Kids corner: The Tschida Family

Carter Tschida
12 years old
Seventh grade

When do you do chores? I usually get up at 7 a.m. and help Dad feed heifers and cows. At night, I feed hay to the heifers and youngstock.

What is your favorite and least favorite chore? My favorite is mixing the total mixed ration. I like feeding the cows. My least favorite thing to do is to help feed calves because they like to buck the pail out of your hand, and then you spill milk everywhere. Then, you have to get more milk and feed them again.

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Hauling manure. I like driving the tractor and the skid loader. 

Tell us a fun memory you have of living on the farm. I like playing with my cousins in my free time. We usually play tag and chase each other around.

What is your favorite animal on your farm? Our dog, Snoopy. I like playing catch with him. I usually throw him a tennis toy or a chew toy, and he fetches it. He is a white lab.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A farmer. I like hanging out and looking at the cows.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. It would have cows, lots of tractors, a freestall barn like ours and a double-10 parlor. We would have John Deere tractors.

What is your favorite thing to do on the farm during the summer? Chopping haylage and hauling silage boxes. I like it when we get a field and a half done in a day. It makes me feel good.

What is a task you have done on the farm that you are proud of? I changed the field finisher shanks. Then, Dad did not have to crawl under the field finisher. I used an impact wrench and changed each one at a time.

What is your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Mom makes mashed potatoes and gravy. We usually have that with sirloin steak.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? I like to go to town and look at machinery.