Anyone else here grow up on a farm?

[ivinsfan]

We lived on a farm. A cousin was killed in a tractor rollover. An uncle rolled his tractor but survived. A brother was caught between a post and a large tractor wheel but not badly hurt. My youngest brother was run over twice, once by a tractor wheel and the other time, years later, by a hay wagon. Both times he broke a leg and was in a cast. My father injured his knee twice over the years putting in fencing and was on crutches. I was knocked off a load of hay by a power cable and broke 3 teeth. I married a guy who was raised on a farm. He was shot twice in hunting accidents. We have never lived on a farm since getting married 41+ years ago.

This is all pretty much the result of carelessness.

 

[latexman]

This is all pretty much the result of carelessness.

Yes, my Dad's Dad was caught and pulled through a cotton gin and died when Dad was a baby. I never knew him.

 

[GaryInCO]

I grew up on a small 120 acre farm in NE Iowa. Corn, beans, oats, alfalfa hay, dairy cattle. There was a creek running through it and a great sledding hill. When I was about 18-20 my mom inherited part of her dad's farm, 5 miles away, which brought us up to about 400 acres.

We were always pretty broke, but it was a good life. Both my brothers seriously considered taking over the farm (not me!!!), but they both decided not to. At first my dad was really disappointed -- our family farmed that land for over a century -- but over time he changed his mind. He told them he was glad they weren't going to take the farm, because "it's not really a good life any more." Too close to poverty. Too corporatized, even in small-farm Iowa.

Dad died 25 years ago, and we rented out the farm for Mom's retirement income. Land went up a lot in Iowa (more than 10x from 1974 to 2023) so we decided to sell.

But we didn't sell all of it. There was a piece of virgin prairie land in it -- never plowed, never planted, never grazed. There were Indian mounds on it and I remember finding arrowheads there. My grandpa (mom's dad) said "I don't need to farm that land" and he preserved it. His neighbors thought he was nuts, but that was nothing new. When Mom & Dad inherited it, my dad said "Gus set this aside. I'm not gonna farm it either." A few years ago my brother handled the farm sale, but he carved out the land around the prairie. We donated (sold at very reduced prices) about 120 acres to the National Heritage foundation. Now it can never be sold, can never be farmed, and the foundation manages it to prevent invasive non-native weeds, etc.

https://www.fayettecountyconservation.org/fritz-prairie

 

[ERD50]

... When Mom & Dad inherited it, my dad said "Gus set this aside. I'm not gonna farm it either." A few years ago my brother handled the farm sale, but he carved out the land around the prairie. We donated (sold at very reduced prices) about 120 acres to the National Heritage foundation. Now it can never be sold, can never be farmed, and the foundation manages it to prevent invasive non-native weeds, etc.

https://www.fayettecountyconservation.org/fritz-prairie

Nice legacy. Very nice.

-ERD50

 

[Gallaher]

I grew up on a dirt farm in Southern Arizona and hated it. I remember watching my dad run a combine with no cab, dusty mess, 100 degrees. I thought “I’m never going to do that!”. We lived 15 miles outside of a two horse town.
Always worked “agricultural type” jobs through college and even beyond.
I don’t romanticize it. Hard, dirty work is never fun. I did like the open space and hunting. In fact we’ve always lived on small acerage cause I like the space. But 5-10 acres is not a farm. I have full respect for agricultural workers. It’s just not for me.