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It’s fair to say that every year is one for the history books, but 2020 may demand a few extra chapters. Yet amid all of life’s uncertainties, there is comfort to be found in the stories that highlight the resilience, stick-to-itiveness and sense of humor that allow folks to adapt, whatever may come. There are many stories like that in this issue. Starting on page 37, you’ll meet some exceptional FFA students whose participation in the program helped them discover a world of professional opportunities. And I think you’re going to love the ag diaries this time around, written from opposite ends of the country—Alaska (page 20) and Florida (page 28). Some exciting news: In September, Farm & Ranch Living was recognized by the Eddie & Ozzie Awards, which celebrate…
POND MEMORIES John Scanlan’s story (“Kerplunk!”) in the June/July issue reminded me of the swimming hole we built when we were teenagers. Finding a nearby stream quite inviting, we got stones, sticks and mud, and we built a dam. The next day, it had filled to the top and overflowed into the driveway of a neighbor’s small farm. Being kids, we didn’t think the farmer would mind driving through a little mud now and then—but the next day when we went for a swim, we found that he had torn out the dam. Of course, when he came home from work, he found the road flooded again. This went back and forth for most of the summer. He never mentioned it to us, and we didn’t say anything to him,…
1. SCRATCH MY BACK, AND I’LL SCRATCH YOURS My sister’s horse, Duke, and her cat, Boots, enjoyed hanging out in the sunshine on a snowy day. PAMELA DURDLE STURGEON COUNTY, ALBERTA 2. CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD Doing farm chores in winter can be difficult, as the cold sometimes causes melancholy. But scenes like this give me a sense of serenity and warmth. LORIANNE ENDE ROGERS, MINNESOTA 3. SUNSET SISTERS Our daughters Jessi and Andi had just finished their chores as the sun began to set. We started our farm only a couple of years ago, but it has brought us closer as a family. I am incredibly grateful. CHRISTIAN PETERSON STAPLES, MINNESOTA 4. RED AND GREEN MACHINES My son Michael has such a country heart! His daddy was fiddling…
I was born on a farm in western Oklahoma in 1928 and lived in Oklahoma and Arkansas until age 15. By then, the country had entered World War II. Two of my brothers and one sister were in the military, and my parents decided to move to Iowa to help the oldest brother with his dairy farm. We never got accustomed to the freezing temperatures, nor the snow and ice, so when my brother Ernest was discharged from the military in 1945, our dad decided it was time to return home. He bought a 100-acre farm south of Gentry, Arkansas. He also bought a 1939 Ford 9N with all the latest implements and a flatbed trailer to haul everything south. Ernest and I offered to help move. To prepare the…
Dad’s vote of confidence turned a cooking disaster into a gourmet dish. I’ve been thinking a lot about Dad lately, remembering the hide-and-seek games he played with us around the granary and barn in the 1930s. Dad enjoyed having his children josh him occasionally so he could register a comeback—usually more droll than snappy. But he never was one to get involved in lengthy or philosophical conversations. He didn’t say much, one way or another, about food, but he did lick his lips over good pork chops. We used to get a side of pork from my Uncle Will, Dad’s younger brother. For some reason, only Dad, my brother Bob, my younger sister Marjorie and I were at home one winter evening. That put me in charge of cooking dinner.…
My name is Jamie Luce, and I’m the herd manager at the Musk Ox Farm, a nonprofit organization in Palmer, Alaska. We promote gentle musk ox husbandry and the production of qiviut (the wool undercoat of musk oxen) to benefit northern people and educate the public. I worked with many types of hoof stock in my career—including reindeer, elk, mountain goats and whitetail deer—before landing here. I am in charge of 81 musk oxen that live on 75 stunning acres of land protected by an Alaska Farmland Trust conservation easement. We are in the Matanuska Valley, which rests between the Talkeetna and Chugach mountains. My goal is to maintain a happy, healthy herd through gentle, low-stress handling. We socialize our animals so they’ll let us herd them out of our…
