Farming

For the first ten years of my working life, I farmed on a family farm in Washington County, Oregon. We raised wheat, sweet corn, potatoes, cucumbers, cane berries and hay. We also had a farrow to finish hog operation and beef. It's a tough way to make a living but very satisfying. About 6 months out of the year it's go, go, go. Long days, short nights and never enough time. The weather dictates when a lot of the work happens. But at the end of the season, having got the crops in, there is a lot of satisfaction in having put food on America's table. 

In 1980 my wife and I started a dairy. We had been raising calves for a while and put together a small herd of Dutch Belted cattle. We milked with bucket milkers and stored our milk in cans in coolers that pumped refrigerated water over them. Twice a week these were hauled to the creamery, exchanged for empties, and we started over again. Dairying is very time intensive. Twice a day, every day, you need to be there to milk and feed. No days off, no holidays. I soon came to the realization that I wasn't going to get used to that and after a couple of years sold the herd to a dairyman in Tillamook. 

In some ways I'm still in the dairy business. After leaving the farm in 1985 I took a job delivering dairy feed to dairies in southern Oregon and central Oregon for a family owned trucking company. In a management capacity, it's what I do today. 

Snow days

It's not all fun when it snows.

The snow started on Thursday and kept going through Friday. What a mess for the city of Portland and surrounding communities. The company I work for, Ruan Transport, hauls a lot of different commodities and products. Some of them are pretty basic, essential items that need to be delivered regardless of the weather. Two of the most essential are dairy feed and medical supplies. 

We deliver dairy feed to farms in Oregon and Washington, feeding cows that produce milk for Darigold, Tillamook Creamery, Fred Meyer, Safeway and many others. These take place daily and are necessary to keep the milk flowing. So they need to happen in good weather or bad. The drivers chain up for the snow and adverse conditions, take an extra thermos of coffee and head out on these runs. These are tough runs, on roads that are off the beaten path and don't see the snow plow and sanders that the major highways get. Yet they get through and get the job done. Wet cold conditions, climbing ladders covered in ice to open bins, turning and maneuvering in icy farmyards, the feed gets delivered and the cows fed. 

Another one of our terminals here in Portland delivers supplies to hospitals throughout Oregon. These occur daily also and can have critically needed items on our trucks. Surgery supplies, medicines and sterile products are on the trucks and the deliveries keep them providing essential services in their communities. On our Friday run to Medford we had some items that they had an urgent need for and, again, the driver chained up and ran on 260 miles of snow covered roads to make the delivery that was needed. We were the only scheduled delivery that arrived that day. 

So while a lot of people enjoy a snow day by spending time with family, sledding or just having a day off work, our drivers come in, brave the elements and make sure the animals get fed and hospitals can continue to provide care. They worked through the weekend to cover the needs of dairies and hospitals. Trucks!! the lifeline of America!