Walk a Mile...

Travel Tuesday in My Own Backyard

Traveling opens ones eyes, but as we all know, we often close our eyes to the sites, sounds and smells in our own backyards. I am as guilty of this as anyone and that’s why I decided this Travel Tuesday, it was time for this city slicker to head to the family farm in Hurley to learn about combining, this year’s harvest and a little about my roots. I grew up in South Dakota. My family has been farming in South Dakota for well over 100 years. Despite this pedigree, these urban bones have had little experience with the land. Sure, I remember playing with John Deere toy tractors and smelling cattle when I would come to the farm as a kid, but my knowledge barely extended past Farmville. I pulled up to the family farm and greeted my uncle Paul Johnson, also known by his Twitter name @pjfarms, and my cousin Jay Johnson under a slow snowfall of corn dust as the wet crop was moved into a drying bin. Our work, (and I say “our work” fully aware that I slowed the process more than helping to complete it), began by measuring the moisture of the corn and moving it into the bins for drying. I knew that the weather had prevented the farmers from getting into the fields, but it was more severe than I had expected. In fact, according to the USDA, only 40 percent of corn in South Dakota has been harvested compared to the five year average of 91 percent for this time of year. This held true on the Johnson farm where we were placing bets on whether the harvesting would be finish by Christmas. My uncle explained that part of the reason that much of the corn had not been harvested was that 110 day hybrids were planted. These hybrids take 110 growing days to reach maturity, and with a lack of hot summer days and a plethora of cool, damp fall days, the 110 day mark wasn’t reached. With time slipping away, it was soon time for us to head to the fields for some serious combining. Under a long and low sunset, we began crawling through the field. Over the constant churning of the engine, I learned about the latest agricultural technology, the history of the family farm and the upcoming consolidation of Hurley and Viborg sports (Go Wildcats! Or was it Bearcats? Some kind of odd feline creature). A few hours later, we received a call from home that the fried chicken from Broaster’s had arrived, so we headed in for nourishment and talk of the latest family happenings. As an urbanite, my working day already was coming to close. With a tasty bar and a quick game of Wii, I said my goodbyes and began winding my way through the lights of the combines continuing to harvest through the night, knowing full well that my uncle was on his way to join the midnight riders. After a quiet drive home, I pulled into the parking garage. I knew that I had learned a great deal about farming and this year’s harvest, but even more so, I learned about my home and heritage here in South Dakota. This article is also posted at: http://thepostsd.com/