By Carie Moore
It’s that time of year where we are headed out to the field each morning and come in late at night. Laundry gets sorted by how dirty it is instead of colors. Bed time is no longer by a clock but by the height of the sun. Our kids become miniature versions of us, helping with spring tasks on the farm.
Just last night, two frozen pizzas were thrown in the oven for the man and kids to eat as we all went to grab a truck left behind because we were moving tractors, hauling anhydrous, and getting wheat seed.
We are fortunate to live on the home farm, so we still try to eat as a family during crunch times as much as possible. Granted, the table changes from day to day and it doesn’t always happen as we would like, but last night we used our time together to answer questions about what classmates’ parents are seeding, what tanks from the fertilizer plant are more of a pain to tow than others, and the width of the tracks on the tractor. This time is important to our family because we get to see what really is on our kids’ minds.
Does your family use the frozen or fresh pizza option on busy nights as well? I encourage you think about families on the farm, and nights like we had last night, as we prepare and seed our ground for what we hope is a bountiful and good protein wheat crop. The wheat we grow will be delivered either to the coast for export or to the ND State Mill for flour, which may very well end up in your pizza crust! Think of us as we plant our soybeans in a couple weeks, which will be crushed into vegetable oil that you spray your pan with or add to the crust. Think about pigs my children have raised that were turned into sausage, pepperoni and Canadian bacon. Think about friends of ours who were up before dawn so their milk could be delivered for cheese making. Think about those starting their gardens to sell to farmers markets or to CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) for fresh vegetables and sauce for a pizza.
A frozen pizza is a relatively “easy” meal but there is a lot of time, hard work, and dirt put into making that quick and great food option. It is all tied to a farmer, a family, and a product they are working hard right now to make. It may be a 12-year old on a four-wheeler taking dad to a field, an 80 year-old putting in his last crop, or a mom who’s 8 months pregnant, feeding cows to help her husband. They are all important to the food choices we enjoy as consumers.