"May Our Farmers Stand With Pride"

(Terry Entzminger leading a Vacation Bible School group on a tour of his dairy.)


For this blog, I will occasionally borrow material from others that has inspired me, so I can pass on the inspiration.


The following poem was written by a neighbor of ours, Terry Entzminger. Terry and his family operate Entzminger Dairy and Terry manages the milking herd of 825 Holstein cows and oversees the raising of 750 replacement heifers. Entzminger Dairy is one of the best managed dairies I've had the opportunity to set foot on (and I've visited thousands around the world). Terry is a true advocate for agriculture. The Entzminger's hosted over 500 local school children for farm tours last year and has Terry has served as a director for dairy organizations for over 15 years. Very deservedly, he was recently awarded the North Dakota Farm Bureau Cultivation Award for his contributions to the agriculture industry. Terry is a modest, soft-spoken man, but laughs easily, and is a joy to work with. Jeremy and I are so pleased that each spring and fall, he marches a group of heifers down the gravel road to our pasture to graze our cover crops. Having those four-legged guests on our land increases the fertility of the soil, and helps our farm to stay profitable. Oh, and it helps to pacify my desire to stay involved in the dairy industry. You can take a girl off of the dairy, but you can't take the dairy out of the girl!



Terry is not only an accomplished dairyman, but a talented poet. So without further adieu...



"May Our Farmers Stand With Pride", by Terry Entzminger



From gently rolling pastures

To open fields far and wide,

From each barn door to the orchards

Our farmers stand with pride...

Yet there are too many people

Who do not understand,

That the food upon the table

Comes off the farmer's land...

For the food we take for granted

Was once a tiny seed,

That was planted by a farmer

To supply the food we need...

But we have a disconnection

Since our food comes from a store,

And we have lost appreciations

As what we need the farmers for...

Although if we awoke tomorrow

And there was nothing left to eat,

We might gain appreciation

For our farmer's daily feat.



I hope you have enjoyed this poem as much as I do. It hangs on the wall in my office because Terry was kind enough to give Jeremy and I a framed copy for our wedding. We in agriculture must encourage each other and these words encourage me every day.



For information on ordering Terry's book of poetry, entitled "Beyond the Heart and Mind", contact me. It does not include the above poem, which was written after the book was published, but it is filled with many other gems.

Speak of Loaves in Droves

There are two crimes we farmers have been committing against ourselves. We need to cease and desist.

1. We are very good at criticizing each other publicly. "United we stand, divided we fall". Each of us choose our farm management techniques (organic, conventional, etc.) based on the individual goals of our farms and our families. I think one of the BEST things about farming is that we are all in it for the common cause of feeding people, but we have the FREEDOM to farm in ways that best fit our lifestyles, soil types, financial means, markets, etc. The rest is just details, or at least it should be to our consumers. We need to find our common ground and promote confidence in our food, not criticism.

2. We speak in "tech talk". The average American has no idea what a bushel looks like or how much it weighs. Most can't even tell a combine from a corn planter. We need to start speaking the consumer's language. How many LOAVES of bread, not bushels of wheat, do you produce on your farm each year? How many GALLONS of milk, not pounds of milk, do you produce on your farm each day?

If we can "speak of loaves in droves", talking about the positive IMPACT our farms and ranches are having on our economy, our environment, and our society, in a unified manner and in terms the average consumer can understand, then we have solved two of the biggest problems agriculture faces today.

The Littlest Ag-vocate

(Photo courtesy of Lon Tonneson, Dakota Farmer Magazine)


One of the most important things we can do for agriculture is to tell others about it. People today are interested in where their food comes from and who produces it. Even if they aren't initially, once you strike up a conversation about it, from my experience, their curiousity is sparked, and they start asking questions.

We have never forced farming on our children. As parents, Jeremy and I believe that our children will be capable of whatever they set their mind to. If they choose a career in agriculture, so be it. If not, we will be equally proud of them. This being said, they are around agriculture everyday. Jeremy and I are passionate about what we do, we sincerely enjoy farming, and I think it's rubbing off.

Our oldest daughter, now three and a half, knows more about where food comes from than most adults I know. She has studied our equipment (from a safe distance, with close supervision), checked seeding depths, will tell you that you need to dump into the semi when the combine hopper is full, and can identify our equipment from the neighbor's from miles away. She understands that we make food ingredients, that once processed, end up on the grocery store shelves and then on our plates.

She'll tell you about ALL of this fearlessly. With a friendly smile, she'll proudly talk to people we see at church, at the store, and at her school, about how our family raises their food. She even swears that her father's name is "Jeremy Farmer Robert Wilson". Not kidding. She's the littlest ag-vocate I know, but her approach is very effective and she is giving our farm a face. A rather cute one, if I don't say so myself.

I think we can all learn from this. In each situation we are presented with we should be ag-vocates. It doesn't have to be rehearsed and it doesn't have to be high tech. It's as simple as smiling, shaking a hand, and being proud of what you do.


To learn more about telling your agriculture story go to http://www.ageducate.org/ and http://www.agchat.org/

Back To The Future

History has always intrigued me. Maybe it's genetic. My Dad is a huge World War II buff, and as a child, I remember our house being filled with shelves of history books, paintings of planes signed by famous pilots, and spending hours with him watching documentaries. I learned the importance of studying the past, both mistakes and successes. Now I'm not saying that I haven't had a blunder here and there, but I figure, in most cases, it's easier to spend a little time seeing how other folks have erred and try to prevent repeating them, than it is to learn things the hard way.

As an 8th grader, my main project for the year in my U.S. history class was a term paper on "Agriculture from 1900-1990". Now THAT was overwhelming. From horse-drawn equipment to the invention of the cream separator, the tractor, and then modern equipment- WOW! Farming has come a long way in a short time! In fact, just 70 years ago, in 1940, the average farmer fed 19 people. Today each farmer feeds 155 people! (Source: http://www.ageducate.org/)

As part of my research for that 8th grade project, I spent an afternoon with my Grandpa Thomas interviewing him about all the changes he had witnessed growing up on my family's farm, living through the Great Depression and WWII, and working later in life for a local John Deere dealership. Thankfully, I recorded the interview with my little red battery-powered cassette player. That tape is now a treasure.

At the age 26, I realized that Grandpa Thomas, then in his mid-80's, was likely nearing the end of his days. I rushed home to visit with him, armed with my digital video camera, and a list of questions. It broke my heart that when I arrived I found that the chemo treatment he'd had that day had completely wiped him out and he passed away just a few hours later. I was devastated to lose one of my best friends, and I never got the chance to ask him so many of the things I still wonder about today.

Sometimes we do have to learn things the hard way. Not wanting to miss another precious opportunity, I've MADE the time to sit down with my husband's Grandfather, Grandpa Wilson, who will turn 90 this fall. I've been interviewing him, scanning the amazing collection of family photos he has, and recording the history of our farm, with the kids clamoring around and all.

What an amazing journey this has been. You'll definately have more posts to read on this in the future, but here's a little tidbit to whet your appetite.

My husband's Great-grandfather, J. Harry Wilson, was a true innovator in agriculture. He left the east coast, homesteaded in Indiana, then Kansas, then North Dakota. Going broke, and starting over each time. In fact, the farmstead where we farm now was the third farm in the Jamestown area where J. Harry had tried to make a go of it. Grandpa Wilson tells me he was a "hard man", and "wiry". Five feet eleven and about 140 pounds of pure grit. He had three young daughters when he lost his first wife, and re-married to Grandpa's mother, Suzie, a school teacher in her earlier years.

When they got to North Dakota, he and another farmer went to Wisconsin and brought the first dairy cows back to our area. He was one of the first farmers to individually feed his cattle based on production. Take a gander at the picture of J. Harry and Suzie Wilson, with horses Molly (left) and Libby (right). This picture was taken in 1914 in Salina, Kansas. They brought Libby along when they moved to North Dakota.

From the sounds of it, J. Harry was a brilliant man, with a solid work ethic. But as Grandpa Wilson says, he would "pinch a penny, but lose a pound". "The last farm he lost, he could barely pay for the land, but he had a good crop and went out and built a new silo on the place, and put in all new steel fence posts, and when he lost the farm, all the improvements he made stayed with the place." By the time they'd gotten established where we are now, Grandpa Wilson was getting old enough to help out and manage things for his father, and in my opinion, he saved the farm.

So here's the lesson of the day from my time with Grandpa Wilson: Work hard, but treat your family with respect and kindness. Try like the dickens to stay out of debt and invest in the things that last.

And the lesson I'd like to share with you all: Be sure to make the time to thank those in the wiser generations for their efforts. From the way Grandpa Wilson lights up when he shares his memories with me, I can tell he's enjoying our visits as much as I am.

Sometimes going back and taking a stroll through the past, can help you step forward into the future. I hope my husband and I can continue to learn from the past and the present so we can provide future generations the opportunity to farm.

Updated website

Check us out on the web at www.jswilsonfarm.com

There are two additions to "In The News"- Jeremy was recently named a Master Farmer by Dakota Farmer Magazine, and our family was featured in North Dakota Living Magazine.

Enjoy!
Sarah :)

Why I Farm

Sarah & Jeremy Wilson


















Sarah & "Grandpop"

Why do I farm? I've pondered this for many years.



First, I think I was instructed to. Growing up on my family's farm, from a young age, everyone simply helped out. I was assigned chores that were age appropriate. Some of my first memories are of going along to help feed cattle. I went along with Mom to collect eggs, candle them (check them for cracks and imperfections), weigh them, and package them, when I was in kindergarten. I was Dad's "helper", accompanying him on many trips for parts to local farm equipment dealers. My grandfather's brother, Uncle Johnny, taught me how to bottle feed calves when I was 8. Grandpop sat me up on the fence and told me to remember the eartag numbers of all the heifers that were "giving piggy back rides" when I was 9. I didn't figure out until years later that I was actually doing heat detection for him. (A female bovine will stand to be ridden by herdmates when she is ready to be bred). I still smile at how Grandpop harnessed my overabundance of energy, and made me feel very important, even with that simple task. I was fortunate to learn from my parents and grandparents animal husbandry skills that had been passed down for generations.



Later in life, around the 6th grade, I realized that I was one of a very small minority. By 1990, farmers made up only 2% of the U.S. labor force (http://www.agclassroom.org/). I had a choice, I could either hide my agricultural roots, or take great pride in them. I chose the latter and spoke publicly in and out of the classroom about the importance and the impact that innovations in agriculture had made in our community and our economy.



By high school, it was my passion. I became spokesperson for the dairy industry and no longer just "in my blood", agriculture was my career of choice. I realized that mankind would always demand food and it seemed like a natural fit for me. I was excited about the job security and in the back of my mind, I knew it would please my family.



As I continued to college and graduate school, I was faced with the philosophical questions that education often brings. How will I leave this world a better place? What effect am I having on the earth, the environment, future generations, etc.? How can I make a difference? Agriculture still fit the bill. I was relieved in a way that I was still on the "right track", and that the cascade of decisions I had made to get to where I was were validated by additional knowledge. The success of our nation, and the health of our people and and the quality of our environment was based on our continued success in agriculture.



I had considered agriculture by the numbers, but the last, and most important piece of the puzzle didn't fall into place until I was faced with the biggest decision of my life. This decision caused me to reflect on all aspects my life and to define all my hopes for the future: Marriage.



Ask anyone who knows us, and they'll say that God brought Jeremy and I together. It couldn't have been anything else that put into action the chain of events that has gotten us to where we are today. Goodness knows as shy as he was, it took an act of God just to get him to finally ask me out :) We share the same passion for farming, and I'm grateful to be married to my best friend and faith partner.



After all things have been considered: my heritage in agriculture, the economics of agriculture and the career opportunities agriculture has presented, it comes down to this.



God has called me to farm. I know in my heart that it is my purpose in life. He created a hierarchy, where animals were created as a source of nourishment for humans and He gave us the ability to develop technology to feed His people so we can serve Him.



I have leaned upon two verses when faced with challenges and challengers that may cause me to question why I farm.



"...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28, New International Version)



"Be careful to follow the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever." (1 Chronicles 28:8, New International Version)


THAT is why I farm.





To all who have encouraged me on my journey, THANK YOU, especially Grandpop, one of my greatest mentors, and my best friend and husband, Jeremy (see pictures above).

One big bet

Here at the Wilson Farm, we've just finished seeding wheat. Just when I heard my husband say "it's shaping up to be a pretty good year", below freezing temps showed up on the weather forecast for the coming week. We both sat there staring at "27 degrees" quietly thinking of the hundreds of acres of tiny plants that have just dared to poke from underneath the soil's protection that very well may get damaged in the coming days. With risk management tools and sound planning, you can take just about every variable out of farming, except the weather. That's simply in God's hands.

This afternoon my daughter and I watched the Kentucky Derby and we saw Glen Fullerton bet $100,000 to win on SuperSaver. The press went wild because his bet was SO enormous. I couldn't help but think of the gamble every farmer takes each spring. Across the nation, we farmers sit down with our lenders, talk of balance sheets and cash flows, and sign off on our operating loans. The stakes are high in agriculture these days. Gone are the days I've heard tales of when one good crop had farmers with enough cash on hand to buy the next year's inputs (seed, fuel, fertilizer, equipment, etc.) outright.

Even Glen Fullerton's bet is just a drop in the bucket when you look at the cost of inputs today, even on an average sized farm.

So here's hoping that this year the big bet we've placed to win in farming will have us smiling like Glen Fullerton when harvest is complete, but even if we don't have a big win, may we have the opportunity to stay in the race.