I’m old enough to remember the boom times of the early 1970s, the farm crisis of the 1980s and the many ups and downs since.
Agriculture has always been a part of my family. My grandparents on Dad’s side were dairy farmers and on Mom’s side were Chevrolet and International Harvester dealers.
The growing-up curve for my three brothers and me revolved around agriculture because Dad and Mom insisted it be that way. They never spent much time explaining why. They would answer our questions, but they didn’t say, “This is the way we always did it.”
Much of that was because of the evolution and revolution of farm practices they saw in their lifetime.
Dad’s upbringing led him to a career first with John Deere and later with farm equipment dealerships in Hoxie and Phillipsburg, Kansas. My three brothers and I got a front row seat in the advancements that were rapidly becoming a part of the High Plains.
Today, we marvel at all the changes that farmers and ranchers have at their disposal, but it all had to start somewhere, and in our case it was with our parents, who thought agriculture was the best base to understand how people could work together in communities to achieve big projects.
They also knew that the best leadership came from the heartland. I am thankful for a continued front-row seat.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
