Newton High school students have been involved in many agricultural activities including Future Farmers of America, working on their family’s farms, and more. According to some students that live on a farm, they prepare for harvest by starting early on getting all their equipment ready.

Senior Brylee Budde lives on a farm and she and her family plant wheat in the winter. According to Budde, harvest is usually over by the end of November. Budde begins preparing for harvest by getting all of her equipment ready by checking the fields she is cutting to make sure that it is just right, so she can get the best price for her grain. She has grown up showing livestock and has always been around animals her entire life.

“I grew up showing livestock. I’ve been raised around animals my entire life. I am a third generation pig showman. I have sold pigs to get bred,” Budde said. “I have also bred my own cattle but we sold them a few years ago because the market was down. My sister and I have also shown sheep and goats as well. I do have a horse named Nemo. I do pretty much everything with him. He has been shown as well as been in rodeos and worked cattle.”

Budde says that she loves having a farm because it can be very eventful, and you never know what is going to happen. To keep her animals happy over the winter, she always makes sure that her animals have plenty of food, hay and grain to keep them warm. She adds that the more they eat, the happier they are. Budde says that her favorite thing about harvest is that she works at the co-op.

“Usually during harvest, I work at the local Co-op,” Budde said. “My favorite part about harvest is that we are never slow at the Co-op. We always have something to do.”

Junior Kyle Basye owns livestock and works on a farm. He prepares for harvest by making sure everything is in good condition. He owns a lot of animals and livestock.

“I have quite a bit of livestock. I own sheep, goats and cattle,” Basye said.

Senior Cody Sauerwein lives on a farm northeast of Newton, where he and his family grow crops and raise cattle. He says that harvest takes a lot of time. It is generally about a week long depending on how much he has to harvest. He works 12-16 hour days each day during harvest.

“We have to get the equipment out and maintain everything, change all of the filters, and check everything over. We also have to change a few settings on the combine depending on what we are harvesting,” Sauerwein said.

Sauerwein and his family continue to raise Wagyu cattle, and cow-calf pairs as well as feeders. His favorite thing about harvest is being able to work long days running equipment in the field and having meals brought out for lunch and dinner. To keep his animals happy over the winter, he has to make sure they are always supplied with hay in their feeders and put up a wind block if it gets very cold. He really enjoys living on a farm because it gives him many opportunities to experience farm life and work on a farm.

“Yes, it gives me a lot of different opportunities that many do not get to experience, it can be hard at times but is well worth it,” Sauerwein said.