Betty with little sister and a friend on Buck Growing up on a farm is a rare these days.  I feel fortunate to have had the rare opportunity to be raised on a farm.  Here are a few things it taught me.

Problem Solving – When I was about 15, I drove a tractor to a field an hour away from our home.  The tractor overheated.  I had watched my brother and father fix it before and used my water to fix it.  When you are out working on your own you learn to solve problems.

Perseverance – When you have livestock, you have to feed them everyday no matter how cold or hot it is outside.  I would climb the silo and scoop silage down onto an elevator and into a pickup truck in the winter.  Then I would have to empty the truck into the feed troughs.  It could be well below freezing out and you would sweat in the silo.

Responsibility – Having a variety of pets teaches responsibility.  I had horses, bunnies and a variety of animals that were my responsibility on the farm.

Humility – We had cattle.  Cleanliness is not top of mind with them.  They can stick their tongue all the way up their nose.  I think dealing with dirt and grossness can be a humbling experience.

Hard Work – There is endless work on the farm.

Cool and Calm Under Pressure – When you have lots of animals you have accidents, births, deaths and illnesses.  As a kid, I pulled calves out of cows, took care of hurt animals until a vet could get there, and rushed people to the hospital after farm accidents.

Betty with one of the cows High Pain Tolerance – On the farm you often get cut, bumped, scraped and bruised.  It’s not that big of a deal.

Reliability – I got a job cleaning stalls at a nearby stable when I was fourteen.  The owner often traveled and counted on me to take care of her horses.  Once she was out of town during a huge snow storm that blocked all the roads.  The horses needed water and feed.  My father and I drove a tractor the ten miles to get to the horses.

Personal Finance – I think farm kids often start earning money at a young age.  They might sell their 4-H steer, sweet corn, furs that were trapped, etc.  My parents also taught us how to save, not to buy more than you earned and how to manage a checkbook.  At my horse stable job, I was paid by the stall.  I had to invoice my boss every two weeks.

Growing up on a farm also gave me a love of nature and animals, an independent nature (self reliance), a sense of humor (we did laugh a lot), a strong body and an entrepreneurial bent.  I wish more people grew up on livestock farms.  We would recruit them.