Our neighborhood is plunked down right in the middle of farmland. In fact, the name of our neighborhood, Sutherland Farms, gives the not so subtle hint that this land was probably once farmland and probably farmland owned by the Sutherland family before developers bought it up and built it up. You don't have to drive to the "country" to see acres and acres of crops. On the ride to school we pass browning cornfields and neat grids of soybeans. Across from the liquor store, large rounds of hay are being rolled. Running down a cul de sac the other day, I got a peek of this guy between the houses.
He's got dozens of friends to roam that field with. In fact, the other day Gene came in from rolling the garbage to the curb and said, "the cows are mooing really loud tonight". And have you seen the view out our back window? It looks like this.
When I did a quick search of Kentucky agriculture, I learned that farmland covers over 50% of the state, 54% to be exact. I also learned that the state ranks in the top 5 nationally for the shear number of farms within a state. I thought they were just cranking out bourbon and fried chicken over here, but they are actually feeding families, helping to stock store shelves.
So, I've learned that Kentucky is huge on farming and I knew coming here that Bowling Green is big on manufacturing. Not only do they make Corvettes here, I drive past Fruit of the Loom daily, Delta faucets are produced here, Georgia-Pacific paper goods, International Paper makes boxes, Kingsford manufactures charcoal... you get the picture. Gene's plant is sandwiched between Hills pet food and Country Oven. Depending on how the wind is blowing, you get one smell or the other. You can guess which one he prefers.
Anyway, what I did not realize is that here farm meets manufacturing and not in the way that you think. What I mean is that it is not unusual for those working in manufacturing to also run a farm of their own. Gene has had team members take a vacation day to bale hay. One kind gentleman brings in fresh eggs for us. It's always a delight to open the carton and see a row of eggs, not store bought standard perfection, but eggs that are all different sizes and different shades of brown, some the palest tan, others mocha in color. And his co-workers are an amazing resource for us as we observe and wonder and have questions about the crops growing up around us.
For example, we recently noticed signs like these popping up in the fields.
"It's a code for where the crop is going to," I predicted. Wrong! After consulting his trusty resources, Gene found that these signs indicate what kind of seed the crop has sprung from and the signs are actually a form of advertisement for the seed company. In return, the seed manufacture gives the farmer a discount on future bushels of seed. Who knew?
We've also noticed that cornfields that had been cut weeks ago are springing back to life, growing again. Why? It's from the corn that fell to the earth during harvest. "It'll die off with the first frost," a woman at work told Gene. It's that whole circle of life that continues on, oblivious to the weather or season.
So here's the thing, no matter where we go, where we visit, where we live, I always appreciate seeing a way of life different from ours. True, we are not out there planting, harvesting, fertilizing, but there is a satisfaction and a peace from watching things grow, watching the earth produce. And who can't use just a little more peace? And who wouldn't smile hearing a cow mooing while taking out the garbage?
