DROUGHTS, FAMINE, & GOVERNMENT
The past several years, we've all experienced empty grocery and retail shelves with miserably long supply chains. We've waited months to receive items, that were normally stocked...once upon a time.
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The Inflation Reduction Act places restrictions and limits on farmers. In this Act, the fertilizer are required to use produces crop yields of up to one third less! This Act controls what fields are cultivated. How is this going to help fill the void of the existing world wide shortage of food? Farmers are already facing outlandish priced fertilizer, shortage of seed, and unsustainable fuel prices to run their equipment. A farmer's yield is always dependent upon the weather. Droughts, famines, and government interference have ravaged countries for years.
TRUE STORY
Approximately 4000 BC, an Egyptian king had a dream. In this dream, he saw that in seven years a devastating drought was coming to not only his region, but to surrounding countries. He hired Joseph, a very intelligent man to oversee the task of planting and storing grain. For the next seven years, all grain that was planted on one fifth of the land was stored for the impending famine. Seven years of tremendous crop yields were attained, more than they knew what to do with. The drought then hit everywhere! Although, in Egypt they had an abundance of grain. They even sold grain to all of the surrounding countries. These starving desperate people became so hungry they willingly became slaves to the Egyptians. You can read more about this phenomenal story in the Bible, Genesis chapters 37 and 39-41.
How We Got Started
Growing wheat goes back many generations, in my family. Working in the fields was done from sun up until after sun set. Plowing the fields was done by walking behind a horse drawn plow. In 1842, my 8-year-old great-great-great grandfather, moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana. There they plowed the fields riding a sulky (one blade) plow pulled by several horses. Harvesting the wheat was done by hand, using a scythe. This was called “cradling” the wheat. It was then tied in bundles using the largest stalks. About 1898, the family moved to south-central Kansas.
In 1917, my great-grandfather moved his family, from the wheat fields of Kansas, to Tofield, Alberta, Canada. Thirty neighboring farm families had fled the Russian Communist Bolsheviks. Previously the Queen had given the most fertile ground, in Russia, to them. Many had gotten very wealthy. The Communists confiscated the farms and everything farmers produced, for “redistribution”. They abolished the right to own property, in an effort to “enforce equality for all.” They fled Russia…penniless! Many of these immigrant families had sewn pockets, in their clothing, to carry wheat. The fall my grandmother was 8 years old, her and my 10-year-old great-aunt would take turns driving the team of seven horses. They made very “straight” rows, while their father would guide the large sulky plow, which had 3 plow shears. He would then place wheat, in the furrows, and cover the grain with the dirt. In the spring, the wheat sprouted and grew till harvested.
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Harvest Time
When the wheat was ripe, the girls drove the four horses, while my great-grandfather guided the binder to cut the wheat stalks. They would rake “straight” rows and drop the bundles. Then 6 or 8 bundles were shocked--set up on end so the head of wheat was on top. These would be bound together to shed off rain, while waiting for the big steam engine thrashing machine to come through the area. There were about 12 men and boys operating this equipment. They would camp, at the farm where they were working. Food was provided by the family. Neighbors all helped each other. Work would begin about 4:00 AM until dark, about 10 PM. Living so far north, provided a much longer workday! Harvested wheat was taken by horse drawn wagons and stored in a granary. The large pile of straw blown from the thrashing machine was piled against pole barns, to shelter animals through the harsh winters. Wheat was used for cereal, cooking, and ground for flour. During the winter, they would place wheat in sacks and take it to the elevator, in town. The majority was stored for their animals, as well as, grain for the fall planting.
My great-grandparents moved back to the Kansas wheat farm, in March 1936.
