The Art of Being Conflicted: beans

Two Thoughts for Tuesday

First Thought ....Farms are changing

In the forty years that I have been married to my husband I have seen big changes in family farms. Farms, even of the family farm variety have gotten bigger but fewer people stay in the profession. In the case of my husband's family farm, only one of the brothers remains committed to stay "on the farm" AND two brothers decided to be silent (well...maybe not so silent) partners keeping their farm in the family. My husband is one of those brothers. That is not to say that he isn't committed to making it a sustainable business and takes pride in the farming way of life.

The farming community (at least the group around Iroquois County) is made up of a close knit, supportive, hardworking group of families that are just good people.

My 2nd thought: Being a farmer isn't for the faint of heart.

This is what barns used to look like.

This is what barns look like today.

Drought effects on corn crops 40 years ago

Today farmers might handle drought with one of these

I was chatting with some of the older farmers at the Iroquois fair over the weekend about the cost of tractors and such. I am a total nerd that way.

They tell me that in 1951 they probably paid $2300 for tractor like this one.

Those days are long gone....

Today's tractors have on-board computers that have GPS technology and keep the rows from overlapping, keep the operator nice and cool in the air conditioning and a farmer can plug in his ipod or talk hands free with built in bluetooth technology. While you might not think of a tractor as needing bells and whistles, a tractor like this can plant large acreages more efficiently with less fuel and less waste of seed and chemicals. From the farmer's point of view, he can work a lot more hours and conduct business without "beating himself up" as in the days of the older tractors. Productivity is a good thing.

But all of this has raised the price a bit. This tractor would cost in the neighborhood of $300,000.

The end result is perfectly planted rows.

Doesn't my BIL do a good job?

End of the row on part of my husband's crop

If you missed the turn coming out of the driveway you would be covered in corn.

Soybeans, the all purpose bean

I will say that my husband and my brother-in-law think I have lost my mind standing out in the yard taking pictures of the corn and beans.

If I were to write up a bucket list, I think one of the things I would like to do is try driving that tractor. I have dropped a few hints to both husband and brother-in-law but so far they think I am trying to be funny.

And when I say funny...I mean they think I am being ridiculous. I might point out that I have never had a wreck with a tractor yet. (how dare they point out that is because they haven't let me drive one yet)

Not to be denied without a fight, I have given them a second option as well. If they don't want to let me loose on the tractor there is a semi trailer truck that I could give a try. I am thinking an 18 wheeler could be fun to drive. Surely someone could show me how to shift 18 gears. How hard can it be???

The Good for the day....I have a gem of a brother-in-law and he is married to a gem thus giving me a equally great sister-in-law.

The Bad for the day....Farmers are under appreciated in a lot of cases. It is harder and harder to stay competitive. You have to really work smart to get the yields you need.

The Weird for the day...The cost of equipment