It's the time of year when we are all busy working long hours in the unrelenting heat. Thad and I had the opportunity to take a short break and entertain a few teachers from South Carolina. Well actually, it was 50 teachers and they were participating in the SC Farm Bureau Ag-Institute.

We agreed to host the afternoon portion of the farm tour these teachers took part in. We started around noon and provided a meal for the teachers. Remember the key to good listening is good food so we wanted to start things off right! After lunch, we started the tour. We migrated first to our cow pastures where our friendly herd watched quietly as they were being observed by a large group of spectators. We answered many questions and even asked some of our own. It was amazing to find out how many people had never been this close to real live cattle.

Our next part of the tour took us right across the road to our farm shop and office. We had the equipment arranged in the order that it would be used from planting to harvest. Thad gave a brief summary on what each piece of equipment was used for. You could hear the comments swarming as he talked about the ways we work to conserve our land, and the good practices we use to ensure a safe, affordable food supply. I overheard one teacher tell another "Gosh, farming is really up to date and high tech". We let them look at the different seeds that we plant on our farm and then spent a brief period answering their questions.

We spent the last part of the tour doing a field demonstration. We walked as a group to a nearby field and observed the cotton and soybeans that were planted. We showed them how crops are sprayed and also let them look at one of our irrigation systems. The questions just kept coming. Before we knew it, our time was up and they had to board their bus to get to the next part of their tour.

Needless to say, it was a fun, rewarding day. We got the chance to share our story with people who probably would not ever get the opportunity to hear it otherwise. The whole tour from start to finish took about two and one half hours but will be long lasting in the minds of these teachers. It will certainly be one that Thad and I will talk about for many days to come.

I encourage all farmers reading this blog to take a few minutes to share your story.