Before I started dating (and then married) a farmer/rancher, I didn’t put too much thought into where my food came from. I went to the store, selected what I wanted, and ate it…that was it. My dad’s parents did some farming and I have friends who were farmers but I never really knew how much went into putting that food on my table until about 5 years ago.
It seems like my household has been running at 100mph for the last few months and when I think about why, it’s all for YOU! Our ranchers work very hard to ensure their calving process goes well and with those spring storms we had, it sure made for a tough calving season. Calving typically involves checking on the cows every few hours to ensure things are going well. If they aren’t, then they have to take proper action that the calf and cow are safe and thriving. And since the snow just melted 2 weeks, ago, the farmers have finally been able to get into the fields to plant the crops. The calving produces cows that the consumers purchase as selections of beef, an excellent source of protein…and the farming produces crops such as wheat, soybeans, and corn of which are all used in a variety of food products and essential to our nutrition and health.
The picture above is from my view riding with Adam in the tractor while he was planting corn….if I want to see him right now, this is about the only way as he and all of the other farmers are working day and night to get the crop in…in efforts to put food on your table. So next time you go to the grocery store or you see a tractor in the field, think about this process: the seed is purchased by the farmer, planted by the farmer, we pray for good weather to help it grow, the farmer harvests the crop, sells the crop to the elevator, which then is sold and transported to food producing companies, products are created, you purchase the product at your store, you eat it. All of that effort starts with your farmer….pretty amazing huh! As I said earlier, I have learned more about farming and ranching than I never imagined, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Since I have a nutrition/food science knowledge, learning more about the agricultural part of food production has been fascinating and it makes me appreciate the food I eat a lot more when I think about where it came from and how much effort and time was put into the production of it….I hope you do too!
-Kelsey
