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Farmers Cooperate, But Too Often Compete
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Russell Jenkins was a great neighbor. When I bought my farm in 1987, little did I realize that with the land I would receive many great neighbors. Good neighbors are critical in rural America.
There have always been many farm jobs that required the help of neighbors. We have all seen the six o’clock news featuring stories where a farmer died or was severely injured at harvest. The whole farming community would organize and pull together and harvest all the crops for the family and ask nothing in return. Barn fires and tornadoes can devastate a family farm. Immediately the farm community rushes in and cleans up and builds new barns. Louis McDorman told me that when the great Xenia tornado decided to leave the corporation limits and head straight to his farm and destroy it, he soon found out that he had neighbors he had never seen before show up to clean up debris. People came for miles away to assist in this disaster. A tragic event occurred to me to a lesser extent. Just a few years after purchasing the farm, Laurel Studebaker decided to sell the cows. He had a barn full of hay so he told me I could have all I wanted for a dollar a bale. I bought 900 bales and but them in the west hay mow. About two weeks later, an insect in the wood, must have taken one-too-many bites. On a clear sunny still day, the mow fell and blew out the west wall. I was lucky that the barn was built in 1910 because the hand-hewed, wood-pegged upper structure held in place, but it was still a gigantic mess. The next morning about 6:30 am I hear a tractor in the barn lot. I ventured out to see who it was and it’s my neighbor, Russell Jenkins, with his tractor and loader cleaning up the mess. All he said to me was “We need to get this barn rebuilt right away” and he continued working so the builder could start soon. That’s a great neighbor. By the way, he was about 80 years old when this occurred. There have been many changes in agriculture but one thing that has not changed is the need for great neighbors because farm machinery has always been expensive and most farms cannot economically justify owning every piece of equipment. Roy Barnhart talks about the threshing crew used decades ago. Threshing machines were expensive to purchase and required a full crew of workers to operate, so most farmers used a custom thresher and traded labor to get their fields done. The meals were outstanding because all the farm wives would bring their best dishes. He said there seemed to be some competitiveness among the farm wives. This brings me to today’s topic: Ego and Greed among farmers. As an agricultural agent, I am periodically challenged to write on controversial subjects. Recently, a farmer who will remain nameless except to say he is south of route 40 and east of route 68, asked me to write on ego and greed in farming. Since I am a few months from retirement, I decided to “wade-in” on this subject. After all there is a remote possibility that I am stupid. Not all is well in the rural community when it comes to relationships among people including what I consider the greatest group of people in the whole world: the American farm families. There seems to be extreme competitiveness among farm families for social status. It’s remarks I pick up about the guy that always has to be the first to plant, or buys the biggest tractor, or brags about the largest yield, or sells at the top of market that tells me people need to relax. Trust me, there is no “King of Farming” in Clark County and never will be. One bad move or accident can bring the whole “kingdom” down. Since we are pointing fingers, I guess one can be pointed at me. After all, it’s the Extension Office that runs the 4-H program and if you want to see farm competitiveness at its greatest, just wait till the livestock shows begin at the Clark County Fair. Please remember no weapons permitted on the fairgrounds. There are times that I have blamed sports for this over-zealous competitiveness fiber in our rural blood. But it is probably the competition for land that fuels it the most. In 1980 at a farm sale, Auctioneer Carl Mumma, said “Boys, they don’t make land anymore.” Expansion in farming generally requires additional resources such as land. If the next generation wants to farm, the pressure is on to see that your child fulfills his goal to farm. With declining acres, this fuels competition for land and tension among neighbors. Sometimes the neighbors are family members. Recently a farmer passed away that was President of my FFA Chapter decades ago. In his obituary, it said he was survived by his wife, children and two sisters. The family did not mention that he had two brothers who farmed next to him because of hatred for past farm decisions made by his brothers and dad. Sad, but true. There are people upset with me because I didn’t attend their relatives’ funeral. I know so many people that there are weeks I could attend funerals three to four times. My rule of thumb is if I haven’t sat at your kitchen table, I probably won’t be there. After all, the farm kitchen is the most important room in the house and where most decisions are made. My message is everyone is different and every farm is different. There is no neat and easy way to tell the story of a farm. A farm is a process where everything is related; everything happening at one. It is a circle of life; and there is no logical place to begin a perfect circle. We are not perfect people. It is in our best interest to treat other people as we would want them to treat us. As a farm family we are greatly out-numbered and need to unite together for the cause of survival. As for me, I have great neighbors like Bob and Greg Kaffenbarger, Randy Bishop, John Lindner, Darrell Reece, Wayne Foster and Steve Steritz. They help keep me in business and on the farm. I’ll never forget Russell Jenkins. Treasure thou neighbor! I’ll see you at the Clark County Fair. Anyone got a flak jacket? OSU Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that
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