Just prior to the Labor Day weekend, I visited the family farms out in Ohio where I grew up. My early childhood experiences on the family farms are recorded in my book, “The Last of the Family Farms.” The Bupp family farm is now owned by Carmony Farms and has undergone a number of very positive changes from just a couple of years ago. My brother and sister in law live on a two acre lot which was a part of the original Bupp farm. They help take care of the heifers and mow the grass along the lanes.
The old farm house where I grew up in has been remodeled and there is a family now living there. Their garden pales when compared to the garden where my mother used to raise vegetables, but times have changed as most folks today work away from home and gardens are mostly a hobby.
The crops look good this year with the corn and the beans starting to turn brown. I would estimate that the corn and beans crops in Northeastern Ohio are about two weeks ahead of the corn and bean crops here in the Finger Lakes and even here ours seem to be one or two weeks ahead of the norm.
The barns are full of hay bales which will sustain the heifers over the winter. New electrically heated watering stations have been installed in the barns so one doesn’t have to worry about frozen pipes and forgotten water faucets left on. Ground grain for the heifers is now bulk delivered to a large upright tank outside of the barn and then moved into the barn via an electric auger. No more lifting sacks of grain!
James R. Bupp