Farm dog? Check.
Barn cats? Check.
Muddy work books lined up at the back door? Five checks.
We kick off our fourth season of “My Farm Roots” with the Renyer Family, five farm kids I had the pleasure of meeting last week.
Driving onto the Renyer farm, out in Nemaha County, Kan., I was struck by the many classic examples of a farm family. After being met by the family dog, a very sweet boy named Salty, I watched as the barn cats scattered and I met Leah coming out the back door, where the knee-high work boots were standing guard.
I was greeted by Mary Renyer, the mom, then introduced to her five kids still at home. (The oldest, Kayla, 21, is married and starting a farm of her own.)
Megan, 19, was home from college and told me about driving a semi to Topeka about two dozen times already this summer to “dump corn.” (Translation: taking corn stored on the farm in grain bins to the local elevator to sell.)
Eric, 16, said he was on call 24-7 for his dad this summer – that is, between basketball camps and games.
Leah, 12, was getting stuck with lots of the housework and still hadn’t decided on the name of her new kitten, tucked away in the garage.
Luke, 8, was working on a 4-H project with help from Megan.
We talked about several subjects – I was a little nervous I might not get enough time, as they had to get to swimming practice at noon. But we covered most things and found a lot in common.
What you’ll hear in the piece posted below is something that my city kid friends don’t understand. It’s about how we get used to the fact, pretty early, that pets often are lost or picked off by prey or are sold off or become something wrapped up in white paper and placed in the freezer. (Yep, happened to me and my calf, Susie. A long time ago, of course.)
This is the first of six “My Farm Roots” our Harvest Public Media reporters are doing this summer. If you are interested in sharing your own story about being a farm kid, click here to submit your tale.
Or visit our previous years’ pieces, click here.
Reading these stories is free, but telling them is not. Start your monthly gift now to support Flatland’s community-focused reporting.
Related Stories
As High-Tech Farms Take Hold, Can Farm Towns Hold On?
Brandon Biesemeier climbs up a small ladder into a John Deere sprayer, takes a seat in the enclosed cab, closes the door, and blocks out most of the machine’s loud engine hum. It is a familiar perch to the fourth-generation farmer on Colorado’s eastern plains. He turns onto a country road, heading south to spray…
Without Big Trade Deals, Missouri Farmers Worry They’ll Lose Out
President Trump made campaign promises to pull the U.S. out of big international trade deals and focus instead on one-on-one agreements with other countries. But that has farmers worried they will lose some of the $135 billion in goods they sold overseas last year. Two years ago, Missouri rancher Mike John expected the U.S. beef…
Big Data Is Transforming How Scientists Create Better Seeds
This summer, in cornfields in Iowa and Nebraska, about a thousand small point-and-shoot digital cameras will be enclosed in waterproof cases, mounted on poles and attached to solar-powered battery chargers. They will take pictures every ten minutes as plants grow; all part of a plan to create better seeds. “We watch plants go through their…