Barn Talk

The Day I Lost My Dad And The Day I Almost Lost My Son

Barn Talk

Show Notes

Tork's dad lived to 99, flew fighters, practiced law, and paid for a farm. In July 2018 he fell down the basement stairs, and Tork brought him home to die in the same house he was born in. No guest this week. Sawyer and Tork each picked three days that changed their lives, and this is all six.

Tork sat up alone that night giving the hospice doses every few hours, and his dad passed around 5:30 in the morning. The first year he went to the gravesite about once a month, by himself, and bawled most times. He felt guilty grieving a man who had lived to 99. Sawyer was 12 when he rolled a four wheeler at 60 miles an hour, ruptured his spleen, and spent seven days at the University of Iowa. In 2001 Tork was out of hogs, setting trusses on a 2,400 head finisher near Wayland, when a phone call changed his whole life.

The part most farm guys never say out loud is what comes after. When your dad goes, nobody is coming to save you. Every field and bin site has a memory. You don't want to be the generation that screws it up. And now Tork is tearing out the hog buildings his dad put everything into, and he feels guilty about it.

Also in this one: how to know she's the one, the 10 percent days in a marriage, why it gets easier to quit the second time, 380 yards of concrete and a trip to Texas Roadhouse, the boss who taught Tork to stack equity, and the Market Update with copper near a record.

Some may be bigger, but this'll do.

What day changed your life? Drop it in the comments and we read them.

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THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

● Conterra Ag ➱ https://www.conterraag.com ● Propane Farm Research Program ➱ https://propane.com/farmfunding

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Just Dad and I, and prayers for Dougo Larson 03:14 Breaking outside the ag echo chamber 04:30 7 inches of rain in 10 days, harvest on hold 06:14 Market Update presented by Conterra Ag 10:48 The fuel price trend is not your friend 11:51 We need term limits, whatever side you're on 12:40 Three days each that changed our lives 13:51 See us at Gateway Farm Expo and HayCon 14:47 12 years old, a four wheeler, and 60 mph 17:12 A ruptured spleen and internal bleeding 20:59 The nurse who tapped the doctor's shoulder 22:32 "Four wheeler injury? He'll be all right" 26:24 July 11, 2018, the day my dad died at 99 28:52 Bringing him home to the house he was born in 32:38 What they don't tell you in the brochure 33:47 Nobody's coming to save you now 35:59 Every field and bin site has a memory 37:43 Guilt over tearing out Dad's hog buildings 38:37 How a farmer is supposed to grieve 42:28 Great American Farmer at the funeral 44:21 Some may be bigger, but this'll do 45:06 Why I can't pick the greatest day of my life 49:22 Summer of 1991, the first "I love you" 53:13 How to know she's the one: make her mad 56:18 The 10 percent days in a marriage 59:29 Why it's easier to quit the second time 1:00:26 Trajectory days vs grind days 1:04:40 The first Shopify notifications 1:07:24 380 yards of concrete and Texas Roadhouse 1:10:19 A phone call on a hog barn roof in 2001 1:13:03 The crazy guy who took that job 1:15:55 The boss who saw opportunity in risk 1:22:23 What day changed your life?

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