The Fabulous Farm Life

The Fabulous Farm Life

By Cort Witt

It all started four years ago... the best experience ever... a life altering decision.  That decision was to begin farming.

Growing up in town, I did not have many opportunities to doing any kind of farm work.  I knew that something inside of me had the urge to be on a farm, but I thought I would never get the chance.  Then, it happened.  

My parents got divorced when I was in first grade.  I had thought, “My parents will never get divorced.  They are the perfect couple”.  I was so wrong.  They were very dissatisfied with their relationship and I just didn’t want to believe it.  

At this point in my life, my dad moved out.  He went to a small farm outside of Kandiyohi a little ways.  It was very hard for me.  My dad was granted custody of me and my sister right after that and we were forced to live out in the middle of nowhere away from our mother.  

I needed something to cheer me up, anything! I searched and searched and then I found it.  I walked out to the barn and saw that the folks we were renting the farm from had left some animals behind.  I slowly entered the barn and saw a goat. 

Everyday after that, I would feed him and play with him.  We became best friends.  His name was Goatsie.  Goatsie got me through all the hard times.  I could talk to him and he wouldn’t judge me because, obviously, he’s a goat!

Then one late summer day, we got a phone call.  It was the owners of the house saying that they sold the land and we were going to have to move.  They were going to tear down our house and build a new one.  So we packed up our things and moved.

We moved to a decent sized farm house right outside Kandiyohi.  I liked this a lot better.  I was closer to my mom and, therefore, I could see her more often.  The day we moved in, my new neighbor walked over and introduced himself.  His name was Brad.  He ran a dairy farm and farmed a lot of land.  This fascinated me!  I loved farming from what I had learned from my grandparents and I knew this was my chance!

A few years had past since we moved in and I began to get bored in the summers.  It seemed like I had lived there my entire life and I felt like I had seen it all before.  That summer, Brad’s dad died.  This hit him hard as he was left the farm to run entirely by himself.  I felt led to do something to help him.  

I was extremely shy at the time so I couldn’t build up the strength to ask him if he wanted some help.  Who in their right mind would want a girl to help on a farm.  So I waited a few more years.  Then, four years ago from this May, I asked.  I got his phone number from my dad and told Brad about my passion for farming.  He listened and then responded, “Let’s give it a try and see how you do!”.  

I was ecstatic!  I finally asked and I finally got to fulfill my dream job!  It took me a year to get used to how Brad wanted things done.  Some people want things done their way and I greatly respect that.  I worked my heart out and it paid off.  I have kept my job for four years now and I work every night instead of just in the summer.  Brad told me that I work hard enough that I deserve a day off every week so I take every Sunday off.

Thanks to Brad, I have saved up enough to buy myself a car.  His cousin had an 87 Firebird with extremely low miles that I bought with my money from work.  I think I would be lost without doing chores every night.  I have gotten into a habit.  I get home from school, do chores, eat, hang with friends, do homework and then go to bed bed.  I love my routine and I don’t want to change it!

I am excited for summer to come so that I can work all day in the field.  I do enjoy field work more than cattle chores but I am still very glad that I have the opportunity to work with them.

Yes, farming has its ups and downs.  We get frustrated and things don’t always work right, but at the end of the day, Brad and I  love our jobs and wouldn’t trade them for the world.  When things don’t go right, we need to turn to God and ask for His help.  We need to understand that we can’t do things alone.  We need the help of our Almighty Savior to get us through the day.

God has led me into the farm life and I am glad that He did!  I am happy to see what the future holds for me.  I do hope that I have farming in my future but I will go wherever the Lord takes me whether it is farming or not! 

Farming

Farming

By Cort Witt

There are a lot of jobs in the world today.  One of those jobs is farming.  Farming is one of the oldest jobs around.  

I know from years of experience that farming is the most exciting and challenging job around.  You are never bored when you live or work on a farm.  There is always something to do.  Whether you find something laying around to fix, cattle to sort, or just sweep in feed; there is never a dull moment.  

The work never ends when you have cattle.  They are always tearing up buildings or fences, getting out and running around, or making the barn dirty.  During the winter, crop farmers just sit around or get their equipment ready for spring.  With cattle you have daily chores that must be done for the cattle to survive.

I am glad I live and work on a cattle and crop farm.  In the winter is the only time that things slow down a little.  In the spring, summer, and fall I am always on the go and working long hours.  I absolutely love to work at maximum capacity.  I am a very hard worker and I need to be on the go at all times.  That is why it is a good thing that I am a farm girl.

People say that farming isn’t for everyone and that girls can’t farm.  Well, they are wrong and I am solid proof of that.  I have farming in my blood on both sides of my family.  I was born to farm! Without farming, I would be lost just like a lot of other farmers.  

I would strongly encourage everybody to try farming at least for a day.  It is a great way to teach kids how to get a great work ethic.  It is sad to see what is happening to the children of today.  They all rely totally on electronics and can not even talk to each other face to face now.  Children need a reality check.  You can not rely fully on your parents for income.  You need to learn what it means to work and make a living.  What better way to do that than putting them to work on a farm.

If you are going to start farming, I would stay away from the GPS systems.  They 

are handy if you have a very simple field with not many obstacles in the way.  If your field is complicated and has a lot of poles on it, you should stay away from it.  GPS systems take all the fun away from farming.  They drive for you and all you have to do is turn around on the ends.  I would get bored and fall asleep.

Farming has been around for years unlike many other jobs.  Nothing beats sitting on a tractor all day.  The wind blows to keep you cool, the sun shines on you and gives you a good tan, and you know that you are making a lot of money while you relax.  

Yes, I know that farming is not the job for everyone.  Some girls won’t even attempt to drive a tractor and I understand that.  I am just saying that farming is a great chance to find the inner you.  I guarantee a grand work ethic will develop during you time on the farm.  

I would strongly encourage everyone to work on a farm during the summers.  You will not regret it because farming is the best job ever invented!!!

By Cort Witt

Wayne E. Gamm

Wayne E. Gamm

By Cort Witt

Wayne E. Gamm was born on July 22, 1933.  So that means he is 73 years old.  He is a farmer.  He also is the president of the insurance company in Bowling Green, MO.  Somewhere along the line, he became a grandpa to a lovely little girl from Iowa.  That girl was me.

Grandpa Gamm was raised on a farm outside the tiny little town of Vera.  He had a brother named Vernon and a sister named Amy.  Grandpa went to school in a one room school house just down the road from where he lived.  In the beginning, he did two grades at a time which is how he was able to graduate at the age of sixteen.  

However, after he graduated high school, he decided that he wanted to be a mechanic at the local Case dealer.  He pursued that dream just for a little while before tragedy struck.  His father passed away not too long after Grandpa had started working there.  Grandpa had the choice of either selling the family farm or quitting his job and running the farm with his younger brother.  He chose to run the farm.

Fortunately, He and his brother still farm together to this day.  They still have some cattle and are still growing in the amount of acres they farm.

Grandpa and his brother Vernon never got along.  Recently they have started to put up with each other more because their mothers last parting wish was that her two boys learn to get along.  That shows how strong my Grandpa is.  I know it hurts him to have to get along with his brother and they still do have disagreements but nobody's perfect.  Grandpa and Vernon getting along gives me hope that maybe one day Nikole and I will put aside our differences and get along as well.

According to Grandpa, has another insanely awesome hobby.  He restores old Case tractors, old Case and Ford cars and trucks.  He is always ecstatic when he finishes a car or tractor.  He does research on the vehicle to find the exact color it was when it was first released off the assembly line.  I think that the work he does is absolutely amazing.  I wish I had that kind of amazing talent.

Grandpa is also a strong christian.  I remember when I was little and I would misbehave, he would tell me that God is always watching me.  Yes, this kind of scared me to know that I am always being watched but it is also comforting as well.  He also would occasionally give the sermon at his local church.  Sometimes they would go a short while without a pastor so Grandpa would always volunteer.  He is so full of wisdom and I love to listen to him speak.  

Grandpa has had a huge impact on my life.  If he never would have taught me about farming I may not have the amazing job I do to this day.  He got me started with my love for farming at a very young age and, man, am I happy that he did.  

Grandpa is a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.  I love you Grandpa!

By Cort Witt

Firebird vs. Camaro

Firebird vs. Camaro

By Cort Witt

Over the years, many great muscle cars have been invented.  Two of those great cars are the Pontiac Firebird and the Chevy Camaro.

The Camaro was released five months before the Firebird.  However, both cars offered the choice between a six or eight cylinder engines.  Pontiac used the five months after the Camaro came out to improve and tweak the problems they found and create a unique identity for the car.  The Firebird is clearly the better choice over the Camaro.

Even though the Firebird used the same chassis and some of the same body panels of the Camaro, the Firebird had a much more advanced and sleek look.  The Firebird had a hidden advantage over the Camaro, however.  That advantage was under the hood. Firebird’s offered a wide range of different Pontiac engines.  They made five different Firebirds and the only difference was the engine.  They ranged in horsepower from 165 to 250 horsepower.  All then engines either came with a four speed manual or a two speed automatic transmission.  All of these engines were more powerful than what the Chevy Camaro offered.

The Firebird was manufactured from 1967 to 2002.  Ever since the Firebird came out, there has been a heated debate between the Camaro and the Firebird.  They are fighting for the title of the greatest muscle car ever invented.  Even though the Camaro is still in production today, the Firebird’s legacy still lives.  These two cars had quit competing against each other for a short while but in the year 2000 they started again.  They each had about the same body style and shape.

The Firebird is a great car.  I own one and it hasn’t failed me yet!  I have friends with Camaro’s and they say that they would much rather have a Firebird.  They have many more choices for engines as I have stated before.  The Camaro never made an engine that reached the same horsepower as the Firebird.  In a race, I know that the Firebird would win by a long shot!  Maybe some day I should race my friend that has a Firebird so I can prove it.

The Firebird also has one amazing feature that the Camaro does not.  That is the option of the T-Tops.  My 1985 Firebird has this option and I love it.  Convertibles are not safe because if you roll there is nothing between you and the pavement.  In a car with T-Tops, there is a strip of steel in the middle of the roof.  That  makes this car safe in case of an accident.  I am not going to be the person to roll it and find out if it is safe so I will just go with what I have read.

If I had a choice between a Camaro convertible or a Firebird with T-Tops I would defiantly chose the Firebird.  I would like to live in case of an accident.  The Firebird has a much more fast looking body as well.  It has a lot of hood air intakes and hood scoops that are factory.  Also, there is the option of the Firebird sticker on the hood.  I have one and it looks absolutely amazing.  On  most cars I do not like seeing stickers on cars as I believe they look trashy.  The Firebird is the acceptation.  The Firebird is not complete without the sticker!

So the next time you go out to trade cars, chose the Firebird.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

Persuasive Essay

Case IH Rocks!

By Cort Witt

Case International is the most outstanding and remarkable tractor company around.  There’s a saying that goes “If it aint red it stays in the shed” or another one is “Once you go red you’ll never go back”.  Both these statements are factual.  Case IH is one of the most popular tractor brands in the world so therefore, it is the best.

Case IH is made up of many companies which proves how there is strength in numbers.  In the year 1984, J. I. Case and International Harvester merged to form Case IH.  Yes, there were a few other companies involved in the merger like Farmall.  In the years after the merger, Case IH began to grown, just like it still is growing today.  Another huge merger that took place was in 2010 when Ford New Holland merged with Case IH to form Case New Holland (CNH).  That company now is in high demand and growing like crazy.  If New Holland was willing to give up it’s independence and join Case IH, it must be pretty great.  Everybody should at least try one piece of Case IH equipment and you will see how amazing it is.

If you are a John Deere person, you need to branch out of your small little world.  There are so many great advantages with Case IH unlike John Deere.  The people that put John Deere equipment together are extremely lazy and don’t really know what they are doing.  I know this from experience using all colors of equipment.  Yes, I know everything will break down at some point but every time we touch any piece of John Deere equipment it breaks down.  Also, Case IH is significantly cheaper than John Deere.  When you buy a piece of John Deere equipment, you are basically just paying more for the green paint because the higher price sure isn’t because it’s quality!

A sales technique of the dealerships is to push their customers to continue to buy all the same color or tractor and of course they want it to be their color.  Well don’t listen to them!  Farmers can have any color they want as long as it’s not green!  I strongly discourage green as I have stated before.  The people at the Case IH dealer in Willmar are not pushy at all and that is why I love to be in that environment.  Everybody should at least demo one piece of Case IH equipment and see how well you will like it.  Even if your neighbors get mad about you changing colors, it’s ok.  The only people you need to please is yourself and God.

Case IH is an absolutely huge company.  They have stores all over the world.  There are 4,000 dealers spread out between 160 different countries.  Now that’s one large company!  They also make very successful products like the quad-trac which is one of a kind.  If Case IH wasn't quality, then other companies wouldn’t want to merge with them now would they?

Everybody needs to try at least one piece of Case IH equipment.  Now I am not saying that you need to convert to all red but that would be O.K. if you really wanted to!  Once you go red you’ll never go back!

Book Review

The Lying Game

By Cort Witt

I am reviewing the book The Lying Game written by Sara Shepard.  This is probably the best fiction book I have ever read!  This book was most likely the most addicting book I have ever read and I wasn’t able to put it down.  I was up late and woke up early reading this book.

This story begins in a foster home where Emma was unhappy yet again.  Her perverted brother came up to her and showed her a video of a girl that looked exactly like her being strangled!

Emma knew it wasn’t her in the video so she went on Facebook and searched frantically for this twin.  Low and behold, there she was.  Her name was Sutton Mercer.  She was a rich and privileged young girl that looked exactly like Emma with the exact same birthday, too!  

Emma quickly messaged Sutton and told her about this amazing discovery.  Sutton quickly responded and told them where they should meet each other.  Emma replied and accepted.

What was really crazy was that Sutton was watching the whole thing from above.  She was now a ghost floating Emma at all times.  Emma had no idea that Sutton was in the room with her.  She thought that she was a couple thousand miles away.

The really weird thing is that even Sutton herself had no idea why she was with Emma or how she even became a ghost.  Sutton was also shocked that somebody responded to Emma in her Facebook.  If Sutton is a ghost and she didn’t write that e-mail, who did?

That night, Emma ran away from her foster home.  She was in search of this long lost sister that she thought was alive.  She left a note with her foster mother telling her everything that she is doing.  

It was a long bus ride.  When she finally arrived there, she went to the park where Sutton had told her to go.

About an hour had passed since she had arrived, still no Sutton.  Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed her and holds a gun to her back.  Emma willingly went along with the people in hopes that she wouldn’t be shot.  Her plan worked.  

I love this beginning part of the book.  The reader is not really sure how Sutton became a ghost.  Was she brutally murdered or stabbed?  No one really knows, not even Sutton herself.

It is very sad that Sutton can’t talk to Emma and tell her that she is behind her.  Now Emma will never even know this long lost twin that she has found.  I think that it is crazy that Sutton was adopted by rich people and she is extremely privileged while Emma is bouncing around from foster home to foster home.  Emma and Sutton seem to have nothing in common besides their looks.

Now Emma is forced to live in her own sister’s shoes so that nobody knows that Sutton is really dead.

I think that this was an amazing and somewhat sad book.  I would highly recommend this book to everybody I know.  You will not want to put this book away.  It is dramatic and sometimes scary.

I loved the pace of this book as well.  I wasn’t too fast or too slow.  This book flowed along very nicely and I wouldn’t change a thing about the pace.  

However, it would have been nice if Sara Shepard would have told the ending.  I know that it is a sales booster, but it is sort of mean as well.  When you read a book, you expect to have a conflict and a resolution.  Well this book left me wanting more.  The writer was sort of leading us to believe that it was Sutton’s best friends.  We never find out.  This book, of course, is a part of her new series so she wants you to have to read the next book to find out what happens.  When you read this book expect a dramatic ending and you will go straight to the store, when you are done reading, to by the next book!

Before I read this book, I hadn’t really liked to read.  Then, after I started reading this book, I began to enjoy reading.

I have now since bought another one of Sara Shepard’s books from a different series.  I love this book almost as well as I did The Lying Game.

The Lying Game  is part of Sara Shepard’s new series and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out!

A Terrible Disaster

A Terrible Disaster

By Cort Witt

It was late one night in 1995.  The wind was howling through the open window.  They had announced on the television that we had been placed under a tornado watch and the storm should arrive shortly.  

Dan had to work in the barn later than normal that evening.  I was sitting in the house taking care of our two children.  Karen had just turned ten and I had just returned from the hospital after having John a week ago.  

Normally, Dan and I would work together in the field during the day and then return home to milk the cows together in the evening.  We had not yet asked Karen to start helping on the farm.  We had inherited a tie stall barn from Dan’s father who had moved into a retirement home only one year ago.  

However, tonight was different.  I was not feeling well enough yet to go out and milk the cows so Dan was doing the chores himself tonight.  As we were watching the television, a warning flashed across the screen saying that we have been placed under a tornado warning and we must take shelter immediately.  They had also said the the tornado was headed straight for our small town of Bowling Green, MO and it was an F3 funnel.  I quickly placed new baby John onto Karen’s lap and ran to the barn.

I yelled, “Dan! Come quick!”. 

“What’s wrong honey?”.

  “There is a funnel on the ground headed straight here!”. 

“I will tie up the cows and be in a second.” 

I hurried back to the house and grabbed John and told Karen to follow me to the basement.  When we got settled under the stairs in the basement, we could hear the wind howling and tearing at the trees outside.  John was crying as loud as he could and Karen was holding onto me shaking.  I kept thinking that I should’ve grabbed John’s bottle before we ran down stairs but I was not going to run back upstairs and get it now.  

I began to think about Dan after a few minutes had passed.  I was asking myself, “Is he O.K.?  Does he need me to come out and help him?”.  All this thinking was just making me more and more worried.  I don’t think I am going to be able to raise these children and run a farm by myself!  I needed Dan.  

I was pondering what I could do to make Karen feel better because me being scared was surely not helping.  I came to the conclusion that we should all say a prayer together.  We began, “Lord, please bring daddy in here safely.  Please let us know that he is all right and safe.  Please also keep our house and barn safe from destruction.  Thank you for all that you do for us, Lord.  Amen.”

That seemed to calm Karen and I down.  The Bible said that the Lord is always there to comfort you when you needed, and I needed him now more than ever.  Even though Karen and I had calmed down a little, John was a different story.  He was still crying, now louder than ever.

I wasn’t normally a person who worries a lot, but Dan still hadn’t returned.  It had been around ten minutes now and I was more worried than I had ever been.  My heart was starting to beat faster now and I was starting to assume the worst.  I didn’t want to show Karen that I thought something was wrong because that would make matters much worse.  

It sounded like the worst of the storm was now hitting.  You could start to feel the cold air blow in and the wind was screaming outside.  Then, all of a sudden, a huge crash hit the side of the house.  Karen and I both screamed and John began to cry.  We looked up for a second and then we saw the roof fly off and all we could see was the funnel cloud above us.  

Dan finally runs inside and yells “Sarah! I will always love you!”  Then I told Karen to look away and then Dan was sucked into the funnel cloud. 

That was the last time we ever saw Dan again.  His body was never found.  I cried for weeks after the twister tore through.  It consumed part of the house, the barn, and all of our machinery was destroyed.  

Most of all, Dan was gone.  He was the love of my life and an amazing dad.  He always knew how to cheer me up when I was sad and calm the children when they were sad. 

I think that most of all Karen was hurt the most.  She quit trying in school and her grades fell significantly.  I took her to get some emotional help.  She started seeing the same lady every day for a couple years.  She worked through her trouble and began to live a more happy life.  

John never knew his father.  I am sort of glad that he doesn’t remember seeing his dad being sucked into the tornado.  I raised John by myself and it was a challenge almost everyday.

We never farmed again.  We moved to an apartment in the city for the remainder of the children's childhood. 

Karen married a farmer in 2005 and became a stay at home mom with three beautiful children.  John married a gorgeous girl in 2017 and became a banker for the largest bank in St. Louis and his wife is expecting.  

I know Dan would be very proud of our children just like I am today.

Harvest Time

It's that time of year again

When all our hardwork pays off

all our money madness meanders by

Long days and late nights
No matter what time
It's exhilarating
The smell of diesel and grain
The wind gliding past
Chugging along at four mph
Burying equipment in mud
Accidentally on purpose
Mud flying everywhere
Thankfulness for a good harvest
Lifting a weight off our shoulders
The harvest is finished
And all is
Good.
By Cort Witt

Late Fall Day

Have you ever watched a late fall day?
The leaves t
                   u
                    m
                     b
                      l
                       i
                        n
                          g, mud flying, corn swaying in the wind

Have you ever felt a late fall day?
The air whipping through my door, the steering wheel and leavers in my hand

Did you ever listen to a late fall day?
The corn unloading, trucks glugging, augers working

Did you ever smell a late fall day?
The dust rushing up your nose, fresh corn and mud

Did you ever taste a late fall day?
The quick lunch and Mountain Dew

And that's the harvest for you!

By Cort Witt