First, you should know it's not quite as impressive as it sounds since I was the only one I could 'direct.'
Second, much of my knowledge about farming came from the stories I heard from parents and grandparents and a school field trip or two.
Third, sometime after I moved on from FM 107.3 - the station sold and it's now moved up the road a piece and is a sports-talk station for the Des Moines market instead of a country station with local news and programming like when I was there.
There was much to be learned in the County Courthouse, where the 3 men on the Board of Supervisors met three days a week and told me all about hog farming and raising corn and soybeans.
There was the Farm Extension Agent who was my 'go-to' guy whenever there was an ag story I needed to do with issues I didn't understand, and there were many farmers more than happy to help a young reporter learn about their profession.
All of that, however, could not prepare me for the morning I did a live broadcast from a farm for our noon newscast. As part of the newscast there was a short interview with the farmer and the prospects for the upcoming growing season.
Then, a calf was born.
Right in front of me and however I might describe it to the listeners at home. (I trust many got a good laugh that day.)
Sometimes, calves are born (plop!) get up and start eating. This one was more difficult as one man had to help mom deliver her calf. He was in shoulder deep, when that didn't work, a chain was used to put on one of the calf's feet to pull it out the rest of the way.
The calf was born and life continued on the farm.
I was never the same.
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