Mar 31, 2007 9:51 am US/Central
Life On A Farm: One Family's Story
by Bill Hudson
(WCCO)
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The Schwarzes raise turkeys, in addition to growing corn and soybeans.
CBS
Sixteen years ago, Greg Schwarz bought his grandfather's farm. There was one string -- and a lot of limbs -- attached.
"He said that he would sell it to me on one condition," Schwarz said. "And that was that this tree remains here as long as he was still living."
Grandpa's gone now, but his tree is still here and so is his grandson. After college, Schwarz worked as a farm manager, but the family farm, and his grandpa, kept calling.
"And of course every time I came to visit my grandpa here, we'd come in for a cup of coffee or a Pepsi or whatever and he'd always ask me, 'When are you going to buy this farm,'" Schwarz said laughing. "I kind of hemmed and hawed for a couple of years, and finally I thought I better take the chance if I had it."
The Schwarzes live in Le Seuer, Minn., an hour south of the Twin Cities off of Highway 169. It's pretty far from the metro, but not far enough to avoid the problems that occur when urban and rural collide.
"Y'know, if your other neighbors are farmers and they're making a smell, too ... you don't worry about it as much," Greg Schwarz's wife, Joan Schwarz said. "But if you have somebody move out that isn't used to the animal smell or animal waste, it's a whole different issue that you worry about."
In addition to growing corn and soybeans, the Schwarzes raise turkeys. They have two barns, each holding 10,000 birds. These birds will become deli meat, not Thanksgiving dinner.
"It does smell," Greg Schwarz said. "It is the country and you're raising livestock -- it's gonna smell a little bit."
As far as Greg Schwarz is concerned, that smell is a small price to pay for what the turkeys leave behind: unbeatable manure for his corn crop.
"The waste product out of the barn is pretty valuable," he said. "And it's all useable and it's all natural and it's a lot better product than what I can get from my local coop."
It's cheaper, too, since oil prices have driven up the cost of fertilizer and herbicide.
"It's kind of interesting because farming has changed so much," Greg Schwarz said, as he drove from between his farm and his turkey barns. "And yet we really do all the same things. We still work the ground, we plant the seed and we expect it to come up just like we always did."
The biggest differences, Greg Schwarz said, are technology and equipment. Thanks to his tractors, he feels he can do as much as in 15 minutes as his ancestors accomplished in a whole day.
At suppertime, the Schwarzes seem like any suburban family, eating one of those pre-assembled meals, talking about their day and squeezing in a little time together before their evening activities. They seem like any other busy family. They just happen to live on a farm.
They're also willing to share their lives with WCCO-TV viewers. As we follow them through the growing season, from planting to harvest, we'll learn about the joys and challenges of life on the farm.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Slideshow: Life On The Farm
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