Ag United News

Family farming 'a way of life'

April 28, 2007 Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Editor's note: Agriculture is South Dakota's largest industry, but it's also a lifestyle. Bruce Burkhart and his family, who farm near Dell Rapids, will offer a glimpse into what their lives are like in an occasional series throughout the farming season. Join online reporter Craig Henry as he chronicles the Burkharts' life on the farm.

As Bruce Burkhart digs and sifts through the dirt down on his hands and knees, a look of satisfaction sneaks across his face.

"Oats are really hard to find in the ground after you've planted them," he says. "There's one. He's sprouted, so we're in the game."

This land in Logan Township, just outside of Dell Rapids, has always been a part of his life. Before he bought it in the 1990s, he used to help bale hay for the previous owners. It sits just south of his father's farm.

"Being a family farmer is not only a business, but it's also a lifestyle," Burkhart, 48, said. "I have friends that work 9 to 5, and they have a lot more things than I do, but I have the lifestyle that I've chosen. I probably enjoy my job more than 95 percent of the people out there."

Burkhart, his brother Brian's family and their parents, Wayne and Lois, farm about 1,600 acres of row crops - corn and some soybeans. They grow some alfalfa, grass hay and even some oats to sell to "horse people."

About 1,100 acres of Burkhart's land are devoted to corn. That yields 170,000 bushels on average. A couple thousand bushels are committed to ethanol plants. While many farmers have boosted their corn production for ethanol, Burkhart says he hasn't.

There's nothing wrong with that, according to Alan May, extension grain marketing specialist at South Dakota State University. While corn prices are at record highs - $3.20 to $3.60 per bushel - some family operations can't handle the extra crop.

But with higher prices for both corn and soybeans, farmers on the 31,300 farms in the state have reason to be optimistic this spring, May said.

Burkhart also raises about 2,000 hogs but doesn't own them. It's a business venture he's made on his own, just like Brian has done with cattle. He hopes to build another hog house where he now grows oats.

At noon, Burkhart walks into the modest, white, two-story farmhouse. Katie, 21, who is home from college in Pennsylvania, is inside setting lunch on the kitchen table.

His wife, Julie, used to work with him, but like many farm wives, she now works off the farm. She's close to becoming a registered nurse. The Burkharts have four other children, Brandon, 23; Jase,19; Jennifer, 15 and Abby, 9.

As a kid, Burkhart always enjoyed being outside, working with his dad.

After high school, he tried his hand at college for a year and a vocational-technical school in Minnesota, but something kept bringing him back to the land.

"I've chosen this for a way of life, and I really, really enjoy it."

The fields are wetter than Burkhart thought they would be, but with the warm, dry temperatures expected this weekend, he hopes to start putting seed in the ground soon.

As planting time approaches, there are a lot of things to get done. He's had to do more maintenance on the tractors and other equipment than he expected, but that's OK.

"Such is the way it is, I guess," he says. "I'm glad I'm a family farmer. I don't know what else I'd do if I wasn't doing that."

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