Farming was part of growing up for Gina Harfman. She can remember helping
her family with ground crops and the fruit trees when she was a little girl.
Picking watermelon, for instance, was a lot of work since they're fairly
heavy and large. Each one would have to be picked and carried out of the patch
to the bin. But her family found ways to make harvesting fun -- they decided
to make a watermelon chain.
"My brother would pick the watermelon and throw it eight feet over to me.
I'd catch it and throw it to my Mom," she recalls. Some were 20 pounds and
some were only the size of a baseball. The catch wasn't always successful!
She remembers laughing with her family as they tossed the melons around.
Harfman now has a small farm of her own. She grows fruit, pumpkins and
tomatoes. Different times of the year require her to do different jobs. She
has to prune her fruit trees in February or March. She has to thin the fruit
down to about four per branch in April and May. She must spray when needed
to protect the trees from insects, rot and other diseases. Her trees also
need fertilizer.
Harfman doesn't like the use of pesticides and herbicides in farming because
the chemicals get into the air and the water, as well as on the food itself.
She tries to incorporate organic farming principles whenever she can.
For example, farmers can buy "good bugs" to help get rid of "bad bugs"
naturally. Ladybugs, spiders and praying mantises are good bugs. They eat
bad bugs such as aphids that harm crops.
Harvest time is spread throughout the summer and fall. The method of harvesting
depends on the type of fruit. For example, cherries all become ripe at the
same time. A tree has to be picked clean in one visit. Peaches and nectarines
ripen in their own time. Multiple visits to the same tree to pick only the
ripe fruit (spot-picking) are necessary. Harfman must spot-pick when the fruit
becomes ripe throughout the season.
Working on a ranch, Clay Chihasz tackles totally different tasks than Harfman.
He checks cattle, tends to the horses, doctors sick calves, fixes fences and
keeps the farm equipment in good working order. He even gets to assist in
the birthing process for some calves.
"Most all of the work I do is outdoors, but on occasion I do have to meet
with bankers and other ranchers to discuss financial things and cattle markets,"
says Chihasz. Being outdoors around animals suits him just fine. He can't
imagine doing anything else.
There are some physical risks involved in working with animals. Chihasz
was helping another rancher put some cows and calves out to pasture. He was
on a horse named Pecos. As they were bringing the group through the gate,
a calf ran off at full tilt.
Chihasz decided to give chase. He and Pecos took off after the calf. The
faster they chased, the faster the calf ran. Finally the calf stopped and
turned back. Pecos came to a sudden stop. But Chihasz didn't stop -- he was
thrown from the horse! He flew through the air and hit the ground hard. He
didn't get hurt physically; only his pride was bruised. All the other cowboys
were laughing at him when he got up.
"I earned the nickname of 'Slingshot' that day because evidently a guy
getting thrown like I did looks like he had been flung out of a slingshot,"
he says. The nickname stuck and he's still known as Slingshot on that ranch.
The power of animals is something that farmers must always be aware of.
David Slaymaker and his brother were moving bulls to pasture with cows that
were ready for breeding. Bulls are 2,000-pound animals. They are also easily
agitated during the breeding season. The brothers had to get them into trailers
to move them to the pastures.
One bull became aggressive with another. He charged, and with his head
and neck he threw another 2,000-pound bull over a six-foot fence!
"My brother, who is a full-time rancher, demonstrated patience, persistence,
and tenacity in working with the agitated animal. We were yet able to move
both animals to their respective pastures," says Slaymaker.
The Slaymaker family has been raising cattle and growing cattle feed for
over 130 years.
"My responsibilities are primarily focused upon ensuring that a reasonable
number of livestock graze the ranchland. This ensures the land is not stressed
with erosion, yet grazed adequately to maintain healthy plant life," says
Slaymaker. He must also maintain over 20 miles of barbed-wire fences. Fences
are important to keep the cattle in the right place.
"If you have a love for the outdoors, coupled with a desire to produce
a product from the earth that feeds the world, explore the possibility [of
farming]," says Slaymaker.
Bryan Vanderpol is a dairy farmer. He's been farming since he was eight
years old. Working on a dairy farm, Vanderpol must milk, feed and care for
the cows. He fixes the farm machinery. He also helps to plant and harvest
the crops that feed the cows. Days are long. He starts around 5:00 a.m., breaks
for lunch, and then doesn't quit until 8:00 p.m.
"I believe that farmers will always be needed for survival, and they play
an extremely important role in our country," says Vanderpol. "Someone getting
into farming has to make sure they like to work long, hard hours that won't
always be rewarded with high pay. You have to really enjoy the work itself."
He looks forward to the long work days because of the animals. They ensure
his days are never the same. A new calf might be born or a sick animal may
need care. During one birth, a calf was coming out backwards.
Vanderpol had to act quickly to save the calf's life: "I had to reach
in and untwist the calf, but she was still coming backwards. I eventually
got her out, but she was not breathing," he says. He started CPR on the calf.
He blew air into her nose to fill her lungs. He compressed her heart to keep
it beating. After about five minutes, the calf began to breathe.
"This was one of the most thrilling and rewarding experiences of my career
as a farmer thus far. That very calf is currently a full grown cow contributing
to the milking process."