2019 Spring Farm Outlook

Page 44 2019 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News March 21, 2019 Sharon noted she wanted to farm because she loves the outdoors and being able to work with her family everyday. She enjoys watching the seasons change and all that entails as the crop grows and matures through the year until harvest time, and knowing she had a part of the process. She said, “I enjoy the work and getting dirty. I like looking across a field and the feeling of accomplishment that I worked all that ground today. ” What could be better in the Spring than to be outdoors working the land for a new production. Vernon’s granddaughter Rachael works the ground, son-in-law Casey sprays the fields, Vernon plants the seeds, daughter Sharon hauls the seeds, and momma Janet makes the meals. They stop for coffee at nine a.m. and dinner is in the field at noon. “We stop to stretch,” said Sharon, and “sometimes at the end of the day we have beer:30 on the porch and discuss things.” And once a year while letting plants do their work, leaves absorb the sun’s energy, kernels or seeds swell, and the sweet aroma of corn dew blankets the Logan County countryside most evenings; Mr. Klockenga has a fish fry and invites the neighbors and the landlords. It is a nice interlude to connect on a personal basis before the hectic come-what-may harvest. With Vernon running the combine, the truck drivers for the day are his son-in- law Casey Jones and granddaughter Rachael (Jones) Welker. They visit with a neighbor as they wait as for the grain tank to fill. Photo by Jan Youngquist