Farm and Ranch Living April/May 2021

My mom grew up with horses. Though her family didn’t farm, their home sat on a large enough lot in a small enough town that it was as right as rain to keep a few horses out back. Oh, she adored those animals—so much so that she took a job exercising a local cowboy’s horses and mucking out stalls. She wanted to be a barrel racer, and while that didn’t pan out, she passed her love of horses along to me. Some of my warmest memories have been formed in the presence of horses, whether out riding trails or paying regular visits to share apples and carrots. While we’re on the subject, I welcome you to turn to page 48, where you’ll find a bevy of beautiful photos that shed…

Volunteer Field Editors provide many of the great ideas, stories and images you see in every issue. Visit farmandranchliving.com/ fieldeditors for more information or to apply. Natalie Bright Canyon, Texas Courtney Buser Stoughton, Wisconsin Rachel Ekberg Loma Rica, California Kerysa Ford Phoenix, Arizona Karen Giebel Republic, Washington Donald Lee Grob Norman, Oklahoma Bethany Heldman Morgantown, Indiana Rob Kennedy Maryville, Tennessee Amber Kersenbrock Colby, Kansas Callie Miller Geneseo, Illinois Carrie Miller Kinsman, Ohio Lisa Minnick Logansport, Indiana Jennifer Myers Gardners, Pennsylvania Barbara Schumacher Mountain View, Missouri Cheryl Stunkel Buckeystown, Maryland Lisa Trice Cambridge, Maryland…

Each spring when I was growing up, we got a day-old calf, two weaner pigs and 50 chickens. One day in the ’50s my dad also brought home a hay cutter. It was old then, and unlike Roxy’s, ours was made of wood. I loved using that cutter; it was the only job I ever volunteered for. CHERYL FREDERICKSON OKANOGAN, WASHINGTON Roxy’s machine is a silage chopper. My Grandpa Bill has one that probably dates to the early 1900s. It was used to chop corn for cow feed, one basket at a time. BRITTANY KERNER FINDLAY, OHIO At the time this cutter was used, corn was shocked and brought in during the winter as needed. Bigger ears were husked out for chickens and hogs, and stalks and nubbins were fed…

Roxy Huber’s mystery machine, which appeared in the December/January issue, brought in a flood of mail. While a few of you thought Roxy’s machine had been used to crush sorghum or shell walnuts or peas, the vast majority said it was a feed cutter—also called a forage or silage chopper. Tony Messner, from Hancock, Minnesota, even shared a link to a YouTube video that shows the machine in action (search “Antique Appleton No.8 Fodder Chopper—Chopping Corn By Hand”). Others shared delightful firsthand stories. Here are a few of them.…

1. TWO DEARS AND A DEERE My great-granddaughter Addy was helping her daddy, Terry, wrench on his John Deere. Terry is a farmer who grows hay for livestock. JEAN MILLER JOHN DAY, OREGON 2. A KID AND HER CALF We run a small cow/calf operation, and our daughter, Josy, usually names the calves after whatever she sees in front of her. Here she is spending time with one of her favorite calves, Flower Flower. MISSTY BLACK AUGUSTA, MICHIGAN 3. MOTHER’S HELPER This calf’s mama had abandoned her, so my husband, Charles, delivered her first bottle. TERESA SOUTHERLAND MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE 4. HOP INTO THE COUNTRY! My son loves jumping in puddles! We live in the city, but we always seek out rural roads to explore. This was taken on Sauvie Island,…

Some events and life lessons are short-lived. Others, like the first time I started a tractor by myself, last a lifetime. I grew up in the 1950s, on a farm in northeastern South Dakota. When I would climb up onto the seat of our John Deere B and ride along with Dad, it was like a dream come true. The putt-putt of that 16-horsepower engine rang in my ears long after we were done for the day. I dreamed of the day I would be allowed to drive the tractor myself, and I often asked Dad when that day might come. His answer was, “When you can get it started by yourself.” To start the tractor, you’d turn on the gas, set the choke lever, and then grab the big…