Planting Seeds of Wellbeing

We explore the transformative impact of taking breaks during busy farming seasons and how it can rejuvenate your mindset and productivity. Our recent family getaway in the middle of planting season proved that stepping away from farm responsibilities, even briefly, can significantly improve mood and perspective.

• Spring planting update with crops in the ground and looking good despite not rushing
• Taking a quick family weekend getaway during planting season led to better mood and productivity
• Our kids had a phone-free weekend at the lake, experiencing "good boredom" that fosters creativity
• Modern farming efficiency with high-speed planters has doubled productivity and improved crop stands
• Field meals now focus on nutritious options instead of processed foods
• Jesse's emotional milestone of completing a challenging hike in Yellowstone after hip replacement
• Introduction of "The Farmer's Greatest Asset" workbook to document farming knowledge and procedures

Share our podcast and give us a review on Spotify and Apple. You can email us at farmersgreatestasset@gmail.com with any topic ideas you'd like us to cover in future episodes.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:15

the farmer's greatest asset podcast. We believe the farm's greatest asset is the farmer their knowledge, experience, mind and health. Well, welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jesse.

Speaker 2 0:39

And I'm Dr Leah.

Speaker 1 0:47

First things first. I guess maybe, if you like it, share it and go on spotify and apple and give us a review that help us out, help us get the word out there. And so it's literally end of april last day of april april 30th. Right um mayday tomorrow. April showers bring May flowers.

Speaker 2 1:05

Jonah's birthday. Happy birthday, jonah. Yeah, that's my nephew.

Spring Planting Update

Speaker 1 1:09

So we had some crops planted the week before Easter. A fair amount of crops Did not get done, which is fine. Then we had some rain on Easter. So the old saying goes rain on Easter Sunday, Seven Sundays of rain. But that didn't happen last Sunday. We didn't have rain last Sunday. Busted that old wives tale.

Speaker 2 1:34

Those old wives. They don't always know.

Speaker 1 1:39

Jeez, I think they know everything.

Speaker 2 1:42

We don't think we know everything.

Speaker 1 1:56

Yeah, yeah, think they know everything. We don't think we know everything. So maybe it is do you think or do you know, right? So what did dad say when he was talking about easter sunday rain? He said some people think it's uh, holy sunday. What did he say?

Speaker 2 2:03

I don't recall him saying anything.

Speaker 1 2:05

He said some think it's easter sunday, some think it's a different sunday. What did he say? I don't recall him saying anything. He said some think it's easter sunday, some think it's a different sunday. Like the sunday before easter is holy thursday, holy sunday it's palm sunday palm sunday. That's what it was, jesus louise jesse holy cow, jesse.

Speaker 2 2:19

I hope your mom and dad aren't watching or listening sorry, I'm gonna edit that out palm sunday.

Speaker 1 2:25

So that was his comment. Some think it's easter sunday, some think it's palm sunday, that if it rains on that either that sunday it'll be seven sundays of rain.

Speaker 2 2:35

So maybe it is palm sunday because it didn't we, it didn't rain last weekend we just figured it out.

Speaker 1 2:41

We know the wife's tale now.

Speaker 2 2:44

You know what, one way or the other, you're probably going to be right half the time.

Speaker 1 2:48

So probably so. It rained on Easter Sunday. We actually had a fair amount of rain that week, three inches or something. Um, the crops right now are up and actually look pretty good. Had another little sprinkle shower today, so everything's really popping.

Speaker 2 3:07

Soften up some of that hard soil. Yep, so we'll get excellent emergence.

Taking a Break: Family Getaway

Speaker 1 3:13

Right, but I guess to my point. A couple episodes ago we talked about taking breaks and slowing down, so we decided last weekend to take a quick little family getaway to the lake.

Speaker 2 3:31

Very quick Last minute.

Speaker 1 3:33

Decided to leave Friday morning and come home Sunday morning.

Speaker 2 3:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1 3:38

That's how we roll, though.

Speaker 2 3:40

We actually left Friday afternoon, yeah right, like at 2.

Speaker 1 3:44

We shot for noon and come close.

Speaker 2 3:49

Close enough.

Speaker 1 3:50

Anyway. So we took a quick getaway and for me, it was really really good. I still struggle getting there and doing nothing because I get there and I want to go do something. I have a hard time just sitting there and reading a book or something or doing nothing. But I did do some journaling. It was good to just hang out and rest and not have to worry about anything. So I come home and I feel this whole week feel really good. Got home Sunday fairly early, one o'clock, something like that.

Speaker 2 4:22

Yeah, noon yeah.

Speaker 1 4:23

And then we went back to farming Sunday evening, got some more crops in. I've been in a really good mood. I know it's because we just went and had nothing to do. I did some journaling, did a little reading and a lot of reflection and prayer, so it was good for me to just do all of that and not worry about the crops not getting in.

Speaker 2 4:51

Yeah, that is a definite change in your mindset.

Speaker 1 4:56

My mindset is totally changed. I would have.

Speaker 2 4:59

We would never have left.

Speaker 1 5:00

Well before. So when we were planting crops, we going, we were going, but it wasn't like we used to do. You know, I wasn't starting until 10 o'clock in the morning and get dark. I just I quit and we got, got all of our beans in and started on some corn, but I just wasn't stressed out about all of the crops not getting in when a lot of the neighbors around here are done, which is good. I mean, their crop looks really good right now, but I'm not. It's April 30th, I'm not stressed out about it.

Speaker 1 5:36

I'm glad this come this weekend, there's another good five-day stretch that will get done and it'll be be my birthday yeah, we totally have to try and be done by monday so we can do something for your birthday.

Speaker 2 5:53

It's not gonna happen, I know. Maybe it'll be too a little too wet for your birthday. Maybe we need to celebrate your birthday on saturday and sunday saturday and or sunday.

Speaker 1 6:02

We're gonna be working Friday or.

Speaker 2 6:03

Monday We'll be in the field.

Speaker 1 6:05

Cinco de Mayo birthday Jesse has have we ever been not in the field or doing something around my birthday and you can play in the mother's day. We're always working.

Speaker 2 6:18

Not anymore. Since we got that high speed planner, we rarely are working mother's day. Yeah, I mean, we might be spraying, spraying, but we're rarely planting anymore. Right, the high speed planter has made it well, we've done much easier.

Speaker 1 6:33

We doubled our efficiency, but we went from. We had two planters there for a short period of time yeah, but we.

Speaker 2 6:42

But that high speed with a single operator is different because you're not servicing two planters.

Speaker 1 6:50

Right.

Speaker 2 6:51

You're servicing one planter, so you can put the energy to one rather than two, and I think it's more efficient.

Modern Farming Efficiency

Speaker 1 7:00

I think having a one high-speed planter is more efficient than having two to non-high speed planters right, we get a pile done in a in a short period of time anymore it definitely has had good roi yeah, I think that planter's paid for itself and we have had one for I think you said six years at least at least six seasons six seasons. That's right, six seasons I, I'm, I know that for sure. And it was the first day we ran that thing. Man, that thing was out of the gate like spot on.

Speaker 2 7:40

It's funny because I thought it was just like two years ago, like I thought this was our third season that we've had it.

Speaker 1 7:52

But no, we got one early on and it's that thing's pretty awesome. There's a lot going on in that thing in a hurry, with all the downforce and fertilizer and seed and the placement is phenomenal and it with the, the singulation in that thing, it gives you the perfect picket fence and it's you can see a correlation to yield in that first year. It's you can see it. So then, guys that are, we hire guys to do our corn silage chopping. We don't do corn silage anymore. But that first year he made a comment like holy cow, what did you guys do? It's like that stuff is. It's like perfect, it's the perfect. Stand out there, it's amazing. Corn is like it's that planter, so inefficiency and then just everything in between. It's pretty amazing so anyway back to it.

Speaker 1 8:39

I'm I feel rejuvenated, I feel good, I'm not worried. My mindset's changing and a lot of things have just changed in the last couple years. It's been good for me.

Speaker 1 8:50

Yeah, I agree I still struggle a little bit every day. But I can feel when we take those breaks and focus on family and try to enjoy family time because our kids still want to go with us, like last fall we took them to Yellowstone. Basically 17, 16, 13-year-olds, they still want to go with mom and dad, so we might as well go when they still want to go with us.

Speaker 2 9:19

Well, after last weekend I don't know if they're going to want to go all of the time we took their phones from them and we made them have a phone-free weekend. We made them have a phone-free weekend and the results were a little surprising to me. I mean, they still watch TV, so it's not like they were off of screens, but they did not have their phones. But I thought it was really good.

Speaker 1 9:48

Yeah, it was good for them. Henry did a little fishing.

Speaker 2 9:51

They were a good kind of bored.

Speaker 1 9:53

Right Boredom isn't really bad.

Speaker 2 9:57

No, boredom is the edge of creativity, right? I don't know who said that, but very smart person.

Speaker 1 10:04

Very true.

Speaker 2 10:05

Yeah, I, on the other hand, worked while we were down there and have not felt rejuvenated. I did initially when we came back, but once we hit it hard in the field it was like I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. So it's been a little rough for me this week.

Speaker 1 10:25

Guess we got to go again.

Speaker 2 10:27

I would be fine with that. I have an online medical conference that I'm doing this week Thursday, friday, saturday so we could definitely go somewhere and I'll just be online learning.

Speaker 1 10:40

Exactly what you did last weekend. That's what I did last weekend Didn't rest or relax or rejuvenate.

Speaker 2 10:46

No, it was, but it was really. What I learned was amazing, so it was exciting.

Speaker 1 10:53

And that's good too. I mean, you got to learn every day, got to get better every day is what I say and you felt really good coming home Sunday. I did, but getting back in the grind, you're the one I call for everything, and we were running in 15 directions.

Speaker 2 11:09

Monday took a lot out of me. That was a lot, I think. I was on the road the entire day. I was on the road the whole day and not that I was upset about that, because I'm not. I'm glad I was there to help you.

Speaker 1 11:25

And a lot of that is because we have changed our planting routine.

Speaker 2 11:29

Yeah.

Speaker 1 11:30

Because now we do a lot of starter on the planter and micros and so we're still trying to figure out that whole process mechanically, physically, logistically.

Speaker 2 11:42

Right, and you know there are some bigger upgrades that we would like to do, but $4 corn and $1 pains. Right, it'd be awesome if we could put all that on one trailer, but right now, the trailers that we own are paid for. The equipment that we own, the equipment that we own is paid for and you know a nice big setup is going to be amazing when we get it. It's just not this year and that is okay.

Speaker 1 12:13

So you've been doing a lot of the shuttling of seed tenders and fertilizer tenders and people and food and.

Speaker 2 12:21

Yes, we are doing the chuck truck when we're in the field, and that is. It is a lot.

Speaker 1 12:27

The chuck truck is good, though it is.

Speaker 2 12:29

I feel like you guys are from a health standpoint. No one's getting sick. I make sure everybody gets lots of water. There's no sodas I will give like a trail mix packet.

Speaker 1 12:43

You have a little bit of sweet in there.

Speaker 2 12:47

Some raisins.

Speaker 1 12:48

But I feel better. I mean, I made a comment to you today that I don't feel as swollen I can tell I feel better. So it's all that good beef babe.

Field Meals and Nutrition

Speaker 2 12:59

All right, the first go-round. We did lunch meat a couple of times and you and I both felt like, oh, I feel like crap after that lunch meat like I don't even think there's meat in the lunch meat anymore. I don't know, it's full of a lot. Maybe I'm just really sensitive to it now, I don't know. But I did not feel good at all after lunch meat. So we are not doing lunch meat, we're doing, you know, we have beef, so a lot of burgers.

Speaker 1 13:31

We have our all beef hot dogs which have no fillers or anything like that on them, so like your version of a French dip.

Speaker 2 13:38

Oh yeah, it was smoked, smoked roast beef, and then we thinly sliced it.

Speaker 1 13:43

Oh, that was good.

Speaker 2 13:44

And then I had homemade beef bone broth that I cooked it in and let it get the umami.

Speaker 1 13:52

That was yeah.

Speaker 2 13:54

Yeah, umami. That was yummy, it was I need to smoke some more Umami umami.

Speaker 1 13:59

That was yummy.

Speaker 2 14:01

I like that.

Speaker 1 14:03

It was good.

Speaker 2 14:05

We had that a couple meals.

Speaker 1 14:07

We're still trying some new recipes. Lucy had a flop one day.

Speaker 2 14:12

That was bad. I mean, God bless her.

Speaker 1 14:15

Yeah, she's making the meals and 99% of the time it's good, but she tried a new burrito tacos.

Speaker 2 14:24

Yeah and used like chilies, my gut was not ready for. I didn't eat for a couple of days. Yeah, it was something, though something nutritious.

Speaker 1 14:33

My gut was not ready for. I didn't eat for a couple of days. Yeah, it was something, though Something nutritious.

Speaker 2 14:37

How are you feeling from a physical standpoint? How's your back and hip?

Speaker 1 14:41

Everything hurts. How can we?

Speaker 2 14:43

change that. We need to get you in the pod babe.

Speaker 1 14:46

Get in the pod, get stronger. We're getting there. I try to stretch.

Speaker 2 14:54

Do, or do not do there no try, that's yoda. You know um leanne moeller, she is a physical therapist from the area. She told me when you had your hip replacement, it'll be at least a year before he's walking well, and I was like, no, it won't take that long. She was definitely right.

Speaker 1 15:17

Am I walking well now.

Speaker 2 15:19

From a layman standpoint or from your wife physician standpoint? Which perspective do you want?

Recovery Journey After Hip Replacement

Speaker 1 15:27

So surely you know you can see me limp.

Speaker 2 15:31

So I would say lay, people see you walking and they think you're doing great. Because you're walking, I can definitely tell I mean you. We need to, like totally retrain your spine, your legs, Everything needs to be retrained because even when you're standing there you had you stood on those crutches like they were for so long You're totally out of alignment your muscles. You don't even realize you're standing improperly, I know.

Speaker 1 16:01

It wasn't that long ago, I had to have a cane yet. So it's, yeah, more or less a year ago now, when I finally wasn't walking with a cane.

Speaker 2 16:10

Right, it's been a year.

Speaker 1 16:12

Because we went to and I think it's.

Speaker 2 16:14

I think you're doing great. I don't want you to think that I think you aren't doing great. I think you're doing great.

Speaker 1 16:20

No, it just dawned on me that it was because last last spring I had to take a cane with me in the tractor planting and it was a struggle, especially if you know know something plugged or had to work on the planer. Man, that was rough. Yeah, it just dawned on me that I had a crack a cane still at this point last year. I've come a ways, long ways you know you have so we mentioned we went to yellowstone this fall.

Speaker 1 16:43

A monumental time for me was at yellowstone. That was what say september 1st. Well, yeah, the end of august, yes, right then we took the kids out there, rented a house, and we had done that before with the kids. That was, let's say, september 1st.

Speaker 2 16:50

Well, yeah, the end of August, yes.

Speaker 1 16:52

Right. Then we took the kids out there, rented a house and we had done that before with the kids.

Speaker 2 16:58

They were little like four, three and eight months old.

Speaker 1 17:01

Right. So we said we're going to bring them back again and we did that and it was an amazing trip.

Speaker 2 17:06

They had a great time too.

Speaker 1 17:07

Saw a lot of cool stuff. So we hired a guide and the first day we just did a lot of sightseeing, saw a lot of wildlife.

Speaker 2 17:16

Wolves bears.

Speaker 1 17:17

Saw a grizzly. It was pretty amazing. So they knew my situation. I hired them and they said is there anything you need to know about that they need to know about. And I said, well, homeschool, the kids Just want to make it educational. They they said do you want to go on a hike or anything? I said, well, I'd love to. We'll see how it goes. I had a hip replacement in February and I'm still getting stronger. And they said, well, we'll see how it goes. So the second day, with a guide. So after not walking for nine months, six months after basically starting to walk again, I went on a three-mile hike through Yellowstone.

Speaker 2 17:53

And it wasn't like flat hike, it was mountainous hike, it was definite changes in grade. It was an emotional time.

Speaker 1 18:03

There was a point where I know I didn't say anything, but I'm sure you could tell. I could think I hope to God we're getting close to the end, because I know how far we come and I'm not going to be able to go back that far. I have no idea how far in we were. Then he told us we're getting close to the end or whatever, and he said in actual distance.

Speaker 2 18:23

Josh was his name.

Speaker 1 18:25

Best tour guide ever.

Speaker 2 18:27

Yeah, yellowstone Jesus, that's his handle on.

Speaker 1 18:33

He's not a yellowstone.

Speaker 2 18:33

He's not a yellowstone anymore, but look him up, he's doing his thing in north carolina, yeah right, yes, and he has amazing videos of that he took while he was out in in yellowstone, if you look at his instagram page but I literally broke down at the end of that hike, still making me emotional again, like that was a.

Speaker 1 18:55

That was a moment I wasn't sure I could do it, but I, I did it it's funny.

Speaker 2 18:59

I just went through the camera last night and saw those pictures of you really and us on the hike and it was like I there I have a picture where you have your hand on a rock and you're like looking out over the waterfall, cause we're hiking um to see different waterfalls. And you could tell that you were emotional, teary eyed and and uh, you could just see the euphoria, the delight, the pride that you made it.

Speaker 1 19:35

I made it.

Speaker 2 19:36

You did it was awesome. Five months Good stuff.

Speaker 1 19:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2 19:43

Because you know, for the nine months before that we actually did. I mean, I knew you would walk again, but there were times I'm like wow, this has been a long time. A long time and a short time all at the same time.

Speaker 1 19:57

Yeah, just thinking about that, that was a big moment for me. Thankful I could do it with my kids and you.

Speaker 2 20:05

It was wonderful, it was a very big growth opportunity and I think that you have had a lot of that in the last, you know, year and a half year and nine months it's. It hasn't even been two years like since your accident.

Speaker 1 20:24

it's just been a year since your hip replacement we've learned a lot, done a lot in the last year and a half.

Speaker 2 20:30

We have.

Speaker 1 20:32

Come up with this whole idea.

Speaker 2 20:34

Yeah.

Speaker 1 20:35

The whole idea started with that one Zoom call that we need to write the book.

Speaker 2 20:40

The book that puts the farmer's brain on paper.

The Farmer's Greatest Asset Workbook

Speaker 1 20:44

It is the book that every farmer needs. It's the most important book any farmer will write, so it is available now.

Speaker 2 20:51

It is. It's the farmer's greatest asset, the workbook and it has all the key ingredients that's not the right word the key topics that need to be addressed on your farm. It's the book that every wife needs her husband to fill out.

Speaker 1 21:12

Every farmer's spouse, every farmer's kid, every farmer I mean, and it. So it really is probably going to evolve into any business really, cause it kind of come about that you know, a friend of ours passed away and his boys and just seems like they didn't have any idea what was going on passed away and his boys and just seems like they didn't have any idea what was going on and they worked in the business.

Speaker 2 21:38

You know, I I'm here and we talk about stuff all the time, every day, but I I didn't know what corn variety to put out in that field. I didn't know how much of the fertilizer we needed to put. And you did all the quick, even now you did all the calculations Like if it wasn't written in the book I wouldn't know so the whole book is about procedures and documentation and passing on the legacy systems.

Speaker 1 22:05

There is nothing like it, completely unique and it's. Every farmer needs it. And that's not a sales pitch, that is a reality, actually, it and it's.

Speaker 2 22:16

Every farmer needs it. And that's not a sales pitch, that is a reality.

Speaker 1 22:19

Actually, it isn't that every farmer needs it, it's that every farmer's family needs it or needs going to be passed on as effectively or efficiently as it could have. So legacy and just passing on the knowledge and trials and tribulations and wins because you've got to learn from all of that, so document it. That way everybody can learn from your failures and your successes. That's where the farmer's greatest asset come from. You know the book idea and we put that together and it's now available. It's going to be the most important book sitting on your office desk.

Speaker 2 23:06

Because the farm's greatest asset is the farmer.

Speaker 1 23:11

Their knowledge.

Speaker 2 23:12

Experience.

Speaker 1 23:13

Mind.

Speaker 2 23:15

And health.

Speaker 1 23:16

That's our tagline. It is available, it's for sale. We have it ready to ship. You can go on our website, thefarmersgreatestassetcom, and you can buy it on there. It's the workbook. Everybody's going to need one, I'm sure of it. I know you wish you would have had it. I know I wish I would have had it for you.

Speaker 2 23:36

Well, there were just so many things that, like we were struggling through and you were unable to really clearly think through, it would have been beneficial for us for sure.

Speaker 1 23:50

It's putting the farmer's mind on paper.

Speaker 2 23:52

it's time to put it down father's day is coming up, it'd be a good father's day gift or not a gift and just order it for your father or your husband and really like sit down and take the time to fill it out for him, because unless he has really good handwriting, you're going to want to be able to read what's in it, like I have filled Jesse's out Handwriting's not that bad? No, it isn't, but mine's so much nicer, yours is a lot better.

Speaker 1 24:25

Yeah For sure, yeah, yeah. So actually this episode's coming out Thursday, may 1st. The same day we had a recorded episode with the guys at farm for profit and it was literally about the book. So go check out their podcast if you haven't. Yeah, that being said, thanks for listening again. Go share it. Give us a review on Apple Spotify. That would help us spread the word. Go share it. Give us a review on Apple Spotify. That would help us spread the word. Help other farmers.

Speaker 2 24:57

If there's anything you'd like to hear us talk about, feel free to email us at farmersgreatestasset at gmailcom with any ideas that you have. I'm going to be learning more about hormones this weekend.

Speaker 1 25:12

Sounds exciting.

Speaker 2 25:15

Yeah.

Speaker 1 25:16

It's a good day to have a great day. Thanks for listening.

Speaker 2 25:20

Bye.