When Better Trumps Bigger

"Bigger is Better." It's a cliche. We've heard it for years. Bigger this, that and the other thing--and if it's bigger it's got to be better.

Not always so. Especially not with cucumbers. It's the little ones, the number ones, the gherkins that bring the most money to the grower. The big ones, those honkers that remind you of a green football turning yellow, well, we sometimes left them in the field. Didn't even haul them to the pickle station because nobody wanted a big, old yellow cucumber.

Learn more about these important matters at the big Pickle Party at the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose, WI, December 1, starting around 1:00 p.m. That's a Saturday.

The Old Timer says: "If bigger is better, why is a dime worth more than a nickel?"

Wis Dairy Farming Changing

It's not difficult to see how farming has changed in Wisconsin; you need only to drive around the state and see the many abandoned dairy barns. The numbers can help put what you see into perspective.

Wisconsin Dairy Farms

1974--51,655
1987--37,325
1997--24,065
2002--16,886
2007--14,124

But, interestingly enough, Wisconsin has nearly as many dairy cows in 2007 (1.25 million) as it had in 2002 (1.24 million). In 1974, Wisconsin farmers had 1.73 million cows.

Dairy farms are fewer but larger, no question about it. In 2007 the average number of cows per dairy farm was 88 cows. During World War II, when I was a kid, our dairy herd numbered 15 cows, which we milked by hand because we hadn't yet gotten electricity on our farm. (Numbers are from the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service)

My new novel, IN A PICKLE: A FAMILY FARM STORY looks at some of the changes in family farms, and the effects on rural communities.



"If you put all your eggs in one basket, be sure to keep your eye on the basket."

The Family Farm

I've long been interested in the small family farm. Some of my interest goes back to my childhood when I grew up on a farm near Wild Rose, Wisconsin. There I milked cows by hand, hoed a cucumber patch in summer, helped make hay, threshed grain, husked corn and all the rest.

My interest goes deeper. Many of the values still prevalent in our country have their roots in these small farms. The importance of hard work, doing more than what is asked of you, showing up on time, looking out for your neighbors, and taking care of the land are a few examples.

My new novel, IN A PICKLE: A FAMILY FARM STORY is about family farm life in the 1950s. Check my website for more detail.

Oh, those cukes.

When we weren't calling cucumbers "pickles," we called them "cukes." During the 1940s and 1950s, nearly every farmer in the sand country of central Wisconsin had a pickle patch. For some reason we never called them cuke patches.
These pickle patches ranged from a quarter acre to sometimes as much as two acres, all picked by hand. You could guess the size of a farm family by driving by and checking the size of the pickle patch. The bigger the patch, the more kids in the family.

My upcoming new novel, IN A PICKLE, digs into the pickle business and its many fascinating dimensions.


Words for the day:

My wife says I never listen to her. At least that's what I think she said.