From Berry to Bread

EVERY DELICIOUS LOAF BEGINS IN A FIELD

- ASHLEIGH KRISPENSE

On a sun-drenched afternoon on the windy Kansas plains, a large green and white combine can be seen eating its way through a golden wheat field. The tractor and grain cart runs dutifully back and forth from the edge of the field, hauling out load after load of freshly cut wheat to the awaiting grain trucks.

It’s almost unbearably hot out if you're not tucked away in a sliver of shade. Only the dusty wind makes it tolerable. A mockingbird can be heard fluttering around in the nearby prairie grass while the harvest crew continues to haul off the loads of rich, golden grain.

This crew of mostly siblings, works alongside their father, Todd Krispense, a third-generation farmer. The Krispense family has grown up with this way of life. Years ago, there were just four little boys and two girls running around the farm. Now today, the family has expanded to include wives, friends and a soon-to-be new granddaughter.

From tilling the land and planting the crops to delivering the calves and feeding the steers — our family farm has evolved over time to include a variety of new crops and animals, but it continues with the same overarching love for the land and livestock as our ancestors had many years before.

It was just 1912 when a young boy immigrated to America at only 8 years old. By the time the 1920s rolled around, he was working with horses and a few cows.

As time went on, he began to farm, raising both wheat and corn. One hundred years later, his descendants have continued to live out their years in this deep-rooted way of life as the American farmer.

WHEAT HARVEST