Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

y her young farm family for the Eastern Iowa
months. When COVID-19 arrived in full force in
at a loss. The lifestyle they once knew, the hustle
deeply affected Ashley, her husband, James, and
day life stayed the same. The kids didn’t go to school,
give mom a break in the kitchen with a meal out or take
and soybeans planted and harvested, as well as so many
slowed down. As Johnson reflected, she came to believe
good and positive.
He had reading recovery lessons daily
until he met grade level standards, which
happened to be at Christmas break. I fear
for those children who went an entire
year with virtual school and had little to
no guidance educationally or at home
as parents tried to work. The educational
system failed our students in
ways which haven’t been measured
nor will surface for years to come. In
a world so technologically driven,
there is no software that can teach
and help those who are struggling, failing
or simply need structure, love, compassion
and guidance. The long-term effects from
homeschooling children during the pandemic
are life changing and unmeasurable, and I
hope we can find a way to cope and recover
before we have lost a generation or further
divide the gap.
September 2020
Within the first week of school
there were two teachers who
tested positive for COVID-19,
but school continued on as
planned. While the kids were
at school, Addie and I tended to our sale calves
making preparations for our online club calf sale
on Sept. 21. We also were busy helping complete
the late summer/early fall farm tasks: weaning
and vaccinating calves and ultra-sounding and
vaccinating cows, while others were chopping corn
silage, making the last crop of hay, and preparing
trucks and machinery for corn and soybean harvest.
Since fairs were cancelled, we had
a fair-themed birthday for little Ms.
Addie, “the queen of our hearts” on
her 3rd birthday, and boy were the
homemade corndogs, pork chops
on a stick, funnel cakes and
homemade fair lemonade a treat!
October 2020
Finally, a cattle
show! The boys
had prepared two
heifer calves to
show at a feeder
calf show in Tipton. While the results
weren’t what we had hoped for, it was a
beautiful day spent with
special family and friends
and we had a little piece of
normalcy. Oh, and we can’t
forget how we finished the
month… carving pumpkins
and trick-or-treating with the
“Three Little Pigs!” We traveled
around to limited family
and friends for a few deserved
treats.
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