No matter where you live in North Dakota, you’re never more than a short drive from where the story of agriculture begins. For many of us, especially those of my generation and older, the story is close to home, shaped by firsthand experience growing up on a family farm or ranch, visiting one or lending a hand.
As each generation gets further from the farm, that up-close experience fades. I grew up around agriculture. My kids didn’t, so I’ve discovered – much to my surprise – that a lot of “obvious” farm knowledge isn’t actually obvious. I’ve explained the difference between a cow and a bull more times than I’d like to admit. And if you really want to blow a city kid’s mind, try heifers versus steers. Many road trips included clarifying not every big machine in a field is a tractor, and answering my favorite question: Why are those round things (bales) just setting in the middle of all that grass?
Seeing agriculture from the road tells an important story, showing just how essential – and impressive – this industry is. But I’m often in even greater awe when I look beyond the fencelines into what’s happening on farms and ranches across North Dakota.
At North Dakota Living, we love sharing the stories of rural people and places, and this issue is no exception. You’re in for a treat beginning on page 9, as we feature electric cooperative members who are farmers and ranchers doing innovative and incredibly interesting steps to produce, market and sell locally raised produce, beef and honey.
As I read through these stories, several themes stand out to me: family, innovation, ingenuity, hard work, savvy entrepreneurship, opportunity, and a strong sense of legacy that makes agriculture not just a business, but a family affair.
I was also pleased to see two featured producers are having their beef processed closer to home at newer businesses like Butcher’s Edge in Edgeley and 6-IN-1 Meats in New Salem, both supported, in part, by low-interest financing from our Rural Development Finance Corporation, backed by electric and broadband cooperatives. It’s what happens when good ideas, local investment and cooperative support line up.
Like agriculture itself, cooperation runs deep. Across generations, members – past, present and future – share a legacy built on partnerships with farmers and ranchers. Together, they work side by side to expand access to food, create opportunities, strengthen communities and carry that legacy forward.
And finally, for those of you with school-aged kids, this might be an issue worth hanging onto (even though every issue is worth keeping). It’s helpful during those inevitable teachable moments about where food comes from and how cooperatives are a force for good.
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Josh Kramer, editor-in-chief of North Dakota Living, is executive vice president and general manager of NDAREC. Contact him at jkramer@ndarec.com.
