Spring. Agriculture. Hope

Spring. Many of us in the northern Midwest started to believe that mother nature deleted spring. April was cold. Dreary. And snowy. We were restless. Those of us that deal with depression and anxiety find long dreary winters to be even more difficult. I know some days it was hard to muster up the strength to get out of bed and carry on my normal routine.

Spring. Hope. When you live with the four seasons you know what to expect and you look forward to those season changes, even if you don’t like some of them, you know they are coming. When winter starts to drag on, I long for spring, for signs of black dirt in the fields and a daffodil or tulip poking through the cold ground.

Part of my perennial flower bed poking through for another year.

Hope. A sign that winter will end and we will once again have a new beginning. We will once again have a chance at new life. The kids can play outside and I can play in my flower beds. Hope.

In my career with the Farm Service Agency I have the privilege of working with farmers and ranchers from multiple counties in meeting their financial needs with loans from our agency. Hope. For another growing season for some. For others just starting out, hope for a long term opportunity to take over the family farm from the previous generation. For some, hope that if we help refinance some debt that this year will be the turning point for them again. Spring. Hope.

Hope. The feeling of something good going to happen. A feeling of trust. A belief in the future.

Agriculture is an industry built on hope. Every year you plant a tiny seed. Then hope for rain. Hope for sun. Hope for good weather. Hope for prices high enough to pay the bills. Hope.

Rockstar checking the depth of the corn seed going in his field.

Growing up on the family farm in SD, I was a young girl during the 1980’s Ag crisis. Interest rates were at an all time high of 18-20%. Most farmers have some kind of loans for land purchases, equipment purchases, or for annual operating. (Farmers have to pay for seed, fertilizer, fuel, rent and more all year but won’t receive income until the crops are harvested in the fall. Hence why banks will lend money to farmers in the spring until they harvest in the fall). These high interest rates, extreme drought in some areas, low prices and little to no crop insurance lead to many farmers declaring bankruptcy and selling out. It was hard. It was devastating. My parents like many others were heavily in debt with the local bank as well as the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA which is now called FSA – where I work).

During this time, FmHA called my parents loans. Mom and Dad hadn’t been able to make their payments so FmHA started the foreclosure process. Mom and Dad found an accountant who understood agriculture and the financial world and started to help them out. My mom still tells the story of how they were served with papers and told to show up at a certain date and time at the courthouse. They did. Their local banker was there, the accountant and “some lady from Pierre”. My mom tells of this woman walking into the courtroom with a fancy dress and high heels on. My parents had never met her or done business with her, but she was there representing FmHA . The local banker went on to say that “these were good people” and that he wanted no part of foreclosure. Mom and Dad kept the farm. There was a very small write off and some restructuring of loan terms. In the coming years, Dad sold most of his equipment, put a lot of the land into a conservation program and started working in town. So did mom. We still had pigs and the cows and some land to farm. Dad came to despise the FmHA office and as I got older he would pass the paperwork and letters to mom or I to “see what the hell they want now.” And so I spent my teenage years learning that FmHA was bad. Not to be trusted. The home of the devil himself.

Mom and Dad eventualy paid off their debts, moved to town and really lived a pretty good life.

Mom and Dad’s house. Built on the farm in 1960 then moved to town in 2001.

I went off to college, met my farm boy and knew I was headed to a life in agriculture. You see I loved agriculture just not FmHA. Fast forward to 2008 and there was a job opening with the Farm Service Agency. I needed a change from the bank and this would give me a chance to work directly with farmers. I took the job. I called home and told Mom and Dad worried what they would say. Dad’s comment was why in the world would I ever choose to work there. I assured him that things had changed and that I was working with farm programs not loans. I had no intention of ever crossing that line.

Late 2016 an opportunity came along for me to become a FLOT (Farm Loan Officer Trainer). There would be upward mobility if I wanted it. It would be a challenge to learn something new again. But……how could I work there. Mom asked if I had my head on straight. I figured if Dad were alive he’d tell me I was completely crazy.

I took the job. I struggled. Seriously struggled with the fact that I did this. How could I knowingly choose to be that person that puts farmers out of business? I still occasionally see my Life coach aka therapist and in discussing this she reminded me that I was no longer that scared young teenager living at home wondering what would happen to my whole life when that next letter came from the FmHA office. I was fully in control of my life and most importantly, in control of how I treated my farmers. Whoa. Things that happen in your childhood really can affect your adult life. Game changer.

We then attend the ND Farm Bureau annual meeting and hear about how a certain county’s farm loan staff in the state was treating farmers very poorly. It made my blood boil. Then and there I vowed to always do my best to treat my farmers with the respect and kindness they deserve, even in giving bad news. Everyone deserves kindness. It is now my mission to change people’s perceptions of the Farm Service Agency, specifically the farm loan departments, one farmer at a time. I cannot change the world, but I can change a day or two in the world of each farmer I work with. It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it.

Full circle. I’ve come a long way. From the kid helping Mom and Dad, believing that “those people that worked there” were horrible and anti-farmer, to working there and trying every day to show my belief and support for all those in agriculture. Hope. For myself and hopefully I can give a little hope to my farmers as well.

Rockstar filling the corn planter with seed for his field.

Times in agriculture are tough again. Prices that farmers pay for seed, fertilizer, fuel, land, equipment keep climbing while the price they are paid for their product is low, for some commodities like milk and dairy, so low that dairy farms are forced to quit nearly every day. Corn price is about the same as it was in the mid-1970’s. I can guarantee you that no expense is the same as 40 some years ago. I know that at some time in my career, I will be in the position of telling a farmer that he has to quit. My hope is that I will have built a relationship with them so maybe, with time, they won’t hate me but know that sometimes things don’t work. Hopefully that time doesn’t come along for a long time.

Agriculture is about generations and families. My great-great grandparents came from Russia to the USA and homesteaded in Emmons county, ND. That farm is still in the family. That is a point of pride in my family history on mom’s side. (A large family reunion was held on the homestead in 2000. Read about it here: https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/outreach/reunion/vfvetter.html)

The third generation is now living on the farm where I grew up just down the road from the farm where my dad grew up. My parents bought the farmstead when they got married and built it from bare land to all that stands there now. My sister and her family bought and moved to the farmstead when mom and dad moved to town. Now my nephew has purchased a few acres and built a hop (house and shop all as one building. It’s cool!)

My nephew’s Hop (part house part shop).

Hope for the future. Maybe someday a fourth generation will live and farm there. Who knows!

Today, my Rockstar is in MN planting his 20 acres of corn. He is 14. The Farm Service Agency in MN gave him a $5000 operating loan. Grandpa is helping him out with equipment and guidance and more. This is a huge opportunity for him and I am proud to work for the agency that helps the next generation get started. Hope. For a good crop. Hope for the future. Hope for agriculture.

The next generation. Lots of people are pretty proud of this young man.

This spring, watch for tractors and slow moving vehicles on the road. Slow down. Pass with care. The farmers in those rigs are going to work just like you. Support farmers and agriculture. Thank them for growing the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the fuel you put in your vehicle.

Grandpa Doug’s IH 1456 ready to go to the field to get it ready to plant.

When you see tractors, please slow down!

Till next time,

Deb

For more information on any of the Farm Service Agency programs or loans please check out https://www.farmers.gov/ or let me know and I can get you contact info for your local office where ever you may live.

Faith. Family. Farm

Just recently one of my uncles passed away at the age of 96. He was a World War II veteran. He was a husband, a father of five adopted children, a grandfather, a great-grandfather and many other titles. I debated about whether or not to go to his funeral. It was a three hour drive one way and I was struggling with having my lower ribs out of place.  Not to mention that I was facing two very important deadlines at work and we were a tad behind. My gracious coworkers encouraged me to go to the funeral as did my husband, so I did. I am very grateful that I did.

(Here is a link to a 2009 interview with Uncle Leo about his WWII experiences. http://m.bismarcktribune.com/video/living-history-leo-unser/youtube_ba8047f2-fbaa-11e2-a2f2-0019bb2963f4.html)

Uncle Leo was a devout Catholic. He had spent his whole life worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ and trying to live a Godly life. The sermon at his funeral mass was one of the best I think I have ever heard. The priest said he was going to focus on the three F’s.  Faith. Family. Farm. Ever since we left the church my mind has been trying to decide what to do with this so here goes part one.
Farm.

Leo Unser

As I said early on in this adventure, I am a farm girl. I have always had a love of agriculture and I believe I always will. Uncle Leo was a farmer. He lived through good times, bad times, and some downright terrible times. Being a man of faith and a man with a strong sense of family, he persevered. Once he no longer farmed he still gardened. And I do remember his amazing garden.

My own garden spring 2015

You see once you are a caretaker of the land, I believe you always will be. It saddens me when I open the newspaper or scroll through Facebook to see the negativity towards modern-day agriculture. I have family that still farm. I have many friends that farm. Some are conventional farmers that grow crops in traditional ways and may include GMO (genetically modified) seeds. They may use modern-day chemicals to control weeds, insects and other potential problems. Some are organic. Their crops do not get sprayed with certain chemicals (organic crops can and do get sprayed but they have a much stricter and limited choice of what to use. True USDA certified organic farmers go through a tremendous amount of education and paperwork. If you buy organic make sure it is USDA certified.)

I know dairy farmers. Both organic and conventional. Some use human laborers and others  robotic milkers. Some milk less than 100 cows while others milk 5000 cows.  We drink milk. We eat yogurt, cheese,  ice cream and I use real butter. We support our dairy farmers.

Milkers waiting for the cows. (Photo Courtesy of Amanda Becker Photography)

I know Farmers that raise hogs. Some raise and care for the sows (the mother pigs) as they give birth and care for their young. I know farmers that raise pigs from when they are weened from the sows until they go to market. I know Farmers that raise a few for their own family use and I know those that raise hundreds and thousands of animals in climate controled barns. I grew up raising pigs in open barns with outside access and with sows giving birth in farrowing crates. I helped grind feed and I kept many alive by running makeshift sprinklers in the heat of the summer. Plus I love bacon. And pork chops. And pork roasts. And Ham. And Bacon. We support hog farmers.

Piglets investigating the photographer. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Becker Photography)

I know people that raise beef cattle. Some that are only fed grass. Some that are raised on corn, wheat, soybeans and other grains and grass. Some live outside and others in barns and open lots. I know Farmers that have cattle that they raise to give birth and I know others that’s only fatten the calves for market. I know farmers that raise them simply for their own use and yet others that raise them for a profit. I like steak. And hamburger. And beef roasts. And we are raising two always-growing-always-hungry boys. We support our beef farmers.

Some beef cattle grazing in the pasture. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Becker Photography)

I’ve been around Farmers that raise poultry. Both chickens and turkey. Some raised for eggs and some for slaughter. Between Nate and I we know farmers that raise other kinds of livestock (animals) as well.  We like eggs. And chicken. And turkey. We support all livestock farmers.

Livestock farmers love and care for their animals. Sometimes that means a visit to the house and a bottle. (Photo Courtesy of Amanda Becker Photography)

We also know many farmers that raise commodities. One of our closest friends raises corn, soybeans, wheat, and navy beans. He and his family have also raised sugar beets, potatoes, sunflowers, and other forms of dry edible beans like Great Northern, black turtles, small and large red kidney beans and others. I like baked beans and Chili and calico beans and sunflower seeds.

Harvesting beans in the Red River Valley.

I know Farmers that raise sugar beets. Who doesn’t like sugar? (Yes everything in moderation but seriously pie…cake…coffee…kuechn…sugar.)

I know Farmers that raise corn for sweet corn. Fresh on the cob is the only way I eat it. My boys love it fresh, frozen, canned, scalloped…etc.

I know Farmers that grow potatoes for tablestock and others that grow potatoes for making french fries and potato chips.

I know Farmers that grow canola for its oil and flax. I know people that raise honey bees to farm the honey.

Yes these all exist in our great state of ND but many of the farmers I know are from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa. The really cool thing is I have met Farmers through our involvement in Farm Bureau that grow almonds, tobacco, peanuts, fruits and vegetables like peaches and strawberries and lettuce and onions and so many more of our food products.

So who do I support in the great question of Agriculture and sustainability?

I support ALL Farmers and Ranchers.. yes that is it. Farmers. Ranchers. I support them all. You should too.

I follow many great blogs about agriculture. As a farm girl myself I feel the excitement they share in the springtime and I worry every time the storm clouds start to build. And we say our night time prayers and always include God bless the farmers.

Many of the pictures I included came from Amanda Becker Photography. Amanda is Nate’s cousin and a great photographer! She farms with her husband and kids. Check her farming blog out on Facebook. 

https://m.facebook.com/shutthebarndoor/

Agriculture is the backbone of our country. It always has been. It always will be. If you eat, you are a part of agriculture.

If you don’t grow it you better support those that do.
Support farmers. Period.

(For any of you that received an email version of this that was a mess…I apologize! I was switching devices and had issues!)