My grandparents’ children left the farm in pursuit of city jobs, but I loved everything about that life. So when I got the opportunity to move in with my grandparents at age 16, I didn’t hesitate. After college, I made the decision to become a full-time farmer. Today, I live on a ranch about a mile from my grandfather—who is still operating part of his cattle ranch at 89—and hope to be able to one day pass on the skills that he passed on to me.
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With a population of little more than a thousand, the town of Hamburg, Iowa rarely sees any kind of national recognition. Unfortunately, that all changed this summer when the town became ground zero in one of the biggest floods this country has ever known. Due to two large breaches in the federal levee, the massive amount of water rushed through the area's first and strongest line of defense, slamming against the smaller levee in Hamburg—now referred to by one report as "a small Iowa town's only hope..."
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By the age of eight most of us have a firm grasp on the English language, the state capitals, and the schedule of Saturday morning cartoons. By the time Jason Frerichs had turned eight, he had taken childhood a few steps further. When he was in the third grade, Jason joined 4-H—a well-known youth organization that has a strong connection with leadership development throughout rural and urban communities.
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On the night of May 22, 2010, a severe storm warning alerted my parents, brother, and five-year-old nephew that something was headed their way. When the howling winds began to slam against the ranch house, they made the decision to hunker down in the cellar with the jellies and vegetables, and wait it out.
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Some of our most beloved holiday movies take place in a rural setting, away from the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and big city lights. In the case of White Christmas, the 1954 classic, a four star general has retired from army life to run an inn in upstate Vermont. But without that famous Vermont snow, the inn suffers right along with the tourism industry.
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Though he introduced himself as an aspiring photographer, Chris Niemann's enthusiasm for all things agriculture was palpable. He first came to The Hand That Feeds U.S. seeking an opportunity to display his photographs on our website; photographs that not only reflected a love for the land, but the harvest as well, a time of year not typically favored by the average photographer.
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When six-year-old Mea Lewis moved onto a cattle farm in Kentucky with her mother and little sister, she had no idea that she had also become a part of a generations-old community that reached far beyond those 300 acres. Fascinated by the vast expanse of land and various animals, Mea began helping out around the farm, at first for fun but eventually out of necessity.
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Ruth Gerdes has never forgotten the years when massive droughts almost cost her and her husband their farm. Realizing that her family was paying thousands of dollars for an insurance policy that wasn't working, Gerdes began her career in crop insurance at an independent agency in Auburn, Nebraska. Today, she is one of the most knowledgeable and respected agents in the United States specializing in multiple-peril crop insurance and services policies.
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All eyes will be on New Orleans this New Year's Day as the University of Cincinnati Bearcats defend their perfect season against the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. And while their beloved LSU Tigers will be nearly 650 miles away in Orlando, most people from south Louisiana will still tune in to support the Sugar Bowl and the crop it represents.
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I met many wonderful people on my journey through the West Texas farmlands, but few as remarkable as Beth Clanton. Eleven years ago, Clanton was a second grade school teacher in Seminole, Texas. Her husband was a peanut and cotton farmer, and together, they had two daughters.
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To his friends and family, Pat Benedict is a soft-spoken farmer from a small town in Minnesota. Few are even aware Benedict is an icon of modern agriculture. In 1978, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine for an article dubbed "The New U.S. Farmer."
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Noel Shapiro's family has seen their share of ruthless dictators. As a young boy, Noel and his family fled Poland over fears of an invasion from Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. This came just one generation after the Shapiros left Russia when Vladimir Lenin took control.
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An elected official, Terry Wanzek is well known and well liked around North Dakota. In fact, the state senator from Jamestown has represented the people of the 29th district since 1995—except for one interrupted term in 2005.
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Barry Evans is far from a rich corporate mogul, but gets called one nearly every day by the handful of zealots who seemingly want to return to the days of mule-drawn plows.
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