The Healing Professions

We live in the shadow of the Mayo clinic. Many years ago I heard a statistic that there were 3000 MDs in Rochester, MN where the Clinic is. There are probably 5000 by now. Pretty cool to know there is an answer for identifying just about any ailment just minutes away and they are very good. If you have some weird tropical malady they have you covered. If you have an obscure genetic deficiency they have the tools and tests to future it out.

This is kind of an antiquated term but they used to call those that sought the decades of training  to heal the body and mind as the, "The Healing Professions".

I think that farmers are in the "Healing Profession" too and here is why..

I Love to Teach

Our oldest daughter Andrea is a music education major in college. Which means she will be a music teacher some day. She loves the teaching environment. She hadn't been on campus two weeks as a freshman before she had been asked to be a tutor for music theory. Doing what you love and getting paid...what a deal.

I "get" the teaching part of this equation. You have an experience or expertise you want to share. Whether it is music, farming or personal finances the act of teaching holds incredible value for those being taught and society as a whole.

I don't know much about music like Andrea does. But we do share a common value of teaching.

I love to teach.

Here are 5 reasons teaching is important.

End of the Year Giving for Farm Families

Farm income, and many types of business income, is notoriously seasonal. We do our best to smooth it out by shifting sales to early in the season and doing some canning, drying, smoking and storing to provide some income during slower times of the year.

Because of this seasonality many farm families do the largest share of giving to their church and other charities at the end of the year.

Beside being scriptural. Generosity changes us as a person from a potentially tight fisted miser to an open handed happy person. You must open your hand to give, but it is also necessary to open your hand so that more blessings can come your way. 

Farm families also have the possibility of giving of the fruit of their labor. My father used to give and extra wagon full of corn at the end of the year. He would have them make the check out to the church.

We give left over produce to Channel One (the local food shelf) all summer long. We often bring extra with them in mind. Again in the fall we take a load of squash or pumpkins. Usually this is produce that God has blessed us with above and beyond our needs for the business. I could wholesale this abundance to a store or something but I like to give it. Kinda of a picture of what God is doing all the time through our paychecks and other income.

Here is my check list for end of the year giving:

Pickup Trucks and Business Success

I have come to believe that success and failure in farming may be tied to the pickup truck the farmer drives.

You mean if you choose Ford over Chevy you may fail? No I'm thinking more about buying an expensive truck versus a good used truck no matter what the brand. Especially in the early years of building your farming business.

Not saying I'm perfect, but here is what we have done over 35 years of farming. I offer this for your consideration.

The Measurement Stick

Remember when you were little and mom or dad had you stand by the door to the closet in your bedroom and measured your height. This became a measure of progress for your growth. Your siblings were likely recorded in the same spot.

This may have been the first time you encountered the measuring stick, but it certainly wasn't the last.

Here are some other examples...

Thou Shall Prosper

I read an excellent book by Daniel Lapin over the weekend. He says there are ten principles that tips the scales in our financial approach significantly toward prosperity.

Here is his list of 10...

Farming MBA - Wisdom from the Board Room to the Back 40

Here are links to my 30 favorite "Farming MBA" articles (there are 50+ total).

Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude

This quote from Zig Ziglar is one of my favorites.

This applies to farms workers or office workers alike.

We have had some great farm workers over the years, but a few that really didn't thrive.

I've especially noticed that students that work for us that don't want to be here do not progress well in their training and often use any excuse to miss a day.

The Ancient Future

I heard a sermon recently where the pastor used the phrase “The Ancient Future”. He was preaching on the Song of Solomon and he had everyone from teens to our senior saints sitting on the edge of their seats. The “Song of Songs” is a story for another time.

The phrase “The Ancient Future” was used in conjunction to the author Solomon and another book he wrote called Ecclesiastes. Where it says there is nothing new under the sun.

I think we have forgotten more in agriculture than we have learned and we may need to get back to our roots to keep our planet and our people healthy.

For example...

Our Work Matters

We had a great sermon this weekend about work as an extension of our worship to God. Pastor Steer at Autumn Ridge Church reminded us that God commanded Adam to work in the Garden of Eden.

I especially like that fact that the initial concept of work was an agricultural endeavor. It was both plant and animal based.

One of the first tasks that Adam was given was to name all the animals. I do not think this was a shallow task like calling all the beagles Snoopy or the cats Garfield. I think this was a deep intellectual excercise of organizing the taxonomy of "all creatures great and small".

Here is why I say that...

Convocation

We were at Purdue last week visiting the engineering college for Reed.

I noticed they had something call convocation. Convocaation simply defined is a group of people assembled together. They use this often in academic circles.

At Pudue convocation was largely focused on big name entertainment groups (most of which I was not to familiar with, I guess I don't get out much).

I'm used to another focus for convocation...

Sojourn

Reed and I went on an adventure Monday.

Reed is a high school senior this year and starting to look at colleges.

Reed is interested in engineering.

He has a teacher that he likes and respects that attended a school quite a bit east of where we live.

The school is in Indiana. Can you guess which one.

When a Student Is Ready the Teacher Will Appear.

I like to eat Chinese food, mostly for the vegetables. Occasionally I get a good fortune cookie with my meal. I have found you can increase your chances of getting a good one by taking two and then keeping the best one!

I have a whole collection of reasonably good ones in my office. I put them in a large cup. When we are having a boring meeting I pass them around and every one takes one. Kinda breaks up the monotony.

The title of this post is one of the best, "cookie proverbs". It says, "When a Student is Ready the Teacher Will Appear."  I have seen the reality of this many times, for example...

The Replacement Fund

When I bought my 1965 International 656 tractor 12 years ago I started to save for my next tractor.

I call my savings "The Replacement Fund".

Here is why that is important...

This Old Tractor

I have been using a 1965 International Harvetor 656 Hydro Static Drive Tractor for primary tillage and mowing. It is about 60 horse power.

I love the hydro stat transmission as it can go very very slow for vegetable transplanting. They just don't make 'em like this any more. 

How to Be Rich

Andy Stanley has written a book with the title "How to be Rich" based on 1 Timothy 6:17 where it says, "Command those who are rich in this present world..."

I hadn't read the book yet but I got to thinking that compared to many people we are rich in this present world.

Did you know that if you make $48,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of the wage earners in the world.  The average income in Olmstead county is $62,000 per year. I'll bet you didn't even know that most of you are a "one percenter".

What difference does this make. Here are three reasons this is important...

Chemical Agriculture 201: Farming is a Verb

Farmers will tell you that one of the benefits of farming is a sense of place to have their family rooted in the land. Wikipedia says, "A farm is an area that is devoted primarily to  agricultural processes in order to produce such commodities as fiber, grain, livestock or fuel. A farm is the basic production facility in food production.:" I have a few problems with this definition but let's just accept it for face value for now.

I totally agree with the "sense of place". We feel very grounded in our community because of our farming activites. Many families depend on us and we have gotten to know them at a much deeper level than if we were just casual acquaintances at school, church or neighbors down the street. Growing someone's food is an intimate act of friendship and community.

Farming is a verb. The discussion so far has focused on the "noun" definition of farm. Farming is a set of actions, it is those actions that make the differenced between a chemical farmer and an organic farmer.

Let's take a look.

Contentment

Contentment is one of the most powerful finanical principles in our lives. If we have learned to be content, it will be easier to understand and accept our position as the manager of what we have been given. This doesn't mean we need to be hands off on money issues. Contentment helps us focus on our goals for money and to resist temptation to overspend or borrow.

Here are four signs of discontentment...

How to be the Best of the Best

If you lived in the nation of Israel in 1440 BC, Bezalel would have been a household word. Like Rolex watches, Mercedes cars, Waterford crystal or Petersen's Candy Carrots (well maybe our carrots aren't in quite the same class), Bezalel was famous among the people for being the best of the best.

Because he was the best he got to do something very special...

The Supper Table

As a father and a farmer I have learned that the supper table isn't just for eating it is also for leading. Many examples, values, and instructions are transmitted at the table. This won't happen if you are watching TV or talking on the phone. You need to pay attention and be intentional.

Here are five principle of "The Table".