We continue to learn about modern farming in Stratford Iowa. Our second day in town was a Sunday, and that means that we find a church and join in for worship and fellowship. This Sunday we went to Stratford Evangelical Lutheran Church together with our host and his wife. After church, we got to partake in a community fundraiser lunch at the local school.
It was mid-afternoon before we got back to learning about farming, and what happened next was my son, Peter's, favorite thing from the whole visit to Stratford. He got to drive a big tractor!
The rest of us also got a turn to drive this $259 999 tractor! It was almost completely quiet on the inside, and with airconditioning and music in the cab, farming no longer is a very labor-intensive occupation.
As my wife and I got our turns to drive the tractor, the kids realized that this was one of the largest sandboxes they had ever played in.
From the tiling field where we got to drive the tractor, we went on to one of their properties that currently is unoccupied but has a nice little apple orchard. The kids got to pick as many apples as they wanted to.
There was both an apple-picker and a ladder and I think the kids liked the ladder better.
With several full bags of apples we continued and went home to one of Mr. Youngs grandsons that showed us some of the animals at his farmstead. As we get out of the car we are greeted by a kitten. My youngest, Micah, was very curious about this little animal and wanted to both see and touch the kitten.
A small walk from the house there were two large hog-houses with about 1200 pigs in each. The hogs were large, almost 250lbs and ready for slaughter. We learned that you "turn" hos 2.3 times every year. In other words, you can raise pigs from piglets to slaughter a little more than two times every year. We also learned that pig manure, that is collected under the hog-houses is used to fertilize the fields. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the hogs so you get to use your imagination on this one.
Right behind the hog-houses were a large soybean field and once the kids got a little braver the were running out into the field and hiding from each other.
The 5 kids living on that farm are all homeschooled and as part of their education, they have the responsibility for some of the farm animals. Among them this pony that Emelie took a liking to.
After seeing all the animals at this farm we drove across the street to the original farmstead where Jonas Young settled in 1881. Our host's son now lives on that property with his wife. The whole family, four generations, were gathered and we got to share the evening meal with them.
Visiting with the Young family and learning about farming in rural Iowa is both fun and educational. We are making friends and learning about their way of life. Our second day ended very late and our visit was close to its end. Tired but with full bellies and wonderful new experiences we returned home to get some rest before our final day in Stratford.
Thanks for reading.