Man March 2025 is in the books. For those that may not remember four years ago we organized the first Man March in Mandan, North Dakota.
My thought was that everything was being celebrated except the man and the biblical family. We promoted coming to march with us for a full mile through Mandan in 2022 and more than 200 men, women and children did just that. The atmosphere was incredible as we made our way to the church parking lot for lunch and a series of speakers.
In 2024, we decided to have a three-day march involving vehicles and three different locations— Hot Springs, South Dakota, Medora, North Dakota, and finally Sunday morning in Bismarck, North Dakota, along the banks of the Missouri River. In 2025, we had events for three days in Fairview, North Carolina, and two locations outside of Knoxville, Tennessee.
While each of these events and locations took on their own culture, the concept was the same. We are staring at challenging times and walking that fire with the Lord is our best approach. My partner in many projects, Pastor Jeff Weiss from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, took the lead on setting up these locations and speakers.
I was responsible for arranging the only woman to address any of our audiences this year—Leigh Brown, from North Carolina, was such a breath of fresh air on putting the relationship between woman, man and God into perspective.
On the third and final day of this year’s event, I realized that many of the speakers this year shared something in common and that was a farm background and a dad that taught them so much. I still think those of us in the farm and ranch world take for granted what it means to have the next generation right by your side in work and in play from day one of your kid’s life. I regularly have people from every walk of life that tell me if a farm kid applies for a job they get a quicker look because they know the work ethic will be there.
Let’s face it, in today’s world, too many kids don’t even know their dad let alone get to work alongside them. Since 2000, about 42% of the births in the United States are to single mothers. That is a serious problem and I don’t blame it on the mothers. Where are the fathers? But at the end of this three-day run, I realized that far too many don’t know the first thing about survival let alone raising a kid with a work ethic.
It is no secret that people don’t truly know the first thing about where their food comes from, but I am talking about the basic necessities that involve being a man like providing for and protecting the family. They need to have the ability to be a problem solver because things don’t always go right. How will you handle that stumbling block? How will you teach your kid to remain calm and seek a solution? Honestly, at the end of the day isn’t being a problem solver one of the best attributes we can teach our kids?
Most importantly, this series of events has been successful in building a posse throughout the entire nation willing to take on the enemy that is coming. The message is loud and clear: Real men need to step up and do what it means to be a man in the eyes of God. Honestly, part of preparation is to figure out who you can count on when you cross that river. In case you have forgotten, during the cattle drive era of this nation you only crossed rivers with men you knew would have your back.
The biggest river we have to cross is lying directly ahead of us and it is time to figure out who you can count on because you cannot go on this journey alone. Build your posse, strengthen your family and your community and be the man that God needs you to be!
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the views of High Plains Journal. Trent Loos is a sixth-generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show “Loos Tales” and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].
PHOTO: Farmer and his son in front of a sunset agricultural landscape. (Adobe Stock │ #530362856 – Acronym)
