Farm Field Trip: "Baby Animal Days"

On April 5, 2017, my family and I attended “Baby Animal Days” at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville, Utah. The American West Heritage Center is an educational farm center, and their mission statement is, “Create an educational and entertaining environment that inspires our patrons to learn, live, and celebrate the American West Heritage by exploring the diverse cultures that shaped the Cache Valley and surrounding region from 1820 to 1920” (“Mission Statement”). I really like this mission statement because I feel that this is exactly what I experienced when I went to “Baby Animal Days.”

At “Baby Animal Days,” the public is able to come to the farm where they can hold and interact with the baby animals there. My family and I were very excited to experience this event because we had heard so many positive things about it from friends and family members. I did not grow up in Cache Valley, so I did not realize how large of an event this is for the county. When we arrived at the farm, I was surprised to see how many people were there, too. It was clear how excited everyone and their families were to be there. I knew then that we would have a great time at this event.

After my family and I paid our admission fees, we went into the visitor’s center where there was a small history museum. I really enjoyed looking at the history museum, and I learned a lot about Cache Valley from it. I was able to spend a good amount of time reading the informative plaques and taking notes about Cache Valley’s history. There was information about how settlement began in Cache Valley, why people settled here, and how the expansion of the settlement took place. I learned that Cache Valley was originally settled in order to expand the territory of the Mormon church in places other than Salt Lake City (“Settlement Begins”). 

I also learned about the early farming that took place after the settlement of Cache Valley. I learned about how the soil and water was ideal for farming in Cache Valley and how early farmers constructed irrigation systems using the mountain water runoff (“From Survival to Profit”). There was also information about how farmers went from farming for survival to farming for profit; they were able to do this after the introduction of “dry farming,” which was a new farming technique that allowed the farmers to use less water (“From Survival to Profit”). In the history of agriculture, innovations and new techniques have been such an important part of growth for the industry, and the early Cache Valley farmers truly exemplified this idea.

This is a picture of a setup of a typical room for early settlers found in the American West Heritage Museum.

After spending time at the museum, my family and I made our way out to the farm. There were multiple areas set up with the different baby animals. The first animals we saw were the baby cows. They were gentle and sweet. My daughter loved them.

This is my daughter looking at the baby cows.

After the baby cows, we were able to see some baby goats. While we were looking at the baby goats, I was able to talk to a volunteer named Valerie Neal about what it is like to raise baby animals, such as goats. She told me about how she had raised goats when she was a little girl, and when I asked her what was the hardest thing about raising baby goats, she said, “They chew on everything!” (Neal). This made me laugh because right as she said this, the baby goat she was holding onto was trying to chew on her sweatshirt string. This reminded me of the story The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell because he also described the difficulties of taking care of baby goats and how they can be playfully destructive (Kinkead, Funda, and McNeill, 344). We were also able to see baby chicks, and they were much harder to catch and hold than I expected! The baby ducklings were very cute, as well. 

This is my family and me holding some baby chicks. 

Along with the baby animals, there were other activities happening at “Baby Animal Days.” There were people dressed up in 1800’s attire who were giving information to the public about early farming. There were also pony rides. Overall, the atmosphere was super family friendly, and it really showed the joyous side of farming and agriculture. 

I definitely gained more respect for farmers who raise baby animals after seeing how hard of work it is. There is so much joy surrounding birth on a farm, and it reminded me of the writing of Annie Pike Greenwood in her story "Birth" (Kinkead, Funda, and McNeill, 134). She wrote, "Farming is giving birth...Birth is a continual process on the farm. The land is for borning; the animals are vessels of reproduction...Out of birth came nearly all the troubles and delights of us sagebrush women" (Kinkead, Funda, and McNeill, 134). Each year, during the spring, life starts anew. It is such an important time for a farm, so it is really awesome that American West Heritage Center wanted to share that experience with the public. "Baby Animal Days" is truly a celebration of new life. This event really taught me how beautiful and rewarding raising baby animals on the farm can be, even if it is a very hard task. I learned a lot about Cache Valley farming at this event, and it was as fun as everyone told me it would be. I will definitely be going back again next year. 

Works Cited

“From Survival to Profit.” American West Heritage Center History Museum, Wellsville, Utah. 5 Apr. 2017.

Kinkead, Joyce, Funda, Evelyn, and McNeill, Lynne S. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. 2^nd ed., Fountainhead Press, 2016.

“Mission Statement.” American West Heritage Center, 2012. 

https://www.awhc.org/index.php/mission-statement/ Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.

Neal, Valerie. Personal interview. 5 Apr. 2017.

“Settlement Begins.” American West Heritage Center History Museum, Wellsville, Utah. 5 Apr. 2017.

Scholarly Book Review

Review of Little House on the Prairie

By Elizabeth Matthews (March 19, 2017)

Written by Laura Ingalls Wilder

335 Pages

I was first introduced to the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was a young girl. I remember my father coming home from work every night, and I would excitedly bring him whichever book we were reading together. My favorite book from the series was Little House on the Prairie, so I decided to pick this book up and read it all over again, twenty years later. By doing this, my love for the writing of Laura Ingalls Wilder grew even deeper, and I gained an even greater appreciation for the stories she told about her childhood. There are so many connections between her own personal stories and the movements of the many pioneers going west during this period. Throughout her book, Laura discusses many of the hardships these homesteading families faced agriculturally and culturally during this time in history, while also discussing the joys, independence, and freedom homesteading brought these families.

Little House on the Prairie starts off with Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, and baby Carrie Wilder leaving their cabin in the woods of Wisconsin, crossing the Mississippi River, and heading into “Indian territory.” Laura recalled how her father wanted to leave the woods because too many people had settled there. He was a man who needed his land to be spacious and full of wild animals. The idea of having adequate land for farming and providing for a family was, and still is, a common desire for many homesteading families. Laura’s father understood that the flat plains of the Midwest could lead to more successful farming of the land. It was clear that this family truly survived off of the land; packing up everything one owns into a covered wagon and moving into unsettled, unknown territory is not something one does lightly. Travelling far, and sometimes dangerous, distances to find land was a hardship that many homesteading families faced during this era. 

As Laura goes into her story about crossing a high, rushing creek during the journey west, she really painted the true terror this experience caused her. While this story was a scary one for her, it was also one where she saw the true strength of her parents. Wilder wrote, “If Pa had not known what to do, or if Ma had been too frightened to drive, or if Laura and Mary had been naughty and bothered her, then they all would have been lost.” The pioneers of this time had such strength that can still be found in homesteaders and farmers today. There is a common theme in agriculture where people need to rely on each other to accomplish the hard tasks that farming requires, and this family exemplified this trait throughout their journey and homesteading experience.

Eventually, the family reached a place to settle in the plains of the Midwest. Laura recalled how her parents were unsure if they were settling in “Indian country” or not. Wilder wrote, “But whether or no, the Indians would not be here long. Pa had word from a man in Washington that the Indian Territory would be open to settlement soon.” This and many other stories she told throughout the book really depicted the long and painful struggle for land ownership between the Native Americans and settlers. Laura even portrayed the racial and cultural struggles of this period and how she was confused by them. In a conversation with her father, he stated that the white settlers would get their first pick of land and the “Indians” would need to move west. Laura then asked if this would make the Native Americans mad. It was interesting to see these racial conflicts through the eyes of a child because it truly made no sense to Laura why the color of skin would cause someone to get the land someone else already had. In the end of the book, the Wilder family ends up leaving the territory for fear of being removed by government officials for being in Native American territory. However, it is clear that many other settlers and Native Americans struggled for a long time over the rights to the agricultural land in America. This historical, cultural battle over potential farming land unquestionably shaped the country’s agricultural system and how the land in America was used, and it was a hardship that many homesteading families faced. 

While the struggle between the settlers and Native Americans was a common theme throughout the book, there were also stories Laura told about her father farming and homesteading on the plains. She fondly discussed watching her father plow through the high, prairie grass with the help of their two horses and learning how hard the work truly was. She also wrote about how they owned a cow for milk and how her father worked hard to dig their own well for fresh water. Her father and mother clearly had the desire to be truly independent and self-sufficient, which is the main desire for many homesteaders. The fact that the nearest town was 40 miles away, showed just how important it was for the farming her father did to be successful. Homesteading takes true dedication, hard-work, and strength, and it is admirable that so many people created these lives for themselves. This novel truly shows how farming greatly contributed to the American dream of being free and independent. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories are enticing, exciting, and extremely entertaining to read, and I would highly recommend Little House on the Prairie.

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie. Scholastic, 1953.

This is the copy of Little House on the Praire that I read with my father 20 years ago. 

Visual Art Analyzation

Fig. 1: James Ward, The Reapers, 1800, Yale Center for British Art, British Haven, CT, 1998, <http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1668583>.

James Ward, Great Britain

The Reapers

Oil on Canvas, 1800

18 1/8” x 24 1/4”

The eighteenth century was a time of agricultural revolution for the country of Great Britain, with farming becoming a true occupation, not just the work of the lowest class (Kinkead, Funda, McNeill, 42). James Ward was a British artist during this great time of change for the agricultural system. He was best known for his landscape paintings and paintings of animals (Art UK, “James Ward: 1769-1859”). However, he also created artwork that depicted farmers, such as the painting The Reapers (see fig. 1).

The Reapers depicts a scene between a farmer and possibly his landowner, representing the typical agricultural system found in European countries until the eighteenth century. The audience can see three people working hard in the fields, gathering wheat, and one farmer showing a well-dressed man the work being done. There is also a very beautifully dressed lady upon her horse looking down on the scene. This two individuals who are dressed in much fancier clothing, with brighter colors than the rest of the painting, seem to be portraying people of a much higher social status than the workers. There is also a small child sleeping on the hay in the painting, which suggests that the whole lower class family was needed in order to complete the farming tasks at hand. It seems that Ward really wanted to represent the high amount of dedication and hard work that farming required from a family at this time. 

James Ward often gave his paintings a sense of grandeur, dramatization, and romanticism (Art UK, “James Ward: 1769-1859”). The softness of the oil paints used gives the audience a romantic feeling upon first glance.  However, when looking at the smaller details of Ward’s painting, the audience can see a more dramatic and darker side of this way of life. The colors used in this painting are colors typically found in nature, but there is a darkness to them. For example, the darkness of the clouds in the background leaves the audience with a very ominous feeling. This darkness, along with the somewhat distraught faces of the farmers and crossed arms of the well-dressed man, leaves the audience with more of an insecure feeling than a pleasant one. The sense of urgency of the farmers helps show how hard of a life these peasant farmers had. Ward seems to be representing the past way of farming, not with a sense of nostalgia, but with a sense of sadness. This beautiful painting truly depicts the struggle of the lower class being at the mercy and under the control of the higher classes in society, and the freedom that the agricultural revolution brought to many. 

Works Cited

Kinkead, Joyce, Funda, Evelyn, and McNeill, Lynne S. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. 2^nd ed., Fountainhead Press, 2016.

Art UK. “James Ward: 1769-1859.” Public Catalogue Foundation. https://artuk.org/discover/artists/ward-james-17691859. Accessed 18 Feb. 2017.

My Farming Roots

While I did not grow up on a farm in Iowa, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in their small farming town in Northern Iowa. Some of my favorite childhood memories occurred there. One thing that I really loved doing was riding on my grandfather’s lap in the tractor. When I was talking to my dad about my farming roots and my grandfather, he said:

The first memory that I have of my dad when I was a young boy is sitting on his lap on an Oliver 1650 tractor with no cab and a heat houser to keep us warm…pushing snow in the front of our house after a big Latimer blizzard. He let me run the hydraulic levers to raise and lower the bucket to dump the snow. I thought I was so cool. After that, I was hooked on my dad, as well as hooked on driving tractors (Muhlenbruck).

My grandpa loved tractors so much. It makes sense because according to the Ag Classroom timeline, tractors started replacing horses on farms around 1945 (Ag Classroom, “Historical Timeline – 1940’s). This was around the time my grandfather was a young boy watching his father work on the farm.

My grandfather spent his whole life doing agricultural work. He was so hardworking, kind, and honest. I truly looked up to my grandfather and loved him dearly.  He worked at Farmer’s Cooperative Co., in Latimer, Iowa, for 50 years. According to the timeline, there were over 10,000 cooperatives in the United States with over 7 million members in the 1950’s (Ag Classroom, “Historical Timeline – 1950’s). This was around the time my grandfather joined his cooperative. He was extremely passionate about his job and loved to tell us stories about working at the grain elevator. 

My grandpa was usually in charge of transporting the feed and the grain to and from the elevator. He drove a large elevator pickup, which he would load up with corn, grain, and feed and take these products to the various farms throughout his community. The 1950’s were also the time when trucks started to compete with railroads for transportation of agricultural products (Ag Classroom, “Historical Timeline – 1950’s). My grandfather really taught me how important working hard was. I know that whenever I drive past a cornfield or down a gravel road and see the big blue sky, I will think of my grandpa and my farming roots.

Works Cited

“Historical Timeline – 1940’s.” Ag Classroom. 2014.

http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/1940.htm

“Historical Timeline – 1950’s.” Ag Classroom. 2014.

http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/1950.htm

Muhlenbruck, Thomas. Personal interview. 22 Jan. 2017. 

Hello!

Welcome to my farming blog! My name is Elizabeth, and I was born and raised in Iowa, so I was surrounded by farms my entire life. However, I barely know anything about farming. For someone who literally grew up in the center of so much farmland, I feel that I should know more about my roots. This journal will follow my journey in "finding my farm." The purpose of this blog is for me to find out what farming really means to me, and I will be completing multiple, different tasks in order to accomplish this. This will include tracing my farming roots, going on a farm field trip, and other writing and reading activities that will help me to learn much more about farming. I am excited to make more connections to farming throughout this learning process. Thank you for joining me!