Letter to the Editor: Seconds

In a few seconds a huge semi-truck with a long trailer rumbled south on Chestnut through Kimball. Just long enough for me to look up and see the trailer loaded with hay.

What a beautiful sight. All these bails of hay represented an incredible amount of energy. Energy received from the sun, the rain and mother earth. But most of all it also took an amazing input of long hours, lots of know-how, patience, faith, hope and stick-to-it-ness by the farmer.

Who are these farmers who send truckloads o hay or produce down the road? And how far does their stuff travel? I had to find out.

Luckily, I was able to sit down and chat with a group of local farmers one very early morning. Each farmer, very much down to earth, was willing to open a window into their lives.

To be a farmer is: “It is heredity.”; “It’s in our blood.”; “Raising a family.”

The farmers are concerned about the condition of the aquifer. They worry about hail. They hope the market goes up when it’s time to harvest. They feel lucky to break even. They work hard to keep their equipment in top shape. They are proud to know that once the loaded truck leaves the farm, their labor of love may end up anywhere on our planet, and the farmer like to reinvest at the end of the season.

Without our farmers we wouldn’t have grocery stores or restaurants. That’s food for thought.

I know we respect and appreciate our farmers.

Thankful,

Monica Hielle