Baling twine, and before it baling wire, long have been among the most important tools on farms throughout the countryside.
Those tools have been the epitome of examples of making things work when challenges have faced us, much like urban people have become aware of the benefits of duct tape.
The bottom line is, we make things work out here in farm country.
I’m reminded of an orthopedic surgeon asking me a few years ago whether my small-scale hog operation had nice gates and chutes for my brood sows and their offspring — not to mention for me to move through. I immediately knew he had some farming in his background when he gave a chuckle before I could answer, him knowing that I’m of the cobble-the-pens-together ilk. He knew well that I’d be climbing over fences and gates that I’d chained, bolted and wired to create many of the pens.
That will be the case in many ways as folks across the world are being asked to practice social distancing, something we farm-country folks most often do simply because we’re generally socially distanced. And while that might drag to a stop many activities and functions in some parts of society, it likely won’t slow things down for farmers.
The baling twine and baling wire have become a little fancier in some ways, with technology speeding along some of the make-do solutions. An example is the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, which this week figured out a way to Web-stream its big annual business conference Wednesday and Thursday. The same will be true with schools, which will physically close but where teachers will contrive ways of remotely getting classes under way.
That virus is presenting some new challenges to society. Farm folks are up for the challenge, I know, and will create many ways to get through it.
Some baling twine, baling wire and a bit of ingenuity can go a long way.
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