By Heather Lang
My day usually starts before the sun and kids rise. Taking this time to get the house tidy by taking out the garbage, doing the dishes and a load or two of laundry done while enjoying fresh coffee and planning the day's meals. I am a firm believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day plus, hangry is a real thing in this household. There are pancakes and eggs on the stove, bacon in the oven, a yogurt bar ready to be brought to the table and your choice of milk, juice, coffee or hot chocolate to wash it all down with.
Throughout the day, my job duties change. It's a lifestyle that demands flexibility and adaptability, as no two days are ever the same. My daily responsibilities include managing the household, caring for children, helping at the farm, and catching up on tasks at our farm store. This can include anything from cleaning the house to driving a tractor, maintaining the yard or having to help in the birth of an animal or just generally tending to animals. As long as I go into the day with a rough idea of what needs to be done that day, my mind can be settled. I fully understand that things can easily change with a squeal of a pig. In that moment adrenaline takes over leaving me no time to overanalyze the situation(s) that are out of my control.
One of the most important aspects of this lifestyle is the involvement of the entire family, including the children. They’ve experienced the full circle of life firsthand, been tasked with cleaning the stalls by hand, had the opportunity to drive equipment early on, and have rallied together spending hours out in the brutal cold winters trying to get the water lines thawed and the tanks chopped free of ice so that the animals can drink. They are no stranger to getting up early so farm chores can be done before school, going straight from their sports to loading pigs to take to the processor, getting up at the crack of dawn to start loading bales and even running the farm store fully by themselves. As a family we want to experience life together - the good and the bad.
There are days I am so exhausted, sick or overextended my husband and/or the kids step right up no questions asked to get the job done and vice versa, because in our household it isn’t a 50/50 relationship. We don’t take score, we just know that things have to get done. This lifestyle gives you strong, callused hands, heavy hearts, and causes you to overthink your decisions at times, but more importantly it gives you weak knees to pray with, a tough yet delicate conscience so you can care for the land and animals along with the smarts to know what you are capable of.
Despite the challenges, there is a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes with this way of life. It teaches valuable lessons about perseverance, teamwork, and the importance of taking care of the environment. And for those who are passionate about it, there's nothing quite like the feeling of being out in the fresh air, surrounded by nature, and working hard to make a living. For us this lifestyle is not just a job, but a calling.
If you are interested in following our journey I’d encourage you to follow my Instagram page @ndpiggytales.
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Heather is the former NDFB District 7 Promotion and Education Committee member and is also a former American Farm Bureau Federation P&E member. She currently serves as the president of Burleigh County Farm Bureau. Heather and her husband, Lucas, raise animals and crops on a 5th generation farm near Bismarck.