I had the occasion to drive by the farm of an old friend last week. Since I very seldom drive that road, I was surprised to see a field full of round bales that were terribly misshapen. A little farther up the road, on the same farm, I was even more shocked to see his pasture grown up with musk thistles. While most people would probably not have given those two facts a second thought, I became worried about my friend’s health.
You see, most farmers have an image to uphold and they will go to all lengths to uphold the image that they have cultivated throughout the years. This particular farmer has the reputation of baling the prettiest bales in the county –tightly wrapped and exactly the same diameter on each end. The bales I observed while passing his field could just as easily have been baled by… well… ME! And the thistle infested pasture? My friend must be bed-ridden because if his health would even allow him out of the house, he would have found a way to ride his four-wheeler around to poison those troublesome weeds.
It’s funny how different farmers take great pride is certain aspects of their farming operation. For some, a straight, tightly-stretched fence with absolutely no weeds or sprouts growing in the fencerow is a badge of honor in professing their success at the occupation of farming. Some crop farmers that I know are so obsessed with planting arrow-straight rows of corn or beans, that if they are unable to shoot a rifle bullet between the rows for a quarter-mile without hitting a stalk, they are likely to plow the field under and replant. After all, their reputation is at stake.
When I was a young boy, I knew at some point during the summer, I and a scythe would spend many a hot day cutting the polk stalks and careless weeds out of the fencerows along the county road. I also knew that after finishing that task, the board fences around the painted barn would need to be whitewashed one more time. These were my father’s ways of proving his status as a good farmer.
Cattle, hog and sheep farmers take great pride in producing the champion steer, barrow or wether at the county fair. They most likely aren’t showing them, but they sure want that lucky 4-H or FFA member to be sure and tell everyone where they bought it.
Other farmers take great satisfaction in owning machinery of a certain color or truck of a certain brand. If those tractors or trucks that they take such great pride in ever have mechanical problems, they’ll tow them in during the middle of the night just so their neighbors (with a different color tractor or brand of truck) won’t see them having problems. They certainly won’t talk about it at the coffee shop the next morning, either.
Having the highest yielding wheat, the fattest and slickest cow herd, the heaviest producing dairy cow or the best selling hogs are just a few of the self-gratifying moments of a typical farmer. Even if none of the neighbors ever know, that farmer, for that moment, knows he is the best and it gives him great joy; a joy that is worth more than money.
While writing this column, I commented to my wife about some of these little ‘status symbols’ that farmers have. Things like good fences, fancy machinery and neatly baled hay was a surprise to her. She had no idea that other farmers picked up on these things, much less, that they were important to farmers, before stating, “Oh, so that’s why you take such good care of your cows and calves.”
“Really,” I proudly asked, “you think I have the reputation in our community of taking the best care of cattle?”
“Without a doubt,” Judy replied, “anytime a cow or calf dies where it can be seen from the road, you will go through hell or high water to drag it off, out of the sight of the neighbors and passing cars, regardless of the weather or time of night.”
Jerry Crownover farms in Lawrence County. He is a former professor of Agriculture Education at Missouri State University, and is an author and professional speaker. To contact Jerry, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
