Saturday, October 18, 2008

Farmers love to lean on any object.  Whenever you see a farmer in a conversation, they will either lean on a tractor tire, the hood of their truck, or any other object that they could reach.  When I went out to lunch with Farmer Ron, the State Senator, a stranger came up to our booth and just leaned on my chair like he knew me for 20 years.  He was talking non-stop, but he had no where to go since the weather wasn’t suitable for harvesting.  After lunch, we went back to the feedlot and a trucker came to drop bales of hay.  I wanted to test out this whole “leaning” thing on a stranger.  I walked right up to his window and leaned right inside and started talking.  I don’t think anyone cares about knowing each others names, as long as they are having a friendly conversation. 

The feedlot was an experience like no other.  As the new shipment of baby calves came in, one of the cowboys said, “Welcome to hell.”  It truly is like a concentration camp for cattle.  They come in after they are torn away from their mothers and they are fed for a year to fatten up and then BAM; slaughtered.  I had the chance to feed for a couple hours.  There were hundreds of cattle at Ron Raike’s feedlot that need to be fed twice a day.  After a year they are sold for about $1,500 to slaughterhouses and were bought as babies for $500 from ranchers. 

All day yesterday, we were harvesting corn since the weather dried up.  It truly is a lot of work and even more driving.  You would either sit in the combine all day; drive the auger cart to catch the corn, or the semi-truck to haul the grain to the elevators.  It’s an entire family event.  I can’t imagine farming alone.

Now, I will be a Park Ranger in Wyoming……………

Oh before I forget, I tried to videotape in the Omaha Mall where the shooting happened last year and well the security stopped me and made me delete the footage.  I have one picture though.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

If you’ve heard that the farming industry is dying; that would be wrong.  The population of farmers is dying, but not the industry.  The existing farmers are responsible for more land than in the past.  The farmers’ dogs are dying.  Every time I would step into a moving vehicle, dogs would run right under the tire.   They would even try to chew the tires.  I’ve heard a lot of stories about dogs getting their legs chopped or worse.  Farmer Dave’s dog has been run over 3 times.  I guess they don’t learn their lesson.

This week I have been getting real dirty.  I had to scrap moldy soybeans from the storage bins from last year’s harvest, walk in manure to feed the cattle, and harvest through muddy soil.  I’ve learned so much about the daily life of a farmer.  Days are extremely long and you work for yourself and your family.  By

the time I commute to Omaha, I have to commute back to Lincoln for the next morning.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

“Wait a minute and the weather will change;” that’s the Nebraska saying.  I had the chance to experience that.  Harvesting corn and soybeans came to a halt after the constant rain on Monday morning, but all of a sudden it became warm and sunny.  When the weather is bad, Farmers always have alternative duties;

they are running a small business.  Some manage their own accounts, do their financial planning, construction of their equipment and land, trucking grain to the Co-op, or even feeding their livestock if they have any.  I will get to experience it all.  Yesterday was an introduction of what’s to come, although I

was already doing some maintenance of the combine that I will use for harvesting. 

At lunch or dinner is what some may say, I had a “Runza.”  It’s a native sandwich that well doesn’t taste that good to me.  Apparently, they are popular at the Nebraska Corn Husker football games.  As we were leaving the restaurant, a lady asked if I was the 50/50 guy.  “Yes, how did you know?” I asked.  “You were just on The Today Show or Good Morning America!” she replied.  What a nice surprise. 

Farmers also like to hang out at the John Deere store when the weather is bad.  I had the chance to do that too.  The store even gave me a nice green JD hat to wear while I’m farming. 

Time to haul grain to the Co-op and clean the moldy grain from the bins of last year’s harvest…………

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I missed the “Welcome to Nebraska” sign.  It was impossible to pullover on the side of the interstate and it wasn’t any easier having the sign in the center of the road.  I will have to re-enter Nebraska from a smaller highway to catch it.  Just before I entered Nebraska, there was a huge casino scene on the border in Iowa.  Before that, I took a picture of John Wayne’s birth home and drove across the historic “Bridges of Madison County.”  If I hadn’t been in South Dakota already, I would’ve been in culture shock being in Madison County.  The cowboys appeared again.  There were lots of people hanging out in the bars during the daytime and dancing to country music with their cowboy outfits. 

Just before I discovered Madison County, I was in downtown Des Moines.  I have never seen a downtown so dead during the weekend.  Even though there was an International Food Fair, it was still dead.  The main attraction was the State Capital, which was really impressive.  Then I found Drake University, which is home of the largest Track &Field Relays in the country. 

It’s Sunday and I’m in downtown Omaha.  I’ll probably be walking around all day before I start farming all week……………

Before I get ready to farm, I wanted to mention that I went back to take a photo of the “Welcome to Nebraska” sign.  I actually had to run on the interstate to capture it.  I’ll be a daredevil for one of my jobs too.  OK, not really.