by Estil Fretwel, Director of public affairs with Missouri Farm Bureau

Maybe I am becoming my Dad.

My kids complain about how cold and long this winter has been, and I tell them stories of snow so deep that it took a bulldozer to clear open our county road for the school bus to get through. Similarly, my Dad would tell stories about snow drifts that completely covered the fences, and when the sun melted the snow on top and it refroze overnight, he would ice skate on top of the snow to school.

My Dad was a farmer who believed in getting up early, working hard, expecting help from his kids and going to church on Sunday. He wasn’t perfect, could get irritable and impatient, but was appreciative, quick to laugh and was “farm smart” in getting work done.

We would labor long hours on the farm but would take time to go into the house for lunch (Dad liked to eat, another sign I am becoming my Dad) or stop in the field for an afternoon snack brought by Mom (did I mention eating?). If we kids had a ballgame that evening, Dad would take time to go, even if it meant leaving a field early before work was done.

Dad had several good friends as neighbors who would frequently stop by during the day to visit. The conversations weren’t long…neighbors just keeping in touch…but it was good to “facelook” the community news and to share plans for the day in case we could help each other out.

I don’t ever remember Dad saying he loved farming. For him it was hard work and not very profitable, particularly in the years of poor crops or prices. We had adequate farm equipment, not the newest and biggest. We went on a few but memorable vacations. We always had food to eat, largely from our garden and from butchering. But farm life was rewarding, was fun and Dad enjoyed it.

Agriculture, like everything else, has changed. Our family farm by today’s standards is small. After five generations, my kids are the ones to be raised in the city rather than on the farm. Fewer farmhouses dot the landscape. Even now I am planning to tear down our farmhouse that has been abandoned for years. It’s kind of sad.

But as Spring and hope and renewal are approaching, I look forward to taking a few days of vacation from my fulltime job to go to the farm to prepare for planting this year’s crop. I wish my Dad was still here to give advice and to see, perhaps in a small way, I have become like him.

Estil Fretwell is director of public affairs with Missouri Farm Bureau and a fifth generation farmer from northeast Missouri.