Committed to Agriculture while Respecting the Earth
Our family is having fun researching the history of our farm as we prepare for our appreciation party planned for the end of June. For the next few Fridays, I’ll share a fun fact related to what we have found.
Today’s Fun Fact:
In 1914, for 50 cents, our farm was registered as Fairview Farm by Daniel Olson.
With yet another winter storm headed for Minnesota, I thought I’d share two photos. The first is from April 15, 2012. The second photo is from April 14, 2013. These are both taken from my front yard.
I love this little slice of heaven. In Minnesota, we just call it “the lake”.
I’ve been learning new camera techniques during our extended winter. I am loving Digital Photography School right now. The bonus – it’s free! Anyway, I was looking for something inside to try out a few new settings on, since the weather is rainy and cold. Not to mention the blah brown landscape we still have.
I have a camera collection that I display above my built in buffet. There are some really special ones in my collection that I love looking at. They are not special because of their monetary value, but for their stories.
This camera came from my father-in-law. He was drafted into the United States Army during peacetime in the 1950’s for two years. One year was spent in Germany. He had many entertaining stories about his time there, and about the ship ride home. It was on the ship that he came into possession of this camera. According to FIL, there were a few guys gambling to pass the time. One of the guys offered to sell his camera for $30 so he could pay his debt. My FIL agreed, and bought the camera. He used it for a while before updating to a newer Argus camera. He was a pretty good hobby photographer, but mostly used his cameras to take photos at family gatherings.
In this photo, I used natural light from our large east facing windows, and had black velvet behind and under the AGFA. Other settings: Canon 60D, Av mode, ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/125, 34mm focal length. The technique I was playing with was using Av mode to achieve a shallow DOF. I also used the manual focal point setting aimed at the lettering on the top ring of the lens.
Can you guess the era?
Avocado green kitchen with dark woodwork (and a dishwasher that melted all Tupperware so we still had to hand wash a lot of dishes), an awesome mullet, cropped shirt (that I sewed in home-ec), high waist jeans… I loved those Levi’s!
If you guessed the 1980’s, you would be correct! This would have been around 1985 or 1986.
Some of the cool things I was able to get my hands on yesterday while researching our farm’s history…abstracts that were over 125 years old. Land sold for $5.50/acre
I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile. Jonathan and I have attended three farming conferences in January. All three had important sessions that we could use on our farm, yet the conferences were very different. This is what started the theme rolling in my head…
I was reading my friend’s blog about his trip to the American Farm Bureau’s annual meeting a few weeks ago, where the theme was “Many Voices, One Vision.”
In church this past Sunday, one of the scripture lessons helped make the theme that was swirling around a little more clear.
1 Corinthians 12:14-26
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
One Body with Many Members
14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Many parts…one body. What an awesome concept. It works with everything in life, really. It is the same with a school board, our government, or our occupations.
With farming, we have such a wide variety of passions…a wide array of crops…and a very diverse landscape. If we all tried to grow just corn, some would fail while others thrived. Our soils and our climate is not the same north to south, or east to west. While some states are great at growing wheat, others are more suitable for peanuts. Isn’t that awesome! Because of the diversity, I can make peanut butter cookies.
I would love to see us all embracing the differences, knowing that we are all part of the body of agriculture. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”
I think it’s time I aired a few things… I am not perfect.
I use too much hairspray, swear too much (sorry, mom), drink a little (again – sorry, mom), am addicted to good coffee, and have a temper. I never finished college, and I don’t have perfect grammar. I am overweight because I love good food, and I don’t exercise enough. I am super scared of mice, and I hate spiders.
I have good qualities as well. I am a christian, am active in my church, and I love to give back when I can. I am involved on many agricultural related committees and task forces. I am a wife, mom, aunt, sister, cousin, and friend. I love my whole crazy family – the in-laws and outlaws, too. I try to be respectful at all times, whether I am communicating in person, or on the internet. I am loyal to a fault…yes, I’m still a Minnesota pro sports fan.
Jonathan and I hang out with very different groups of people. We have our neighborhood card club, made up mostly of Belgian-American farmers that are pretty much all related to each other. We are the only Scandinavians in the group. Then there is our dinner club, made up of 5 couples from church. Our ages range from early 40’s to mid-70’s. It is a very eclectic group, but we have tons of fun. I am active in Farm Bureau, and count amongst my friends farmers from all over the US and Canada. There are many different farming styles represented by my friends.
I’m pretty sure there are no others on the planet that have the same personality quirks that I do. I am an individual, unique, even a bit crazy at times. Yet, I am welcomed into each group because I have at least one thing in common with them. The whole six degrees of separation thing has proven itself many times!
Does this sound any different from the rest of you?
I am an organic crop farmer. I’m not a 1st generation hippie farmer like some would like you to believe. Our farm will be celebrating it’s centennial this year. 100 years of continuous Olson family farmers. Jonathan and I started farming together in 1988. We farmed conventionally until 1998, when we started to transition our first field into organic production. We finished transitioning all of our acres just a few years ago. In the early ’90’s, many farm economists were talking about value added opportunities, and finding alternative crops to grow to stay viable. So, we did. We love our method of farming, and we are proud of what we grow. That attitude is pretty much the same attitude that Jonathan’s great-grandfather had when he moved his family to this farm from Iowa. It is the same attitude that Jonathan’s grandfather had when he started raising seed for the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association in the 1940’s.
More confessions – we do not eat an exclusively organic diet. We eat more meat than vegetables at some meals, and don’t feel bad about it. I buy groceries based on taste preferences, and what’s available at the time. I don’t like turnips or tons of root vegetables. I have never tried kale, and part of me thinks there is no way it can be good for you. I don’t like heavy whole wheat breads. And, I don’t feel guilty for my food choices. I know that whatever I choose to eat, a farmer is involved.
I don’t think I fit any stereotypes for organic farmers. Funny thing is, I don’t know too many who do.
The point of this whole thing? Every farmer is unique. We all do things a little differently on our farms, like to eat different foods, and cheer for different sports teams. We can get along when we are face to face at meetings, on trips, or just hanging out. Why, then, does it seem like we can’t get along on the internet? Why do people feel free to put down others in a medium that is viewed by those who may not understand the subjects we are arguing about? Just discussing the pros and cons of certain GM seeds, or different organic methods can quickly turn into a battle between farmers. What’s the point in that? What are others hearing when farmers are putting each other down?
I shared some my laundry at the beginning of this blog – not to make myself feel better, but to point out that we typically only see a small portion of who a person is. Agriculture is the same way. What we talk about on social media is only a small portion of what farming is. Instead of focusing on the faults, why not take a look at the whole picture? You might find that you have more in common with each other than you think.
Social media moves fast. Opinions are cast about, sometimes without further thought. At times, this is okay. Other times, we may have just washed our credibility down the drain. It is sort of like the high school kid who posts a ton of inspirational Bible verses during the week, and all weekend there are photos of them either drunk, or with alcohol in hand at a party. Which image are you going to remember? The underage drinking, or the Bible verses?
I like to follow certain agriculture blogs, and have found it worthwhile to connect with them on Twitter and Facebook as well. It seems to be a more complete picture of the message they would like to convey. I know I’m not the only one, judging by the traffic on those sites.
Today, there was a lot of conversation going on about this speech that made the news last night. I read the article, and decided to digest it a little while before commenting. I watched my Facebook and Twitter feeds, looking to see what others had to say as well.
I have many friends that farm organically, and I have many friends that farm conventionally. When we are together, we do not throw barbs at one another, or make inflammatory remarks about their methods of farming. We are passionate about what we do, and want to promote our products. That is not a bad thing. Every farmer should be proud of what they raise.
There are times when passion takes over, and lines are crossed. It makes me sad when farmers are attacking one another, just because they farm differently. The trend this afternoon has been to take snippets of Mark’s speech (linked above), and use it to bolster their opinion. How does this make us any better than the activists who are bent on putting us out of business, simply because they have an impassioned opinion about what we do?
Jonathan and I both share the opinion that there is room for all kinds of agriculture in the United States. This means that I try very hard not to put down farming practices that are different from mine. I learn more when I try looking at things from a different angle, or try understanding where another person is coming from.
To be honest, I was hoping people would react to Mark’s speech in a way that could heal some of the division we are seeing in agriculture. I would challenge others to view the speech not as validation for any one point of view, but as a courageous admission that maybe we don’t know everything. I challenge my friends and neighbors to stand up for each other. Support the farmer’s choice for how they farm their land, or raise their animals. Our goals are all the same, really.
This leads me to ask, what messages are our readers hearing? The ones where we say agriculture needs to be united, or the messages where we put down that which is different than our own?
Next summer we will be celebrating our farm’s centennial. In 1913, Daniel Olson moved his wife and four children from Monona County, Iowa to Lyon County, Minnesota. I cannot imagine packing up everything in a wagon and venturing 230 miles from everything you’ve known. If I were to drive it today, it would be about a 4 1/2 hour drive. The dreams of making a better life for your family are powerful. It is what drove men and women from one coast to the other then, as it does now.
The oldest of the four children, Nuel, eventually took over the farm from his father. Nuel also had dreams of making a better life for his family. He jumped at the opportunity to start raising certified seed for the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association in the 1940’s, when his two boys were young.
Left to right: Nuel, Robert, and Kenny (my father in law). This photo appeared in a magazine at some point in time.
My father in law, Kenny, did not attend high school in our town. He attended “Aggie School” at what is now the University of Minnesota, Morris. When his brother was fighting in the Korean Conflict, Kenny took a year off from school to help his dad on the farm. The purpose of “Aggie School” was to teach the boys the newer farming methods. It was like a boarding school for boys who wanted to farm.
When Kenny took over the farm after his brother passed away, he continued to raise certified seed for MCIA. He was very good at raising seed, and was a well respected business man. He was also known for his integrity. He built the farm, little by little, to make a better life for his family.
Jonathan enjoyed working with pigs when he was in high school, and dreamed of building a pig barn after he was out of college. He graduated from college in 1988, and we married later that summer. A little over a year after we were married, he remodeled a shed on our little farm, and was able to start raising pigs. He went on to build a few more barns that were better for the animals, and would allow him to fully capture the manure.
When first approached with the idea to raise crops organically, Jonathan was a little hesitant. He researched the requirements, and decided to give it a try. He knew we needed to do something a little different to keep the farm successful, and this seemed like a good opportunity. Round Up Ready soybeans were becoming the hot ticket, which meant there was less demand for the public seed we were raising. Raising our crops organically turned out to be a good fit for us. We know it isn’t for everyone, and that is okay. Everyone has their own dream, their own thing that they do well. This is ours.
When I look back at the history of our farm, I see that we are just continuing the tradition of our forefathers to grasp onto opportunities. To reach for our dreams, and to make a better life for our family.
Our farm around the early to mid 1940’s
Our farm today:
