The following essay was selected as the 4th grade winning essay in a contest sponsored by Uptown Farms. Third and fourth grade students that attend Brookfield, MO schools are allowed to write an essay answering the question, “Why is agriculture important to Brookfield and Linn County?”. A student from each grade is selected as the winner and awarded breakfast at the farm and a ride to school in a tractor.

Why is agriculture important to Brookfield?
By: Briar

Farming is important to the whole country because without farming we would not have many of the things that we have today. Farming is really important in the Brookfield area too.

One reason agriculture is important to Brookfield is because there are grain mills such as Ag-land and MFA. So if there was no Agriculture, all the grain mills would go out of business.

Another reason that agriculture is important is because there would not be many stuff
to buy at stores produced by farmers, such as corn, beans, bread, milk, eggs, and cheese. Another reason AG is important to Brookfield is there are some kids who live on a farm and the only thing that some of them would want to do is FFA. So if there were no farming, there would be no FFA.

Farming is also important to the whole country because if there was no farming we would not be able to import and export it to other countries. Also, it important locally because if we didn’t have farming we would not be able to sell to feed companies. So, if they didn’t have any corn or wheat they would not be able to make feed for chickens, goats, cattle, sheep, and pigs. If
there is no feed there would be no livestock. So we wouldn’t have some stuff like eggs, chicken, goat milk, cheese, milk, beef, wool, bacon, and Pork. Also, there are a lot of farmers and they wouldn’t have any jobs.

Biofuel is also important to agriculture because plants are used to make biofuel. The reason biofuel is so important is because it helps reduce the oxides in the atmosphere. Also the article says that, “Biodiesel combustion produces fewer sulfur oxides, less particulate matter, less carbon monoxide, and fewer unburned and other hydrocarbons, but it does produce more nitrogen oxide than petroleum diesel.”

“But on the down side”, the article says, “But they have higher evaporative emissions from fuel tanks and dispensing equipment these evaporative emissions contribute to the formation of harmful, ground-level ozone and smog.”

The plants to make biodiesel are soy beans and palm oil trees for biodiesel. The plants to make ethanol are corn and sugarcane. So, without farming we would not be able to make biofuel.

These are all the reasons why I think agriculture is important to Brookfield, Missouri.

Someone shared with me an article published by PETA, “Seven reasons kids should never hunt”. Last year, I wrote about my mixed emotions sending our oldest out hunting his first deer season.
 
Even while the number of hunters continues to decline, I was confident this year that the deer stand was exactly where he needed to be.  Here’s why:

1. Hunting requires no screens.   Granted, screen time is rather limited on our farm anyway given our lack of good internet and lack of devices, I still have no doubt that sending a child into the woods without any electronic devices is a good thing.  Statista did a survey in January of 2018 that showed 58% of parents report children having 2 or more hours of screen time per day.  Being outside is good alternative to that.
   
   
2. Hunting teaches patience. It’s challenging as parents in an era of Google and Amazon Prime to find good opportunities to teach our kids patience.  We built a pond this summer and after it was done our children were anxiously waiting for it to fill with water so that we could stock it with fish.   After a full day of seeing no progress, our oldest said, “Why can’t you just order water from Amazon to fill it up?”  While hunting, he has no choice but to learn patience.  Amazon, to my knowledge, does not deliver 16 point bucks. 
   
   
3. Hunting gave him time with Dad.  It’s not just the time in the stand.  It’s the time getting ready to go.  Target practice, getting guns ready, getting gear ready.  It’s the time spent afterwards.  And of course, the early mornings and late afternoons spent together in the woods.
   
   
4. Hunting teaches disappointment. Last year, he came away from the season empty handed.  I wanted to rip that disappointment right out of his little body.  I would have stomped out into the woods and grabbed a deer with my bare hands if I could have made his hurt go away.  But I couldn’t, and he had to deal with it.  There’s value in that.
   
   
5. Hunting teaches the power of a gun and the reality of a kill.  On his a second day out this year,  a cold, windy morning where he almost didn’t go because he had gotten so cold the day before, he killed his first deer.  A beautiful 16 point buck that will find a lovely spot on our wall after a taxidermy bill that would make your eyes pop out of your head. When he fired that shot, it was different than every time he had shot at a target.  It certainly wasn’t a video game.  He understood in that moment the power of that gun he was holding and he witnessed the reality of life and death.
   
   
6. Hunting teaches him to provide.  After he killed his deer, they loaded up and went to the shop where he helped his dad harvest the meat.  The next night he helped me cook the loin.  Before he cut into his deer, the one he had literally put on the table, he said his prayers, thanking God for the time with Dad in the woods, and thanking God for the sacrifice the deer had made to feed us all. 
    
   
   
7. Hunting teaches conservation.  He learns to love the outdoors and all the creatures God put there.  But more importantly, he learns how we have to be so careful in everything we do – as hunters and more importantly as farmers - because we are blessed to be on the front lines of protecting our environment. 
   

We are blessed to have the opportunity and resources to allow our sons to spend time hunting in a safe, responsible way.  To those who argue that children shouldn't hunt, I hear you, but you're wrong. 

Whoa, it’s cold! But don’t worry, our soils are covered.


Winter can be hard on soils and on the organisms that live in them. Our livelihood is dependent on healthy soils, and those soil bugs, so we take steps to keep them happy and comfortable all winter long.


🌱 We don’t till, or plow, our fields. No-till farming means less traffic across our field (less compaction) and less disturbance within the soil.


🌱 Because we are no-till, you see all of the “trash” from our cash crop on the field. That trash provides protection for the soil, and food for our soil bugs, all winter long. Every part of the plant has nutrients. When we leave the trash on the field it breaks down and returns those nutrients to our soils, where next year’s crop can use it.


🌱 We plant cover crops- crops planted in between cash crops and not for harvesting. This is triticale, one of our favorite covers. We could write a book on how cool cover crops are, but here’s the quick run down on what this guy will do: break up the soil, allow water and oxygen to better infiltrate, make nutrients more accessible, increase organic matter, provide food for the soil bugs and more.


🚜 Producer Note: This triticale was broadcast with fertilizer at a rate of 50 pounds/ acre.