Thoughts on Farming

A Cow's Nemesis

I'm going to say it. My cows have a fly problem. It's embarrassing as a farmer, sort of like having your kids come home with lice from sch

The Beginning of the End??

It is 3:30 a.m. and I am up. The tractor broke down today. The big one, the one I use for everything.

The Peace of Making a Decision

The choosing was agony. So many sleepless nights. But then, once I decided, peace settled back in.

Farmer John

I am coming up on the first month of being a farmer and I am surprised just how stressful it has been. I have loved every minute of it,...

Lucky Number 2

We were off, and then we weren’t. On Saturday, March 9th, our first calf was born. John knew it was coming, he had seen that the cow’s...

Sore Shoulders and Achy Backs

I remember the day clearly. A black, baldy cow that we were trying to get in to give her her yearly shots was getting mean. Most cows...

Spring Seeding

I spend a lot of time walking the land of our farm. It helps me think and often the land itself will give me the answers to the...

The First of a Thousand

We went to McCorkle’s to talk about seed the other day. Seed. We drove down a series of frozen dirt roads, brown fields and bare trees...

A New Year's Conversation

Happy new year! We decided to share here our conversation with each other about our thoughts for the new year. Perhaps it will resonate...

When Corn Came to Iowa

Shirley Gray’s nails are painted an orangey red that matches her lips and hair. The kind of orangey red that, before Trump, was the...