act like a sponge, soaking up more water preventing run-off, soil erosion, and reducing flooding.

Our jobs on the farm change on a daily basis. I do a lot of marketing and media for both our farm and for Hewitt Drainage Equipment. I do everything from managing our Facebook pages, to updating our blog Hewitt Farms, Inc., to designing banners and flyers for the many farm shows we attend throughout the year. I also help during planting and harvesting season by driving combine, tractor and rock picking with the skid loader. My other job during those two seasons: professional sandwich maker. I can pack a lunch or supper for the guys complete with hot coffee and fresh baked brownies like no one's business.

One of my jobs on the farm is driving combine.

 It can be a little daunting driving such big machinery but I love it!

 

My husband does a lot of upkeep on all of our equipment on the farm. He does routine maintenance work, but also fixes the combines, tractors and planters when they break down. During planting season, he is usually out cultivating fields. Planting takes us about two weeks if the weather is cooperating, and three to four if Mother Nature decides to throw some rain our way. During fall, he is often driving combine, working to harvest our crop.

Ray, can often  be found driving semi and hauling our crop to be sold to the local elevators. A lot of our corn crop goes to the local ethanol plant to be made into fuel. Ray also has his applicators license so he is our fertilizer and crop protectant guy on the farm. Ray also sells seed corn, so he is out delivering seed to local farmers to help them get their crop in the ground.

Kevin, my father-in-law, is usually busy with our agricultural water management business. He does many farm and trade shows throughout the year selling tile plows and other tiling equipment. He drives all over Minnesota and often into other states, delivering Golddigger Tile Plows. He makes his way into the tractor during harvest to help pull the grain cart.

 Last summer our U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar visited our farm to learn about our farming operation, agriculture business and some of the issues and problems we face today in agriculture. Pictured are Mark, Kevin, Jeanette, Ray and our hired-hand Nathan with Amy.

 

No farm is complete without animals. We raise a small flock of chickens so we have plenty of fresh eggs for our own family and friends. We also raise a pig or steer every other year to help feed our family. We take very good care of our animals making sure they have fresh water and plenty of food at all times as well as adequate shelter. We also have three dogs running around the farm: Cass, Denali and Charger. We have one Lionhead rabbit named Waffle. We also have plenty of farm cats.

We are constantly checking our fields, soil, and crop. Crop health is very important to us.

I am currently working on my Masters degree in Agricultural Education and Communication. At Hewitt Farms, we never stop learning. We are always looking to improve our practices and become more efficient and effective. We embrace technology on our farm because we know it is an important part of our overall farm's operation. Technology allows us to be even better stewards of the land because we can pinpoint areas where our soil needs more nutrients or reduce overlap or only use a select amount of fertilizer.

My favorite thing about farming is being able to work outside and always being busy. I don't have much down time and I enjoy that. I have to be productive with my time and farming allows me to do that. I love being outdoors so being able to work in an environment I love means a lot to me. I love looking out the tractor cab window to see a bright blue sky with a hawk soaring back and forth in front of me and a doe with her fawn standing off into the prairie grass curiously watching while I cultivate the dark, rich soil beneath me. There is nothing better than the views you get from the seat of a combine or tractor.

This is my husband Mark & me with one of the many dogs running around our farm. His name is Charger and he is a chocolate lab. The tractor in the background is a 1949 D Case that we are working on restoring.

 

You can find us on Facebook both at Facebook  or Facebook.com/HewittDraingeEquipment. You can also follow some of my stories about farming, life and work at www.hewittfarmsinc.wordpress.com. 

Signing off from rural Minnesota! Don't be afraid to stop by for a visit!

Thank you Mark and Sara for this great feature! Thank you for all your hard work! Good luck with the 2013 crop year!!

YOU could be the next FOA feature! Contact us today!!!!

 

 

 

Guy and Rachel Living in the Sagebrush Sea

Today we bring you from the Sagebrush Sea. Rachel and her family care for a herd of cows out in Southwestern Idaho.

You can find me at The Sagebrush Sea and Facebook.

I was raised on the Quarter Circle U Ranch on the Tongue River in South Eastern Montana, where my father’s family has been raising commercial cattle since the 1880s. My brother and I, split our time between Montana and Northeastern Wyoming, where our mother ran a herd of Registered Red Angus with her family.

When I reached high school I was fed up with cold weather and uncooperative animals, so I turned my attention to academics and polo ponies. When I left home to attend college, I thought I was escaping ranching for good. I graduated four years later; I couldn’t get back to the ranch quickly enough.

A few months later, I met my husband Guy, who was starting colts and cowboying in Wyoming. We’ve spent the last eleven years working for ranches in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Additionally, my brothers’ and I have a herd of our own cattle.

Currently, we are employed in Southwestern Idaho. My husband is the lead-off cowboy on the JS and TM ranches, owned by Simplot Land and Livestock. He is responsible for a cowboy crew of three, 1,800 head of mother cows, and a broodmare band. Our cattle travel nearly 60-miles from the winter range to the summer range and back again. So Guy spends most of the year at various cow camps along the way, while the kids and I visit over school breaks.

A commercial cow-calf operation is unique, because your responsibilities change from season-to-season. In the spring, we are calving heifers, feeding, and fencing, until the grass catches up with us. As the grass greens and the weather warms in the Summer, we finish up branding calves, watch our water closely, and ride often to prevent the cattle from damaging sensitive, riparian areas. As fall rolls in, the cattle reverse course and we begin weaning and shipping the calves. This is my favorite time of year. Not only is there a lot of horseback work to be done, I swear you can see those momma cows kick up their heels and celebrate as their calves are loaded on the truck. Winter is typically a slow time of year, with fewer responsibilities. If the weather isn't bad, we feed some hay and keep the water free of ice. Then the cycle begins again.

I am pleased that my children are a part of this lifestyle. I enjoy the interaction with animals; achieving a moment of perfect feel with your horse or witnessing the arrival of a new life into the world during calving. We ranchers measure time by the change of seasons and make a habit of watching the sky. Whether my kids continue to ranch is not important to me, but I want them to develop an appreciation for the lifestyle and its’ unique connection to the natural world.

Thank you Rachel for the feature!!! You can follow this cowboy family at The Sagebrush Sea and on Facebook!

How are you involved in agriculture? We need your story today! E-mail us at foafeature@gmail.com and learn how to become our next FOA!

First Generation Farmers

Today we welcome Shea Lowe. Her family are first generation farmers in Kentucky! With hard work they are making their dreams come true - being involved in agriculture!

We are located in Murray, KY (Western KY, just west of the Land between the Lakes area KY lake). Our main cash crop is Dark Fired Tobacco (which is all labor intensive) but we also grow corn, soybeans and wheat while running a small angus cattle herd.

I have a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science from Murray State University. I always planned to work in the business field (I love skirts and heels), but God had another plan for me in 1998. I met the love of my life and in 2002. I married a farmer! From there on it was dirty clothes and hair. We are a FIRST GENERATION FARM FAMILY!!! My caps are happy caps because we are so proud to be able to work God's Land and raise our girls within the FARM LIFE!! I am hoping my blog creates some awareness and education about agriculture.

Every day is a great day outside, with our "hands in the dirt - ourHEARTS are at work!" This is the drive and slogan that started my blog; this is my life as the farmer’s wife. The drive is the easy part. My husband grew up a typical small boy, playing with tractors and trucks. His father worked for TVA and his mother is a house wife. My parents were school teachers, and I lived in the school/sports area since birth. Neither one of us grew up on a farm nor had anyone in our families farmed for a living. To our parent’s surprise, we are proud to say that we are a first-generation farm family.

We started our farm, Lowe Farms in 2002 when we married, but it actually started in 2001 as our neighbor leased us two acres worth of dark-fired tobacco pounds. We split the crop 50/50, he paid for all the inputs and we paid the labor. The profit from this crop allowed my husband to buy an engagement ring for me and put a down payment on a double wide mobile home and two acres of ground.

We are blessed by supportive family and friends along with community relationships that keep us thriving. We were turned down in 2002 by a loan officer that said we would never make it as a farm owner and operator. That incident put a drive in us to work hard and achieve the goal of being a first generation family. Thanks to a new loan officer in 2002 at a different bank and our faith in Gods works, we still operate Lowe Farms- a dream still in the making. Our dream was to raise a family in agriculture and teach them the lifestyle that feeds the world, and that nothing is greater than calling ourselves AN AMERICAN FARMER!

Typical day is MOM first. Normally it’s getting kids up and out the door to school. Next is to the herd to feed for the morning and make sure all are accounted for. Then I head to the tobacco field where I manage our h2a migrant workers. I drive the setter during setting time and tractors during cutting time. My duties are to see the work schedule is achieved each day and the guys are on task. You will normally find me right with them, I can’t stand to ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. My husband tends to the larger crops (corn, beans and wheat) when they are in season and I take charge in the tobacco field. On days where we are caught up I work in the office and catch up on paperwork and tax information. And all days are spent working between field and family being that there are 3 meals and a house to tend too as well.

Everything is my favorite thing when it comes to living on the farm. I guess not growing up and living the farm life as a child, makes each a new day. I love the smell of the fresh air, the sounds of the tractors in the distance, and the animals that we raise. I love how they meet me as they see me coming to feed them. I love my kids barefoot and carefree. I grew up in town on the cement and heard the hustle and bustle of the college students to and from school. It was so hard to move to the country where street lights weren’t every 10 feet but maybe seen every 10 miles. Now, I have the passion of teaching and spreading the importance of hard work and the fiber that feeds this great world.

Farming isn’t a way of life IT IS MY LIFE!! It is what feeds my family and yours. From the care and compassion of the cows that we hand raise for beef, to the education of how food is properly produced for the world. Farm life if hard, and like everything in life can make you or break you.

Thank you Shea for a great post! Farming and ranching is a great life! Good luck and we wish you much farming success!!! You can follow this farming family on their blog!

What is your story? Are you a begining farmer? A 5th generation farmer? We need your story! Email us at foafeature@gmail.com and learn how to become the next Face of Agriculture!