Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Today, we heard again about the importance of community, and specifically the numerous roles that everyone plays.  And I do mean rolesssss.  The fire chief is also a correctional officer.  The sheriff is also an auctioneer.  One of our hosts is a farmer, works in insurance, and coaches girls basketball.  The lists go on and on.

Our first stop, we parked our mini-tour bus in the middle of the road.  Apparently it's the custom around here.  I like it.  The next hour and a half we heard all about the newest gadgets in farming technology from one of our many outstanding host dads- Phil.  You see, in 1997, farming adapted the use of military technology and began using satellites and on board computers in their rigs.  They use soil samples to graph the chemical make-up of the fields and plan their use of fertilizers and irrigation.  Then they plant based on yields of recent years.  This saves a lot of money, ensuring that they do not over use fertilizer, water, and seed.  As Phil said, "being good stewards of the land and using our resources efficiently has never been more important."  Nor more doable it seems.

Between 10 farmers they plant and harvest 15,000 acres in a 100 mile radius of Holdrege.  Even with this new technology, however, the numbers show, "God's a better irrigator than I am" (Phil).  To finish off our time with Phil, we drove out to see some unique storage bins on the edge of a field.  While harvesting, it is more efficient to store at the field, that way they don't have to worry about trucking it away.  So they have a machine that fills these giant bags with the harvest and seals them up to await the sale.  They feel like a really stuffed beanbag and are each worth about $100,000.  The five of us would agree that it was a very interesting and eye-opening morning.

Here we are with the giant storage bags.

Next we went to a local feedlot. This family operation run a 3000 head feedlot for Angus cows, farms about 2500 acres and rents out a few homes.  They also attend their children's activities and he is a barbershop singer.  Another multiple hat wearer.  They feed the cows twice/day a mixture of hay, silage, and distillers grains.  This last ingredient is a bi-product from the production of ethanol.  After going through this process, the corn is left as a wet clump of corn meal type stuff.  It actually smells pretty good and is ok for consumption.  I wasn't hungry at the time, however.  They run a natural beef production meaning no growth hormones or antibiotics.  And fyi, there are about 1500 Big Macs in a fattened cow ready for slaughter and there is really no difference between Angus beef and other varieties.

The distillation grains- nom nom.

The feed all mixed together.  More nommies!

The cows sure think it's nommy.  Their opinion is the one that really matters.  And that front end loader is in the midst of gathering more hay for another batch of food!

We had some delicious chinese food to fuel our afternoon and our philosophical pondering.  While most of us were disappointed by our fortunes, Dennis, one of our wonderful guides, had a great one- "A different world cannot be made by indifferent people".

Next we met the sheriff, Gerri, to tour the county jail.  They have 50 beds and can add cots.  They hold both men and women making sure that they are out of sight and sound from one another.  Gerri has a great policy, he tells the inmates that as long as they respect him, he'll respect them.  The chaplain network is very strong in Holdrege.  Gerri knows he can count on the clergy to respond quickly when called.  Next, we had a tour of a Case IH dealer.  They are currently busy with changing various oils and making sure the rigs are good to go come springtime.  This is important because in farming, time is money.  If a tractor or combine goes down, they can't afford to lose precious planting or harvesting time.  (By the way, besides being fed incredibly well, we also get swag everywhere we go.  Everyone has been so generous!)

The fire chief of the volunteer rescue unit of Bertrand met us at the fire house to give us a tour.  They have 30 volunteers and take about 100 rescue calls a year and about 20 fires and 4-5 storm watches.  While it is sometimes nice to know the people they are serving, it can also be very challenging giving care to someone you care for very dearly.  I can only imagine.

As we left, they were preparing Rocky Mountain Oysters donated from a local farmer.  We're not too sad that we had to miss out on this.  We grabbed a quick dinner and are currently sitting in the new high school gym cheering on the boy's basketball team.  The girls already won!  Go Vikings!!!