Producers Blog

John Wheeting (DSM, Region 1 – South Dakota)

Blizzard Warning!!!!! Blizzard Warning!!!!! Blizzard Warning!!!!!

The East Coast is digging out after one of the worst blizzards in recent years, which dumped 24 inches of snow on places like New York and Boston.  It seems like all the metropolitan areas of any importance in the Eastern part of the U.S. shared in this blizzard.  I am writing this blog today in downtown metropolitan Groton, South Dakota.  Groton is located in the Northeastern part of the state.  It’s where I have called home for twenty years, where my wife, Chris, and I have raised three daughters.  Groton received fifteen inches of wet snow over the weekend.

Many of my colleagues have touched on the tremendous products and technology offered in the Producers Hybrids products in their posts on this blog.  Other posts have covered precision planting information and useful tips to optimize planter performance.  My post is going to cover the greatest asset that agriculture can offer in the Midwest, the people in our communities that we live and work beside every day.

As this town of 1,500 people is digging out, I have witnessed many acts of kindness by people of all ages.  The first example is my nephew, Clark, who loves anything with a motor and a steering wheel.  Clark jumped in the new telehandler that his Grandpa has parked in town.  He finished cleaning my driveway so Chris could get to work; we do not want her to have too much free time.  He then took off to his house, six blocks away.  He did not travel very far before he saw Bert.  Bert is a semi -retired farmer who lives in town now.  Bert milked cows and worked hard all his life.  Most of you can imagine someone like Bert; years of kneeling and standing on concrete did not do much for the knees and hips.  Bert did move pretty fast when Clark turned in his driveway.  Five minutes later and a fifteen dollar tip, Clark was on his way.

Three houses away, there was another retired farmer with a driveway full of snow.  Ten minutes later the same result minus the tip.  I won’t name this farmer but it is rumored he still has his confirmation money stashed away.

A good friend of mine is stranded in Minneapolis, so I called his son, Layne, to see if he was doing alright with chores.  He indicated he was doing fine.  He just was starting to push snow after riding his snowmobile four miles to clean the snow out of a satellite dish of neighbors who were without television since Sunday morning.  Along the way he stopped and fed the neighbor’s 4-H calves because they are on a vacation.

Brett, a local young farmer that runs a custom soil sampling service was also prowling around town with his tractor and loader.  I saw him in numerous places helping people dig out.  One of the recipients goes to the same church as this farmer and his family.  He was attempting to clear the driveway with a four foot drift with a small snowblower.  When the farmer saw this, the tractor stopped hard in the middle of the road. Lucky for me, I was not trying to type this blog on my phone so I was able to stop just shy of the three-point on the tractor.

Producers Hybrids employees and customers are blessed to live in areas where people are still willing to help others. And, Producers Hybrids employees are willing to help you with any questions you may have. Feel free to contact myself or your local Producers Hybrids representative!