Farm Tales and Cow Pies

He grew up with a passion for engines and today we are visiting with John Wangen, President of the Coulee Antique Engine Club. John grew up on a century dairy farm but was more interested in hauling milk than milking cows. Combining a 50+ year career in milk hauling with a 50 + year love for collecting old stuff! Join us as we learn how those seeds have blossomed into a 3 day show o...

Remember the cash from your first job? Did you make $1.70 or $3.00 per hour or $150 per month? Did you get an allowance for taking out the trash or feeding the calves? Cold hard cash would burn a hole in your pocket during the baby boomer years. Whether your first job was walking beans, picking rocks or hoeing tobacco we’re going to uncover the intimate details. How did y...

From the hills of Chipmunk Ridge to the wide-open spaces of Texas. From the cornfields of Oakland, Minnesota to the vineyards of southern California. We’re joined by John and Scott who shot and saved single moments in the life of our farms. Join us as we expand our horizons. Our guests take us on a flight with no checked bags. No TSA prechecks, no long lines or short temp...

In a one room schoolhouse a teacher asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. A doctor. A fireman. Will’s turn came and he answered – I want to be a farmer! Today we’re switching it up a bit and sitting down with Dan’s neighbor Will. Raised on a ridgetop farm he went on to spend the next 45 years milking cows and farming over 800 acres. From the fir...

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow… we’re not talking mail delivery here, but spring planting for farmers. Timing is everything as farmers work against and with the clock and mother nature. The race to be first in the fields is on… with bragging rights and replanting options all on the table. Sunday drives to see how the neighbors are doing gave Dad a rare chance to get away...

Where there’s a “Will” there’s a way! If you use a 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12 row planter the seed still goes in the ground 1 kernel at a time. Spring temps rise and the seed corn hats and jackets change hands and turn heads. Bags of seed are loaded on trucks and poured into boxes and hoppers. Wait a minute… Before we start to plant we need to cover a few t...

The whine of windmills, pumpjacks and electric pumps supply water to Rural Route addresses across the country. Simple math played out daily, if 5 gallons of water equals a gallon of milk. How much milk is produced by 50 gallons of water? Arriving in pipes and faucets from a well source up to 600’ below our familiar paths. Available in multiple forms and transported by more. Ic...

Get the inside scoop on manure during this episode, while we clean the barn. Join fellow manure “spreaders” as we remember cleaning calf pens, scraping alleys and putting lime on the alleyway and not in the coconut! Manure is on the move with pitchforks, manure shovels and barn cleaners. Oscar and Ole get stuck on the barn roof and George Costanza gives us a re...

Snow had a way of stopping time! Every kid knew the signs before adults said a word. The forecast was for 4-6 more inches with the possibility of a “Snow Day”! We shot downstairs in the morning, turned on the TV and celebrated or groaned depending on the scroll. Winter felt bigger back during the baby boomer years. The snow was deeper and the cold was colder. We did...

A Rose is a Rose – unless she’s a Ross or an Otis or a Mulligan. Some cows had names as unique as their personalities. Others had numbers and chains, but they were all a part of our herds growing up on dairy farms during the baby boomer years. Beauty contests with Miss Alaskow and Miss Moo Jersey kept us entertained while doing our daily chores. We look back on some of the re...

The winds howled as Dad crawled back into bed. The radio forecast crackled a tune of 20 below with a good chance of more snow as he pulled the covers over his head. A slow thaw occurred after his midnight stroll where he fed the furnace, checked the milkhouse heater and stacked a couple more bales on the pumphouse door. It was January on the farm with no trips down south on the horizon. A sea...

Cold temps + high humidity = Case weather. Tobacco leaves hung in sheds waiting to be stripped in the warmth of the barn. The cows chewed their cud as another bale was stacked in the corner ready for the Tobacco Pool. “Cat’s in the Cradle” played on the radio as we wrapped up chores and stripped another bundle of leafy garland. We wrapped up one year as the ne...

SPOILER ALERT – of course we talk about Santa – enough said! Magical times of Christmas return as we remember tinsel, favorite toys and an extra scoop of feed for the cows on Christmas Eve. Lots of family time with holiday foods and fun as we celebrate the reason for the season! Was your Christmas tree from the farm or a trip to town? Did you tell your siblings where the presents...

We have a lot to chew on in this episode. As the rhythmic click, click, click of the planter echoes in the background. Your tobacco allotment required lots of hard work by hand. Transplanting, hoeing and topping were only the beginning, as this “tubby” crop was truly a family affair! By mid-June that steady planter clicking could lull you into a trance. And for the next 60 days th...

What was the color of your favorite farm tractor? Red, orange, green, yellow or blue…who knew the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was hooked up to a tractor! Was the first tractor you drove a letter – B, C or H – or a number 50, 60 or 300? Horsepower was key as the 4 wheels replaced the 4 legs of your horse on the farm. Let’s dust off the as we fire up your memories...

The oil is boiling as Mom slides the donuts into their 375 degree bath. The smell of baking bread drifts upstairs pulling you out of bed. But DON’T JUMP around the oven as you race into the kitchen or the bread will…! We’re back with a couple more courses along with a few desserts. Mounds of mashed potatoes and gravy in TV dinners and from our gardens we...

Pickled herring and pickled pigs feet, stuff of nightmares or tasty treats. Watermelon chilled all day in the tank. Hot sweet corn slathered with butter fresh from the field. Meat and potatoes seven days a week. We’re diving in teeth first recalling the food that made us who we are today. Pour a cup of coffee or grab a glass of milk. We have sandwiches with cheese, bologn...

Where’s the beef… and why should you care? Welcome to Farm Sayings II: The Idioms Return! Ham and eggs taught us the difference between commitment and involvement. We’re digging further into the barnyard lexicon and trust us it’s no wild goose chase! We are committed to having a good time with this podcast! Definitely not trying to ruffle any feathers as we attem...

You didn’t care that the official paint since 1939 for your bus was “National School Bus Glossy Yellow”. That bus was already around the corner, and you were late! You grabbed your new notebooks, #2 pencils and crayons and shouted “good bye” to Mom as you slammed the kitchen door.   The bus driver (usually a neighbor) was backing up the hill with red li...

Temps in the 90’s, humidity and sweat soaked your shirt. The evening chores finally done. You step out of the barn into a Summer Evening Symphony created by birds, bugs and gentle southerly “wood” winds. During the baby boomer years, we used front porches, root beer floats and box fans to temper the summer solstice.   Grab your favorite ice cream treat and joi...

So hot you can hear the corn grow…living high on the hog, and party till the cows come home – then party with the cows! These farm sayings and so many more have been with us since childhood. Some with obvious meanings while others may require some thought.   Grab a cool glass of your favorite beverage and kick off your shoes as we take you back to sayings that...

Neighbors gather as the behemoth slowly emerges from the shed. The earth shakes and gravel crunches under steel wheels as it rolls into position. Shocks of oats stand mutely in the field unable to move as they await their fate. The belts tighten, bearings and sprockets start to spin faster and faster as the machine roars to life. Bundles of oats are delivered heads up, and then devoured by the&nbs...

Dad rolled the head of oats between his fingers as we watched Bullwinkle on TV telling us to “Go with Cheerios!” Temps in the 90s and the oats turning golden were sure signs that grain harvest had arrived. Did you have a shocking experience with a grain binder or watch the combine in a cloud of dust? Our oat adventures include binder ballet, swallowing mayflies and...

Why did the chicken cross the road – find out the untold story! Plus brooder houses, broilers and fryers, and Pullets.  Pick some eggs with Dan and Daryl as they dust off the feathers from their rural roots. Plus, you’ll hear an actual conversation with chickens. And discover that bird brain is only a figure of speech when it comes to chickens. If you know anyone who’s had a...

Schools out for the summer…WOW…3 months of no school, sleeping late and trips to the pool...Hey, wake up, you’re dreaming, it’s time to milk the cows and tackle another day of summer life on a dairy farm. But there were evening family ball games after milking. Cool breezes as you lay in the grass looking up at the incredible expanse of rural sky. And the fair where you ca...