Neighbors
July 18th, 2005 by Northern FarmerThis morning we butchered a dozen roosters that were raised up in the old coop. This was the first butchering this year so I just wanted to do a few to get everything in order. After figuring out some used equiptment that I bought from a neighbor it finally got underway. All went smoothly and it’s so rewarding to watch three generations pitch in. Also rewarding was supper this evening, chicken, fresh dug taters, homemade bread and fresh picked rasberries from our neighbor Pete’s patch. Also for those who have been noticing my talk about our hot mid to upper 90s weather the last week, it was in the lower 70s with a fresh NW breeze, beautiful!
On my mind somewhat today was all the blogs lately, including this one, that share our ups and downs and everyday life pursuing the agrarian dream. From all different areas and situations it’s amazing how good it is to read them. From victories to heartbreak and everything in between. My hope is that this same thing returns to the culture that we live in. I caught some of it when I was younger when people helped each other out all the time. It was already dieing out then but it was there. At that time most people in our neighborhood helped each other out with all sorts of jobs. There were always neighbors over at different harvests, sawing wood on the tractor saw, helping build a farm building. Everyone knew most of what was going on with all the neighbors. When we’d be sawing wood even the local drunk would show up to help, most of the time still drunk. I’ll never forget a neighbor lady hitting him over the head with a broom when he tried to stagger into her house during one of these times, yelling at him in Polish. Makes me laugh to this day because truthfully it was funny. When people worked on line fences many times both owners would work together on the whole thing. Somewhere, sometime, most of this disappeared. I can’t even put a finger on it myself when it did, but it did for the most part. At some time the neighbors became viewed as competators. Instead of sharing machinery and labor everyone just got their own. If someone was rumored to sell out many in the neighborhood were waiting like hungry dogs to lap up the land and whatever else they, or should I say we , could get our hands on. And as this cycle went on it just would get worse. Many times now there are close neighbors who never see each other for weeks, months, or even years. Years ago one of the main social things for the farmer was things like the local hog markets, there were some good times to be had socializing there. But that’s gone too. This is basically the state of commodity agriculture as far as I can see here. Seems to be everybody is out for themselves.
Where I see it changing, or coming back, is with the agrarian minded people. I was surprised this past week by a new neighbor that bought twelve acres near by, found out he and his wife were homesteaders and begining small farmers. They have good plans for there holding. I picked it up quick in the conversation and looking over their place that these were agrarian minded people. And to top it off, we’re even going to be helping each other with various jobs. That’s the way I like to live. I pray this will start being the norm around here. It’s a dream of mine to rebuild this culture even in a small way, starting at home. Going it alone will not change anything, it in fact will be marching in step with the New World Order. We need our neighbors and they need us if our culture is going to survive. I was thinking, being independant, that is going it alone, makes us dependant on the Industrial culture , because it wants us divided. Working with and helping neighbors is one important step against the culture of death.
July 19th, 2005 at 7:40 pm
Tom….This is another insightful and inspiring Blog! I believe the Lord is giving many of His people this same vision.
July 20th, 2005 at 5:32 am
I can whole heartedly agree. Growing up my parents, uncle, and grandparents all farmed together. The neighbors all made hay together bringing their tractors and wagons, and strong boys along. Never complaining that we have more hay or what they are missing at home. Chute work was almost a community event peppered throughout the fall, and if a cow jumped ship and found greener pastures in the neighbors herd it was OK to just leave her till fall (or drought) BUt today I rarely see the neighbor, some do not even have time to wave as there 200HP monsters role by! Our neighbor by the dairy is still truelly special. They allow us to haul manure on there field, bale all the bean straw we wish,use the hay racks indefinately, and still leaves bushels of produce from there commercial orchard and garden. On that rare occasion Dave borrows a trailer or we cut his hay. HIghly unfair to our benefit, I wonder why he would be so generous?? Good neighbors are a very rare and precious commodity, Like rain in Illinois.
Evermoor
July 20th, 2005 at 12:11 pm
Tom,
This latest post really struck a chord with me. As a boy growing up on Grandpa’s farm, I still remember the procession of tractors and trucks that would come up the drive every fall to help with harvest or moving cattle or haying.. Twenty years later though, my uncles, who farmed a mile apart, wouldn’t share a combine. They each had to have their own bright and shiny, $80,000 units. No wonder they went broke and had to sell!
I’m glad to here you have neighbors with a different mind-set. Out of curiosity, what are land prices like in your area?
July 20th, 2005 at 6:31 pm
When I was growing up it was starting to change. We were lucky that we had neighbors that were of like mind. I remember planting potatoes every year with the folks down the road. They milked cows as well. We would plant 750 pounds of tators, just enough for our two families. Harvest was always fun. Were we live now we are the only working farm left in the area, I miss the old times.
July 20th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
Herrick, I also believe the Lord is giving His people this vision.
Evermoor,Good neighbors surely are special.Thank the Lord for them always. I don’t keep track but is Illinois still dry? I hope it straightens out and they get rains, we could sure use some here. We had one day in the 70s, Monday, and we’re right back into the 90s three weeks straight with no rain in weeks.
Balestacker, you and Evermoor sure added to what I see. I just hope there is a reversal in the way most farmers act towards their neighbors. As far as land prices here right where I live 35 miles NW of St Cloud it’s roughly betweem 5 and 7 thousand an acre. If you go 20 miles to the NW it’s getting away from city influence it’s less than half or even lower.It’s hard to even find farmland or farms for sale at this time here. Everybody that’s selling is only selling small lots. Our county isn’t zoned yet like all the surrounding counties that have a forty acre minimum. Anything goes here. And the realators were having a frenzy. Most farmers aren’t selling though. One thing I’ve noticed this first half of summer is strange, I haven’t found one new house going up around here this year yet, while in the past few years they were going up everywhere.And lumber prices are dropping, hmmm. And I keep hearing on the news,”is this the end of the boom, is the bubble going to burst in Minnesota?” As far as I’m concerned if the bubble would burst and I’d be devalued bigtime I’d just keep on going happier than ever!!
July 20th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
Scott, I can only imagine if we were neighbors. I think them old times would be the new times. I’m thinking about having an old fashion husking bee for the open pollinated corn we’re saving for seed,( if it ever rains), and a few more “old fashion” get togethers. And this fall I plan on picking your brain on homebrew recipies and methods. I have the end figured out, the drinking part that is, but need to know how to get the batch started, but I’ll save that for later.
July 20th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
Tom
Do you have to have a plateless planter to plant the OP seed you save?
July 20th, 2005 at 7:53 pm
Scott,
When I ordered my seed from Illinois this past winter I did get rounds because we have a JD 7000 plateless. They do sell flats, same price, they just asked if I’ld take rounds because so many want flats for the plate planters.As far as saving and grading you can see it doesn’t make a difference for us, but I’ll be looking into information on affordable graders in the future. When you think about it though why not, if you have a plate planter,hand shell the majority of the middle of the cob, leaving the rounds on the ends. Not to tough when a guy thinks about it.I plan on hand shelling enough for us anyhow, probobly a nice family activity aroud the fire in winter.
Tom