City Girl, Meridith Selby, Explores Farm Life with Drew Peterson
Having open conversations about food and farming with South Dakotans and the farmers who grow it is what we do. In fact, that’s what Hungry for Truth is all about. We had an exciting opportunity to connect Sioux Falls native Meridith Selby and her daughter Willow, with Drew Peterson, a soybeans, corn, and cattle farmer from Salem, S.D., to chat about farming, the meaningful work farmers do, and much more. Below, Meridith shares her learnings from her farm visit.
I'm a born and raised "City Girl" to most (even if that city is in southeastern South Dakota), but both of my parents grew up on farms of sorts in Minnesota: my mom on a dairy farm, and my dad on a 20-acre hobby farm that raised sheep, produce of all sorts, and Christmas trees. Most of my own experience on the farm involved jumping the hay bales with my three sisters and cousins, or helping weed the (never-ending!) pumpkin patch, but we were raised to respect the commitment that life on the farm required from our grandparents. And while that respect runs deep, my understanding of that requirement is really shallow, so it was an honor to shadow South Dakotan farmer Drew Peterson for a few hours as an ambassador with Hungry for Truth!
To start our day, Willow and I drove about fifty miles west of Sioux Falls to experience a few hours on Drew Peterson’s farm in Salem, SD. He’s got four thousand acres of crop farmland that he splits between corn and soybeans, and the corn he planted just under two weeks before our arrival was just starting to peek through the soil! Ideal planting distance is five to six inches apart and about two inches deep - his Cadillac of tractors (as I said, I’m a city girl!) can get through, on average, fifty acres per day. We didn’t spend much time in the fields, but I did get to sit in that fancy tractor and you’d be amazed at the technology that’s incorporated in modern farming equipment and practices! From wifi, to auto-drive, to Bluetooth, and a built-in fridge, Drew’s tractor is a top-of-the-line machine that allows for a more efficient use of time while in the fields.
We were treated to a tour of the farm by Drew’s wife Lauren during which we got to see the black and red angus up close as they cared for their new calves in the barn. Willow got lots of authentic feedback for when we practice, “What does a cow say?” at home! We learned about how Drew’s dad built the farm up and how, almost exactly a year ago, the derecho storm of 2022 tore through their land and outbuildings, causing major damage (you can still see where some trees were uprooted from the ground) that required months of repair.
Willow and I were able to join Drew in the feed truck and experience the cattle gathering for mealtime. While they ate, Drew explained the importance of keeping track of the new calves and monitoring their habits in case there’s additional need for special care - whether that’s moving them to a bottle-fed pen, or administering antibiotics. Our visit took place during what I am going to call one of the most important times of the year: planting season, calving season, and cattle driving season! We ended our tour by watching a small cattle drive as the farm prepared for 20 truckloads of cattle to be shipped west river for the summer months. I joked that I felt like I was on the set of Yellowstone, and Drew said that if I really wanted the Yellowstone experience, we should come back in the fall when they perform their cattle roundup out west!
I am so grateful to Drew and Lauren for giving me an inside look into what it means to be a farmer, and even though modern advancements have made some tasks more efficient, it’s still a career that requires daily tenacity but offers no days off - especially when caring for livestock. We are so lucky to have local farmers who are willing to open their doors to people like me and teach us the basics about what it takes to keep the agricultural economy rolling!
Check out some of our other recent Ambassador Programs with Hailey Peters and Andrea Carstensen.
