Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2017 i Farm and Ranch Living

FEAR NOT, FAIR READER, there’s still plenty of time to set out on that summer trip you’ve been meaning to take. But the season is winding down, and it’s almost time for our young farmers to head back to school. In this issue, we feature a school where the farming fun never ends. Milwaukee’s Vincent High School is returning to its roots and getting kids ready for agricultural careers thanks to a grant from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. You can read about the program’s revival on page 28. Over in Pennsylvania, the Emmett family is just starting its summer break. Mom Rachelle home-schools her four school-aged kids, and they take a late summer break to learn the family business: apples. Rachelle tells her family’s story starting on page 44. There’s…

Nothing compares to riding on a running horse. I had always wanted to learn to ride, but my family knew we needed a safe, kind horse as much as we needed a fast one. It turns out they’re hard to find. My mother, brother and I went to look at a horse for sale. The seller was Mrs. Nelson, a substitute teacher at our school. Though this was not the horse for us, Mrs. Nelson told us we had just missed the last horse she sold—one she thought would’ve been just perfect. We spent months looking but had no luck. One day, Mrs. Nelson told my mom that Rocket, the gelding we had missed, was for sale again. We drove to see him the next day. Rocket was nothing to…

Trees were growing through the front axle of this 1958 John Deere 720—with a full electric start and a three-point hitch—when the vehicle was found on the property of my in-laws’ neighbors in the Flint Hills of Kansas. The neighbors took 12 or 13 years before they agreed to sell. But my wife needed a piece of Kansas back at our home in Missouri, and what could be a better way to remind her of her home state than to buy her a tractor? Getting the 720 home was an adventure. When we brought it back on a hot August day, the engine and brakes were stuck, and we blew the transmission on my brother’s Ford F-250. The 720 is in better shape now.…

Our moist flower beds must have looked like the all-you-can-eat buffet of its dreams. “I’m going to have to kill it,” my husband, Roger, muttered with all the seriousness of a judge handing down a death sentence. I swore I could hear The Good, the Bad and the Ugly theme song as we stared down a foot-wide hole that disappeared under our home’s foundation. We had been noticing increasing damage to the yard for several mornings, but this was the final insult. The armadillo had to go. Now, I loathe killing anything that doesn’t need killing. To qualify for my short list, a critter must be a danger to humans or to another animal I love or need to protect. I can kill fire ants, wasps and black widow spiders…

From the end of August throughout the middle of September, I swap my public relations and social media hats for three short, gorgeous, hot but fun-packed weeks of sunflowers. Aided by my loyal and spirited “farmily,” I treat guests at Donaldson Farms to stunning views, photo opportunities and fresh-air hayrides. I never imagined I’d be sharing fascinating facts about sunflowers with so many visitors to the farm where my husband, Greg, grew up. I left the corporate world in 2008, and it’s still a treat to have beautiful farmland as an office view and to take my business trips via tractor and wagon. People of all ages enjoy the farm while our sunflowers are at their most breathtaking. Kids love the Pollinator Safari Hunt that I run. And we offer…

I was recently approached by a woman at a local gardening seminar where I was the guest speaker. “You don’t look like a farmer,” she said to me. Considering the many hats I wear, I can see why she would feel that way. I have a minister’s license, a bachelor’s degree in radiologic sciences, and a fast-paced career in medical imaging. Of course, in complete contrast to all of that, I also run Fair Haven Farms, a small farm in northeast Arkansas. Much like Old MacDonald, we’ve got nearly every animal you can think of on our farm—more than 400 total from about 24 species. This sanctuary, staffed primarily by my wife, Tabithia, and me, is a permanent home for rescued or owner-surrendered animals. During the process of building our…

It’s harvest time at Emmett’s Orchard. Thank you for visiting our apple orchard here in our quaint town of Grove City, Pennsylvania. My husband, Joe, and I live on a small farm with our five children, Sawyer, 13; Larynn, 11; Clay, 7; Wayde, 4; and Wesly, 1. We home-school, and our school year lasts from December to August so that our kids are home and free to be a part of what we do here in the fall. As soon as the children are able, they take part in pressing cider, making pies, picking the apples, running the register, and their favorite: playing with the kids who stop out for a visit. Our parents and siblings also spend time as “employees” and help when needed. When we bought ground in…

Kids raised the country way gain a set of strong values. They respect the land, work hard and adapt to the whims of the weather and the antics of farm animals. They form enduring family bonds and grow up to instill those same values in their own children. As our 40th anniversary approaches, we’re honoring family legacies by reconnecting with some of the people who have appeared in our pages over the years. We’re finding that country roots run deep, with branches that reach into the next generation. February/ March 1992 COUNTRY GIRL Alyssa Scheve spent her childhood having fun and working hard on her family’s Angus cattle farm in Leonard, North Dakota. She and husband, Dan, were recently married in her hometown church. The couple lives on a farmstead…

As a girl growing up in the “swamp of south Georgia,” in a small town called Douglas, country music star Jennifer Nettles says she heard about 4-H through school. “The local country agent came around to my fifth grade class and asked if any of us would like to participate,” she says. “I was curious. And I’m so happy I was!” She joined the performing artsfocued group Clovers and Co. and had a 4-H “career” spanning fifth grade through college. The country singer recognizes the impact her 4-H involvement had on her life. “It is not hyperbole for me to say that I would not be doing what I am today, nor have the career I have, if it were not for this organization,” Jennifer says. “It was the first…

Welcome to Parsons Farm, a first-generation farmstead that is owned by my husband, Michael, and me. A couple of years ago, we bought a few acres that included an early 1900s farmhouse that needed lots of love; an established apple, pear and walnut orchard; and plenty of space for growth. We bought several chicks to start our group of laying hens and built a coop. We have also tilled and planted a 1,000-square-foot garden and have made our first big purchase for the farm—a John Deere tractor that has now become our little workhorse. We’ve been working hard to get everything as ready as we possibly can, and our goal is to bring heritage and rare livestock breeds to our farm soon. Food Shopping and Wood Chopping AUG. 1 Maybe…

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