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Firsthand experiences help people understand the farm life better.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

February 5, 2021

4 Min Read
Sid and Ruth Ready
FARM LIFE: Sid and Ruth Ready are carrying on a farming tradition on ancestral land that has been in Ruth’s family for generations. Today, Ruth takes time to share this passion for farming with urban consumers through the organization CommonGround. Photos by Curt Arens

Ruth and Sid Ready’s farm near Scribner, Neb., is something special. It has been in Ruth’s family since 1905, and it is adjacent to the farm homesteaded in the 1870s by Ruth’s great-grandfather. That’s why the Readys say their goal for the operation is “to ensure the health and viability of our farm for generations to come.” That is a worthy goal that many farm families can relate to.

With Sid teaching high school biology and science at Logan View in nearby Hooper, getting chores done, caring for the farmstead and livestock, and doing fieldwork takes plenty of hustle and can be hectic.

But when Nebraska Farmer recently visited Sid and Ruth during evening chores, the couple leaned on the fence and watched their feeder calves enjoy supper, reflecting on exactly what it means to carry on an important farming tradition on ancestral land. They both say that they share a common love for this farm life, and it shows.

Explaining the importance of that farming legacy and the deep-held passion for the land to urban residents is often difficult for farmers. But it is something Ruth has been doing for a long time.

“When we raised hogs, I had been involved with the Pork Council Women, and had done some work connecting with consumers,” Ruth says. “I saw the organization CommonGround as a way to get back in touch with food purchasers and share what agriculture is about.”

Related:Find common ground with consumers

Nebraska CommonGround, according to the organization website, is a group of farmers having conversations about the food producers grow and how it is produced, sharing personal experiences, as well as science and research, to help consumers sort through the myths and misinformation surrounding food and farming.

The group was developed by farmers through two national checkoff programs, the United Soybean Board and the National Corn Growers Association.

Keeping busy with CommonGround

“I have written blog posts, taken over Instagram for a day to share a day on our farm, and talked with food influencers during a tour of farms,” Ruth explains, “as well as having various media interviews predominantly about agronomy topics.”

She has visited with schools in the family consumer science classes to discuss farming and food production. “This past summer, I also had the opportunity to help the Nebraska Corn Board with a video and print piece about soil and water use and soil health,” Ruth adds.

“This group provides the opportunity to develop relationships between farmers and the people that consume what we produce. It is always better to be able to talk with someone that is doing the job, rather than just read about it or, in some cases, guess about the job in question.”

Sid and Ruth Ready with cattle at feeder behind them

Feeding calves and working together on the farm is part of the farm life that Ruth Ready shares with consumers through CommonGround activities. Sid shares the science of agriculture with his students in the high school science classes he teaches.

Ruth says that she appreciates those opportunities to share what they are doing on their family farm and why they are doing it. “The more understanding there is on both sides, the better for the future of food production and agriculture,” she adds.

For Ruth, connecting with people about the subject of agriculture, which she is passionate about, is one of the fun things about CommonGround experiences. “There have been a couple of ‘aha’ moments as I talked about concerns in regard to fertilizer and manure applications,” she recalls. “In particular, I helped some food influencers understand quantities used in relation to areas covered.”

Passion for the farm

Sharing the truth about something you care deeply about is second nature for Ruth. “So much of our care for the farm comes from going back and forth across the land, even with no-till,” she says. “Planting, fertilizing, spraying and, finally, harvesting, and then fencing for the cows to graze — you get to know each swale and high point,” Ruth explains. “You know where you will see the combine bin fill quickly, and where in the field you hope there is something to hit the bin. The farm is familiar.”

Ruth uses the word “familiar” for good reason. The root origin of this word has to do with being part of the same household, or essentially, “family.”

In the high school science classes that Sid teaches, he uses the science of agriculture to bring home important lessons to his students. And first-person experiences on the land help Ruth connect more easily with consumers.

“I have many of the same concerns about my family as those not in farming,” she explains. “By sharing these concerns, others know that I am being honest about our farm and how we produce food.”

Ruth says it is exciting to share their lives and livelihood and what agriculture and farming means to them with others. “After all,” she says, “who doesn’t like to talk about what they do and why they do it?”

Learn more about CommonGround at commongroundnebraska.com.

About the Author(s)

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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