Farm406

farm406 22 observed Ernest getting his work done in a timely fashion and making more good choices than poor. When Bob and Ernest were doing the farming, the area was considered "winter wheat country," but now farmers have expanded into spring wheat, barley, durum, garbanzo beans, safflower, and lentils, and Steve's family is no different. Ernest passed away March 2017 and left the farming to Steve's family. Steve now lives on the original home place. Steve and his wife, Michelle, have four adult sons who have participated in farm work since they were young and are partners today. Steve's dad, Ernest, took an active part in the Prairie Marketing Club when it was started in the 1980s. Steve has carried this on. Another group that he is active with began buying bulk supplies wholesale, such as chemicals, for everyone in the group as a whole. The group has also hired a consultant who helps them determine how to treat the soil for different crops. "These organizations have taught me the value of a trustworthy peer group," said Steve. "There's value in a group of like-minded folks who are more interested in giving than in taking. Many in the group became mentors to both me and my boys." "I also took part in family business meetings when the folks met with their accountant or lawyer, even when I was in grade school. In the beginning I was bored, but in time it began to make sense, and I was learning valuable life lessons," said Steve. Treating farming as a business, Steve works in his home office around two hours each day while also listening to the men who are working in the fields and calling one another on the business radio. In addition to his sons, his wife Michelle and the two daughters-in-law are involved by doing the accounting for the farm. They use "Red Wing" software. "I like Red Wing because we can break it out so that we can see profit and loss for each crop and each farm. Then we can combine all the data to see how the farm as a whole is doing financially," said Steve. "Like my parents, I trust my four sons to make good decisions and to see the consequences when a decision is poor," said Steve. While in their early twenties, he sent the two older boys to North Dakota to look at two combines and to decide whether to buy them. "They know more about a combine than I do, so they were able to make solid decisions." Recently his sons researched using a corn planter to plant garbanzos. "We decided to buy one and try it. The verdict is still out on whether this was a good decision." Some days—and nights—turn out to be better than others. While swathing around two in the morning, one of the sons—which one will remain unnamed—was cleaning his pistol as he drove. The gun accidently went off and destroyed the swather's control display. When the dealership was called to see if they had an extra display, the tech representative wanted to know if the horizontal lines or the vertical lines in the display were giving him problems. The son replied, "It's just shot...." "This has been a most unusual year," said Steve. "With a wet spring, we were planting late. Then we went into a flash drought which called for early harvest." It was all hands to the task of harvesting, starting in early July. Steve's brother, Bryan, returned from Texas to help, along with their sister's son and daughter from Great Falls. It isn't all work and no play on the Bahnmiller farm. Steve is building an airplane from a kit. His sons have kicked his project out of the main shop because it's taking up too much room. The first generation Bahnmillers who came to America in search of land trusted that God would bless their endeavor. That faith and trust has continued on to the most recent Bahnmiller generation and to the grandchildren. "We firmly believe that what we have is a gift from God, and we feel very blessed. This is God's farm and we are just the caretakers. A pastor of mine once gave me a little plaque that said, 'He who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see believes in God'." Charlotte, Steve and Michelle's granddaughter, becomes familiar with the harvest process early on. Marlys visits with her grandson, Kallan, and his wife, Keely, who holds their son, Samuel, during a break from harvest.

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