How do you decide what to plant in each field this year?Whatever did not grow there last year.
How do you know a crop is ready to harvest?I walk in, pull an ear and peel it back.
How do you know, come fall, that the year was a good one?Full bins and nothing broken in October.
What can you tell about a field just by walking across it?Where the water sits and where it runs off.
What did the farm look like when you started, and what have you changed?One barn and no fences. Now two barns and a lot of fence.
What do you grow or raise just for your own table?Tomatoes, and one row of sweet corn.
What do you watch more closely: the sky, the soil or the forecast?The sky. It is right more often.
What do you wish people knew about where their food comes from?That somebody was up before dawn for it.
What does your farm grow or raise, and what leaves through the gate?Corn, soybeans and sixty laying hens. Mostly eggs leave.
What happens on the farm when it rains for a week?We fix everything that broke while it was dry.
What is the first job you do every morning, before breakfast?Check the water troughs. The animals drink before I do.
What is the oldest thing on the farm that still gets used every week?A pitchfork with my grandfather's initials on it.
What job would surprise someone who has never set foot on a farm?The paperwork. There is a lot of it.
What part of farming can nobody learn from a book?When to stop for the day.
What would you grow or raise if you could start one new thing next year?A small orchard. Apples take patience.
Which chore did you dislike as a child and not mind now?Picking rocks. Now it is a quiet hour.
Which job on the farm can you never put off until tomorrow?Milking. The cows keep the calendar.
Which season is the hardest on the farm, and which is your favorite?Spring is the hardest. Fall is the one I wait for.
Which sound tells you something is wrong before you see it?A quiet henhouse.
Who taught you to farm, and what was the first lesson?My grandmother. Close every gate behind you.
The animals 14
How do the animals act just before a storm?Ours bunch up in one corner of the pasture.
How do you keep foxes, hawks or coyotes away from the animals?Good fences, a loud dog and a coop shut at dusk.
How do you know an animal is not feeling well?It stands apart from the others and skips breakfast.
How do you tell the cows or sheep apart?Ear tags, and after a while their faces.
How much water does the herd or flock drink on a hot day?More than I could carry. That is why we have a pump.
What do the animals eat in winter, when the grass stops growing?Hay we baled in June.
What do the hens do when you come to collect the eggs?Most step aside. One pecks my sleeve every morning.
What does a working dog or a barn cat do all day?The dog moves sheep. The cat supervises.
What happens on the night a calf, lamb or piglet is born?I sit in the barn with a flashlight and a thermos.
What have the animals taught you that people never could?Patience. Nobody hurries a cow.
Which animal causes the most mischief?The goats. A fence is only a suggestion to a goat.
Which animal is the hardest to move from one place to another?One stubborn ewe. The rest follow her.
Which animal on the farm is the smartest, and how can you tell?The pigs. One learned to open the gate latch.
Which animal would you never keep, and why?Geese. I have met geese.
The crops and the soil 14
How do you keep insects and birds from eating the crop first?Nets on the berries and a scarecrow nobody believes.
How do you know when the soil is ready for planting?I squeeze a handful. If it crumbles, we go.
What do earthworms tell you about a field?Plenty of worms, happy soil. I look on the spade.
What do you do when there is too little rain, or too much?Too little, we water. Too much, we wait.
What does a field look like one week after planting, and one month after?A week: bare dirt. A month: green rows you can see from the road.
What does a seed need from you after it is in the ground?Mostly to be left alone, and rain.
What happens to the field after the harvest is in?We sow clover to cover it for the winter.
What is growing in the nearest field right now?Winter wheat, about ankle high.
Where does the harvest go when it leaves the farm?Most to the grain elevator in town, some to the Saturday market.
Which corner of the farm grows better than the rest, and why?The low one by the creek. It never dries out.
Which crop did you plant one year and swear off?Pumpkins. The deer thought I had planted them a buffet.
Which crop is the fussiest to grow?Strawberries. They want everything just so.
Which weed gives you the most trouble?Thistle. It comes back every single year.
Why not plant the same crop in the same field every year?The soil gets tired of it, and so do I.
Tractors and machines 12
How do you get a machine unstuck from the mud?A second tractor, a chain and a lot of patience.
What can a tractor do that would surprise someone who has never ridden one?Pull a wagon, lift a bale and plow snow, all in one day.
What do you listen for when an engine is running?A change. Any change means stop and look.
What does the combine do to the crop as it drives through?Cuts it, shakes out the grain and leaves the straw behind.
What is the oldest machine on the farm that still runs?A tractor older than I am. It starts on the second try.
What tends to break just as the rain is coming?The baler. Every time.
What tool is always in your pocket or on your belt?Pliers and a length of baling twine.
Which chore did your grandparents do by hand that a machine does today?Milking. My grandfather had a stool and a bucket.
Which machine do you use most, and which sits in the shed nearly all year?The tractor, daily. The combine works three weeks.
Which machine would you invent if you could?One that picks rocks out of a field by itself.
Which repairs do you make in the field, and which wait for a mechanic?Anything with a bolt, I fix. Wiring waits.
Who taught you to drive a tractor, and where?My uncle, in an empty field, very slowly.
A day and the seasons 14
How do you keep track of everything that has to happen in a year?A wall calendar in the kitchen, covered in pencil.
How does the work change on the first warm day of spring?Everything starts at once.
How early is the barn light on, and when does it go off?Five. It goes off when the last gate is shut.
In which week of the farm year do you sleep the least?The first dry week of harvest.
What do you do at midday when it is too hot to work?Paperwork in the shade, then back out at four.
What do you do in winter, when nothing is growing?Mend fences, fix machines and plan the spring.
What do you eat before a long day outside?Eggs. We are not short of eggs.
What does the air smell of at harvest time?Dust and cut straw.
What does the farm look like at dawn that visitors never see?Mist on the low field and every animal staring at me.
What does the first frost change overnight?The garden is done and the hoses come in.
What is the last thing on the farm you look at each night?That the coop door is shut.
Where do you go on the rare day the farm can spare you?For a drive, to look at other people's fields.
Which job always takes longer than you plan for?Fencing. One post turns into ten.
Which season do the animals like best?Spring. On the first day back on grass, the cows gallop.
For a rancher 14
How do you decide when a pasture has been grazed enough?When the grass is down to my boot top, they move.
How do you find one missing cow on that much land?Look near the water first. They are never far from it.
How do you know which calf belongs to which cow?She knows. I use matching ear tags to keep up.
How do you move a herd from one pasture to the next?Slowly, with two riders and a dog that knows the job.
How is raising cattle on open range different from keeping them near a barn?Out here the weather is the barn.
How much fence does the ranch have, and who rides along it?More than I like to count. We check a stretch every week.
What does a day in the saddle look like from start to finish?Out at sunrise, look over the herd, home when the light goes.
What does a new ranch hand learn in the first week?Which gates stay open and which stay shut.
What does calving season ask of you?Sleep in pieces and a truck that starts in the cold.
What does the herd eat when snow covers the grass?Hay, hauled out on a flatbed every morning.
What does the range look like after a good wet spring?Green to the fence line, and the creeks are loud.
What is always tied to your saddle or rattling in the truck?Fence pliers, a rope and a jug of water.
What makes a good ranch horse?Calm around cattle and not bothered by wind.
Which skill of the old-time cowhands do you still use?Reading cattle. A rope too, now and then.
For a farm visit 14
Do the animals have a bedtime?The hens do. They walk themselves in at sunset.
Do you ever get muddy, and what do you do about it?Every day. That is what boots are for.
How big is the tractor wheel next to me?Taller than you. Probably taller than your teacher.
How do you get all the eggs without breaking any?One at a time, into a basket lined with straw.
May we pet the animals, and which ones like it best?The goats like it. Ask me before you pet the rest.
What do cows eat?Grass in summer and hay in winter.
What does a baby sheep sound like?Like a very small, very loud door hinge.
What is the loudest thing on the farm?The rooster thinks it is him. It is the tractor.
What job could someone my age do on the farm?Collect the eggs and fill the water bowls.
Where do the chickens sleep at night?In the coop, up on a perch.
Which animal is the friendliest?The old pony. She checks every pocket for apples.
Which of your vegetables do you have to dig up?Carrots and potatoes. You dig for those.
Who milks the cows, and how early?I do, with a machine, before the sun is up.
Why is the barn so big?It holds the hay for a whole winter.
How it works
These good questions to ask a farmer open a story: the first job before breakfast, the sound that means trouble, the chore that cannot wait. Six more groups cover animals, crops, machines, the seasons, a ranch and a farm visit.
Read the full guide
Best questions to ask a farmer first
The opening sheet is twelve of Good ones to start with, twenty that any farmer can answer whatever the farm grows. For one subject, change the box under Print this list to The animals, The crops and the soil or Tractors and machines.
Questions to ask a rancher
For a rancher holds fourteen about grazing land: riding the fence, moving a herd between pastures, finding one missing cow, calving season. The animal questions fit a ranch too. The example answers are invented; on paper they print on a last page you can leave out.
Questions and answers
What is a good question to ask farmers?
One with a story behind it: what can you tell about a field just by walking across it, or what part of farming can nobody learn from a book. Both are in Good ones to start with.
What can kids ask a farmer on a field trip?
What they can see and touch: the tractor wheel, the eggs, the barn. For a farm visit holds fourteen in a child's words, such as where the chickens sleep at night.
What is the difference between a farmer and a rancher?
A farmer raises crops, livestock or both. A rancher raises grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep on a ranch, which is a kind of farm. The word is used mostly in Mexico and the west of the United States and Canada.
What does the sheet not ask a farmer?
What the farm earns, how much land it has, or how an animal leaves it. Every question is about the work, the land, the animals or the machines, and a farmer may pass on any of them.