Stories from the Field

10 Things You Can Probably Relate to If You’re A Farm Kid

As farm kids, I think there are some things that we can all relate to that not everyone else can. We’re a pretty cool group of people, so can you relate to these ten things?

 1. No One Cares What You Look Like As Long As You Show Up

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve shown up to do chores, wearing boots with pajamas pants tucked into the tops, wearing a hoodie, my hair in a messy bun. The animals don’t care what you look like, as long as they get fed!

2. You Never Take Anything Said While Sorting Cattle Personally

If you’ve ever sorted cattle and things didn’t go as planned, this one of kind of self-explanatory. For those of you that don’t know what this is like, let’s just say things are said. Not nice things either. I’m just going to leave it as that.

3. You Learn How to do Lots of Things Before the Normal Age

By Mikayla Martensen

Oh, you learned to drive when you were 14? That’s nice, I’ve been driving since I was about six. Yep, I knew how to tag a calf and give it shots by the age of 10. If you see something be done tons of times, you catch on pretty quickly how to do it!

4. Mother Nature Can’t Be Trusted

Oh, they want a nice rain shower to help the crops grow? I can do that, but with a little extra wind and hail! -Mother Nature. Sure, she helps us in some ways, but Mother Nature can be very hard to predicted! Nebraska weather is never very consistent. One day, it could be sunny and 75, the next a blizzard. You never know!

5. Your Life is Dictated by Seasons and Not the Regular Ones

Harvest Season, Planting Season, and Calving Season, it’s as simple as that. For some this may vary, but this is probably the most common version of the farm seasons.

6. Your Animals Are Your Best Friends and You’re Theirs

Whether its cattle, chickens, horses, sheep, or any other animal, you gotta love them! Considering you’re spending so much time caring for these creatures, it just makes sense. They also realize who it is that takes care of them every day, so then you become their best friend too!

7. Farm Terminology Becomes A Second Language

You know exactly what someone is talking about when they start spitting out ear tag numbers, feed types, field names, or any other type of farm terminology because it’s become like a second language for you. By now, you’re a pro!

8. Electric Fences

If you’ve spent an extended amount of time on a farm, you’ve probably come into contact with an electric fence at least once. You also may or may not have made the rookie mistake of touching it. Let’s just say that was probably a scream heard around the farm. I know your pain friend.

9. Not Everyone Agrees with What You Do

This day in age, not everyone agrees with what you do. They may accuse it of being inhuman, or so many other things that are untrue. Although you’re used to it because it’s so common, it still hurts that people can’t trust the group that has been feeding them their whole lives.

10. Farm Life is the Best Life

If you can relate to the other nine sections, you probably agree to this last one! Life on the farm is great, because you get to experience so many different cool things! Farm life is the coolest, but I might be just a little bit bias.

Mikayla Martensen is a junior at Humphrey Public Schools. After graduation, she plans to study agricultural education, leadership, and agricultural communications. She can often be found out in the field with the crops, or in the pastures checking cattle. Out of all activities that fill her life, FFA is surely at the top of her list.

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