Page 4 - MWC 2-2-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · February 2, 2023 · P4

implement. Hay that can be We compared notes.
baled and then left and fed in Yes – it was clear. He
the field right where it lands absolutely had strong
definitely fits into a grazing feelings about small
program. In some cases, this round balers!
implement has been used Milk-can mailboxes
on the same farm for over a I had never thought
generation and still performs much about milk-can
every summer like it did when mailboxes before tak-
it was brand new – without ing Professor Hires’s
incident. But on some farms, class, but he had an
there have been incidents – opinion on those too.
What's your perspective? very unfortunate incidents. He would say, “Of all
Perspective makes all the “How many of you know, the things that you
difference. Professor Hires would ask could use to hold up
If you happened to have each class, “Someone who a mailbox, why would
the same university Agricul- has lost an arm or even fam- anyone use a milk
ture Engineering professor ily member in an accident can?” Using his logic,
that I did, then you can prob- with this piece of machinery?” you might ask the
ably remember that he hated Then, the hands would go up. same question about
two things with a passion. They went up in my class. other items as well. I
They were small round bal- “Hands go up in every class.” see mailboxes mount-
ers and milk-can mailboxes. He would say, “Too many ed on moldboard
He would occasionally start hands.” plows, barrels,
his class with a rant, and I’ve often wondered what wagon wheels,
it would often be about one helped form this perspective. sickle-bar mow-
of those two things. I don’t Was it because he was inter- ers, suspension
know how many years he ested in farm safety as part springs, cream
taught, but I’m certain that of his position in Agriculture separators, even
none of his students got away Engineering and had seen the complete tractors!
without hearing his perspec- statics on farm accidents for These are all
tive on both. years and years? Perhaps it part of our agri-
The small round baler was more personal. Maybe he cultural history,
“It’s the most dangerous had experienced one of these and folks have
piece of equipment ever in- incidents first-hand. That found new uses the period before milk truck
vented," he would say about will surely help form a per- for these items and ways to transportation and he never
the small round baler. Then spective. I think part of his display them as history. They wanted to see another milk-
he would give the statistics. point was… “As engineers, we bring back memories. A per- can… ever… again! He knew
can do better. We can make
If you know much about this fect example is a cross-cut exactly how many mailboxes
piece of machinery, you know machinery safer, and we have saw. If you ever carried one were mounted on milk-cans
an obligation to do so.” It
there are still folks using it all day and had to make your along the highway on his
every season, and they think wouldn’t surprise me if it was living with one, you probably morning commute - he had
some of or all of these. He
it’s great. It wouldn’t be an don’t really care to see one up to look at them both ways. I
exaggeration to say that over wanted every one of his stu- on the wall as a decoration – never heard of any incidents,
the years, some folks have dents to go into the workforce no matter how many pretty but if someone on that stretch
even had what could best be knowing this perspective. Re- flowers are painted on it! of highway had actually
cently, his name came up with
described as a ‘love affair’ I carried water up out of a mounted a mailbox on a small
with this brand and even this someone who had attended steep coulee in Montana when round baler, it might have
his class years after I had. I was six years old after fill- simply disappeared some eve-
ing a bucket from an old hand ning– mailbox and all. Who
water pump. It was January knows? It’s all about perspec-
1965 and that pump usual- tive.
ly had ice hanging on it. I
don’t care to see a mailbox on KwC
a hand water
pump - as long
as I don’t have
to prime it,
pump it and
carry water to
drink, wash
and bathe up
a hill in the
snow.
It turns out,
this professor
grew up on a
dairy farm in