I’m Still Trying To Talk Like The Farmer

A few months ago, I asked Paul if he put his hay into stacks or rolls. And no, I will never live that down. "It's a hay BALE, not a Cinnamon hay roll." He tells me I have to learn the right way to talk if I expect to be invited out to the ranch.

Just over one year into my education from the Farmer, he has taught me everything from how to rid my garage of mice, all the wonderful uses for Roundup, and which firearm is best for disintegrating a turkey. But my biggest challenge has been learning the correct terminology.

Growing up on my grandparents farm in southern Indiana, they stored crops in a silo. So when I got to Montana, I referred to every storage building on a farm as a silo. Nope. Those are grain bins. During calving season, I asked Paul if he used cow igloos to keep the calves warm in the cold. I guess those are actually called cow huts. There's a difference between straw and hay. And NOW I know It's not a truck, it's a pickup.

Then there was the day Paul explained to me that cow rubbers are not how bovine keep from getting pregnant, but how they scratch themselves.

The daily lessons will continue. Can you think of other common farming terms that I MUST know to sound like I belong on the ranch?