View from the Cab: Giving thanks

By: Kent Casson

We have plenty to be thankful for as we embark on another Thanksgiving holiday.

I am personally thankful that our harvest season saw very few problems, with equipment working properly and everyone staying safe during the busy fall season. In fact, we can’t remember a season where the combine didn’t have some sort of problem.

While it seems like harvest was drawn out due to all of the rain delays in October, yields were good and crop prices have been impressive in recent months. Anytime you pair strong yields with high prices, the results are beneficial. Farmers have their fingers crossed that the strong prices continue well into 2022. We’ll need higher prices to help pay for rising input costs.

Fortunately, our loved ones are healthy despite everything going on in the world. Others aren’t so lucky this Thanksgiving. We are also blessed to have a warm house and plenty of food to come home to each day. This is not the case for everyone in the world or even our own community. Our hearts are thankful for all we have – not only during November but all year long.

During my years of farming, I have tried to put the stress of spring and fall behind me and appreciate the small things like watching a country sunset or viewing God’s beauty in the countryside. The peace and tranquility of farm life is something I think we all take for granted here in Central Illinois. If you spend time in the city or away from here for a while, you’ll realize Dorothy was right when she said there really is no place like home.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays since we get to spend time with family and enjoy plenty of delicious food. We also kick off the holiday season in the coming days and weeks, in anticipation of Christmas. I can’t get enough pumpkin pie, stuffing and turkey. The mashed potatoes and rolls aren’t bad either.

This is also a time when we closely watch which high school football team will win a state championship as we transition into a winter season of hoops in local gymnasiums. On the farm, we are busy deciding what equipment needs to be updated or repaired ahead of the next growing season and our calendars are already filling up with winter meetings and farm shows.

By the way, the Greater Peoria Farm Show is just around the corner at the Peoria Civic Center. Be sure and stop by to say hello as I do live radio broadcasts on the Central Illinois Farm Network and WJBC radio. We will talk with plenty of vendors and show organizers.