PAULDING COUNTY, Ohio — This content is part of our 88 Counties in 88 Days coverage, which focuses on the current issues Ohioans are facing in this election year.
Paulding County is just a great place to live and grow up. My grandparents’ families have been here since the late 1800s. We’re still farming the same ground that they farmed, ya know, over 100 years later.
It’s mainly more of a grain farming county. That’s what our county is, and we are known for that.
Being able to be in the same spot for this many generations is just uh, something that is unheard of in a lot of other industries.
As far as COVID being a big impact on us right now, no. Not seeing it. Now in the future I am concerned we’re going to see a hit from this, like everybody.
It’s probably as much of fear as anything, just not knowing what tomorrow’s going to bring as far as our consumers and whether there’s a, you know, going to be an income stream for the people to be able to buy our goods.
You see the meatpacking plants, you know it all trickles down. What I produce as a grain farmer ultimately feeds livestock. So, it’s going to trickle down, it’s just going to take time to trickle down and affect us, on the grain side of things.
With schools cutting out back in March, that changed things probably the most drastic around here. Trying to figure out, how you were going to take care of your kids. Also, teach them every day. I guess I didn’t go to school to be a teacher so that was a new learning experience. You know, then also trying to manage your job and continue on with life the best you could.
All the kids loved being around the farm. It’s one of the best things about being a farmer is being able to spend time with kids and family and show them and teach them what we do.
We’re so fortunate, there are so many people that cannot take their kids to work with them. But it is kinda funny here over the past couple of weeks, my oldest boy which would much rather be sitting in a tractor than anywhere else in the world is kind of looking forward to going back to school to see his friends, see his teachers.
You know, get more back into the rhythm of life and get back into the normalcy they’re used to.