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Farming is rarely a one-man job. Very few can get by without some sort of outside “help.” Even with thin margins, having a hired hand or two makes a huge difference – if not financially, it sure helps with your quality of life.

Decisions.

Should I plant low-lignin alfalfa? Can I afford to hire another employee? Can I not afford to hire another employee? Should I buy the neighboring property? Can I justify a new rake? What about a hay barn? Is it time for me to sell out?

In the summer of 1964, shortly after graduating from high school, I was working at a dairy farm near Nampa, Idaho. The owner decided to get his hay from Fairfield, Idaho, hauled in by a smaller trucking outfit, which was relatively new on the scene and struggling.

Have you ever stopped to think about how different farming would be, especially the harvest of grains and grasses, if it hadn’t been for the intelligence and perseverance of a young man from Virginia?

Davin is my neighbor. He’s in the eighth grade, and he just turned 14. Like a lot of 14-year-old boys, sometimes his attention span rivals that of a cedar post, but he’s a big stout kid, so he comes in pretty handy as a neighbor, especially since I don’t have any kids at home anymore.

With farming and ranching profit margins getting slimmer, it’s increasingly difficult to keep things afloat. So why do you do it?