Just to let everyone know, we are Mark, Julia, Cody, Catherine and Xander. We are located near the quiet farm community of Emerson Nebraska. We are just getting started in more of a hobby then anything, that really started as 4-H projects for the kids. Cody is the oldest and is 17, Catherine (Katie) is 13 and Xander (XXL) is 7 weeks. Quite a spread in age but its all fun with little bits of drama thrown in for good measure. Katie is our major 4-H kid. She has herself in almost anything you can imagine. She actually belongs to 2, 4-H groups, Mother's Helpers and Dad's Cowhands. Cody is in Dad's Cowhands but is running into trouble getting enough time to do much these days as he works 2 part time jobs in his spare time and helps us when he isn't busy with his friends. Xander is just busy being a baby and keeping mom up all night and dad bragging about his little guy. Julia and I both work full time jobs and try to make everything come together as best we can.
Our friends Chad and Tricia Luber and their 2 boys Cade and Carter, and their baby that is on the way are now a HUGE part of what we are doing on our farm. They have joined us in raising goats and are partners in the chickens too. Chad is a great help at the farm, building kidding pens and helping rebuild a shed that we are going to fill to the brim with chickens. Having him around makes all the work seem more like play. Cade is 8 and is trying his best to learn all he can and help out with as much as he can. He's a town kid but we will turn him into a farmer someday. Its a great asset to have friends as great as them and have the much needed help around the farm. With Chad and Tricia expecting a baby and with Our little guy Xander just 10 weeks old the girls pretty much have their hands full with the kids so Chad and Cade, and Katie and I are always finding more things to do at the old homestead.
This website is named what it is because the farm has been in our family for just over a century now. A few years ago we received the Century Farm Award from Dixon County. This is the place where my grandparents (Charlie and Lena) made their home way back when. Grandpa worked the land with horses most of his life but switched to what was considered modern equipment in his later years. Farmall, of course, was the equipment of choice for him. When Grandpa decided to hang it up, he and Grandma moved into town and my dad took over.
Dad and Mom (Alvin and Janice) worked the farm until dad's death in 1997. We got more modern as the years went by and machinery got bigger and newer but nothing like the equipment of today. Its always been a family operation with us. My brother farmed with my dad from the time he was old enough and I'm sure if you asked him I didn't do a darn thing. For sure I probably didn't do enough, you see I was the baby and after high school I went to Tech School for Diesel Mechanics and took a job at a local John Deere dealership. Yes I worked on the green stuff but will bleed IH red for as long as I live.
My brother Tim has been in charge of the farming operation since 1997 and is scaling down to just the 160 acres of our home place. Not much has changed over the years. Its still the same old place that makes me smile everytime I think about it. The equipment is still red with a few specks of green thrown in just for a little something different.
Cody like I said is 17 and showed Sheep, Poultry (ducks, geese, chickens), and rabbits. He is in a lot of different activities in school. Yearbook, and Student Council just a couple of the things that keep him busy.
Katie who is 13 showed Sheep, Poultry, Rabbits and a Bottle Calf. She also did what seemed like a hundred different home ec projects and even had one of her baked goods projects selected for the state fair. She is a little jock too, plays volleyball, basketball, and I am assuming that she will do track and softball next year too.
In 2007 they will be showing goats as well.