My Oregon 150 Story
by Brent Searle
My roots come from Idaho soil. Three
generations of family farming of potatoes, wheat, oats, barley,
sugar beets, hay, beef cattle, dairy cows, and even some pigs
now and then. I was deeply involved in 4-H and FFA, showing
horses, steers, and various farm products at the local and state
fairs.
From a young age we learned to do all the
many activities needed on the farm – driving tractors and all
sorts of equipment for all sorts of applications (hauling
irrigation pipe, baling hay, planting seed, cultivating, and
harvesting); moving irrigation pipe, often laden down with water
in soaked fields where you sunk up to your knees in mud,
struggling to get the pipe to the next set of dry rows some 60
to 80 feet away – quite a feat for an 8-10 year old at 5am;
“bucking hay” (which really means lifting bales heavier than
yourself and trying to get them on a wagon that is constantly
moving away from you through the field, all the while it’s 90
degrees outside and the dry leaves the hay get down your shirt
and irritate you all over); to hoeing rows of sugar beets to
remove weeds, walking up and down miles of rows in the hot sun;
to branding, dehorning, and “fixing” beef cattle; to feeding and
milking dairy cows; to building barns and cellars; to welding
and fixing pipe and equipment and engines and whatever else
needed some attention. And finally, harvesting the crops in the
later summer and fall and enjoying that “high” of seeing the
success of your labors though out the year.
Life on the farm is full in all aspects. It
brings perspective about the rawness of life, the miracle of
birth and rebirth, the magic of the soil and the sun, the
tightness of working with family, the relief of a swim in the
canal, and the joy of a horse ride in the evening. It is
taxing, exhausting, and exhilarating all together.
Off to college majoring in agricultural
economics and international relations. Soon after working for a
member of Congress in Washington, D.C. as his legislative
assistant for agricultural issues. Three years later beginning a
career with the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Now into my 18th
year here I am still learning about agriculture in this great
state of such diversity.
My passion for agriculture, farmers and
farm families, and the desire for their success makes me love
the affiliation I have with the Oregon Agriculture in the
Classroom program (aitc.oregonstate.edu).
More kids have seen an elephant or a giraffe in the US than the
number that have been up close to a cow being milked or a chick
laying eggs or a field of wheat. Our society has long since
transformed from an agrarian base where everyone grows most of
their own food.
But the need to know about food, where it
comes from, what it takes to produce it, the resources and
stewardship involved, and the long, tedious, and dedicated hours
that farmers, and all others up and down the food chain devote
to bringing Americans the safest and greatest food in the world
is important knowledge that every Oregon, of every age, should
know.
That’s my Oregon agriculture story. |
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These are authentic stories from real
farmers. Any editorial content does not
necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Agri-Business
Council of Oregon or our members.
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