One Kansas Farmer

A group of online guys were discussing the use of energy. Who uses the most per country. One of the respondents lives in a pretty small country. Since most of our states are larger than his country it seems pretty natural that as a country we'll use more energy than his country. 

He felt that the USA no longer was holding up their end of the technology/manufacturing end of things. On some parts of his argument I tend to agree. I hate that so much of our manufacturing power has been shipped offshore. 

However, this is not about manufacturing. This is about one Kansas farmer. Not me. Not my family, but any Kansas farmer. 

Depending on what source you use, one Kansas farmer feeds more than 128 people and up to 155 people. 

The crop in the foreground is first crop soybeans which are being harvested now as I type. The crop in the background is milo a grain sorghum.

Off to the left is a pasture and across the road from that pasture is another pasture, where the cows graze. To the north and right of this area is an area that has a cover crop planted on it. The cover crops tend to serve two purposes.

Let me digress for a moment. We are a no-till farming family. There are some who argue against no-till but for our family farm it works. 

Crops are rotated. Each crops takes nutrients from the soil. To help put nutrients back into the soil crops are rotated. The crops we grow on our family farm include: winter wheat, soybeans, milo, corn and sunflower seeds. Each of these crops gives back specific nutrients, but also takes other nutrients from the soil. To give back the missing nutrients cover crops are grown. I'm not going to pretend to understand exactly what each cover crop gives back. We have a family member who goes to seminars a few times a year to learn more and more about no till farming and which cover crops are best for which nutrients. 

So the cover crop that is to the north and right of the area the above pictures shows is used to put nutrients back into the soil. The second use is this winter that area will be fenced off and the cows will be allowed to graze it. 

All of this does require the consumption of fuel to plant, grow and harvest the crops. But I have never met anyone better than a farmer who is more concerned or knowledgable about how to preserve the land they farm. Not only does your ability to buy groceries from the store depend on them having this knowledge but their own survival depends on it. 

Yes, I'm partial to the Kansas farmer. I come from a long line of Kansas farmers. But farmers from all the other states have to be just as smart, dedicated and reliable as each and every one of the Kansas farmers.