Down on the Farm

May 9, 2000

Down on the farm! What a lift to your spirits! Optimism triumphs over pessimism. A new day with the promise of new life. Spring is here, a new crop is in the ground and growing and with that a promise of better days ahead.

Last week I climbed up on the big tractor and rode back and forth across the field as we finished planting our soybeans. As I drove the country roads the com was up to where it could be rowed. And the soil -- I have never seen it work so well. No clods. No wet spots. You may not have a farm. You may not even have a garden, but surely you can enjoy the fresh smell of newly worked soil. Pick it up in your hands. Feel it sift through your fingers. It's not mud. It's not dust. It is perfect for planting and germinating a seed. That is the way it has been this year. Yes, since the subsoil is not fully recharged, we are at risk from draught this summer and I worry about that.

But for now, this is the time to enjoy the birth of a new season. And a new millenium. Cattle are not a big enterprise on our farm but we do have 14 new baby calves. They are Angus, but as a surprise to us three of them are red, not black, but very cute. I could even sense that with the improved price of pigs, they were happier. My pigs lost a lot of self esteem when no one thought they were worth very much. Now they feel more confident. With the Congress debating farm policy and permanent normal trade with China, taxes, etc., farmers are doing their job -- planting and tending a new crop for a new year.

How happy I am to be down on the farm