Winter on the Prairie Puts Way of Life on Hold

It was 10 above zero and intermittent gusts nipped at the snow-covered, shivering prairie, giving it a wind chill of 10 below.

Tony Benda, 31, repeatedly swung an ax over his head, then into the ice, chopping through the frozen lake so his cattle could get water.

Not far from the lake, his brother-in-law, Jerry Schwarting, 33, stood on the back of his pickup shoveling ears of corn to hungry cattle bunched together in the cold.

South Dakota farmers scattered across the lonely prairie from Agar to Zell and from Ardmore to Victor have been experiencing a long, cold, snowy winter.

Life on the farm is never easy, especially not this time of the year on America’s frigid northern prairie.

“You work longer hours in summer but it’s harder work in winter,” Schwarting said. “Snow sometimes gets so deep we have a heck of a time getting feed to the animals after a big storm.

Lost Cow, Calf

He and Benda lost a cow and a calf when they froze to death a few weeks ago. “We’re lucky,” he noted. “Lots of farmers around here have had worse losses than us. We can’t have a barn for 400 head of cattle.”

Schwarting and Benda operate the 2,400-acre farm that belongs to their wives’ parents, Carole and John Didier.

Didier, 66, is bedridden following a stroke. His wife has cancer. It isn’t the best of times for this farm family.

Living with the Didiers is their daughter Theresa and her husband, Tony Benda. Schwarting, his wife, Helen (Theresa’s sister), and their two daughters, Sarah, 7, and Jenny, 4, live next door.

South Dakota and North Dakota have the highest percentage of people living on farms of any of the states. Three-quarters of all South Dakotans live on farms, according to 1980 census figures.

There are no major cities in South Dakota, no major manufacturers. And while population explosions have occurred nationwide in the last half-century, it has not happened here. The state’s population in 1930 was 692,849; by 1980 it had declined to 690,768.

“I would never want to live anywhere but South Dakota,” said Helen Schwarting, 31, as she prepared a hearty supper for her parents, sister and brother-in-law and husband and two daughters.

She does all the cooking for the entire family. Both the meat and vegetables are grown on the farm. She preserves the vegetables for winter consumption and bakes bread, pastries and pies.

Helen Schwarting said she loves her way of life despite some of the hardships. “We are a close family. We’re independent and we like that. I love the animals. You can’t find a better place to raise children than on a farm like this.

“Sure, it’s sad to see neighbors lose their places in these hard times,” she added. “And, I worry about our cattle. In winter the animals suffer so much. I hate to see them out there in the freezing cold.”

Her daughters each own five cows and one of Sarah’s cows just had a calf. “The cows will pay for their college education,” their mother explained.

Overcast and Dreary

“Winter is the most depressing time of the year for us,” she continued. “It is almost always overcast and dreary. And snow and the cold make everything so much more difficult in caring for our cattle.

“We have no income during winter. We don’t sell our cattle or our grain this time of year. You work like a dog all year, spend all of your money and don’t get to keep any of it. Those of us on farms who are able to hang on keep the banks in business by getting loans to see us through winter.”

When she isn’t cooking, cleaning, doing the washing, and taking her older daughter to and from school, she helps cows deliver calves. She also drives a tractor through the snow, helping the men feed the animals.

Each day when there is snow on the ground the family feeds their 400 head of cattle 15 bales of hay that weigh 1,000 pounds each.

Schwarting has another farm--1,700 acres 100 miles southwest of White River. He plants winter wheat in the fall and harvests it in mid-July.

“I’m a winter wheat widow,” said Helen Schwarting, explaining that her husband spends two months of the year at the other farm.

The Didier farm is five miles south of White River, population 600, in south-central South Dakota.

It is typical of many South Dakota farms where farmers grow wheat, barley, rye and oats and raise livestock.

A summer drought last year hurt farmers in the area. The Didiers sold 115 head of cattle to pay for the hay needed to feed the rest of the herd.

Theresa Benda works in White River as a business manager for the local school district.

“If it wasn’t for Theresa working in town we probably would have had to sell the farm,” her sister said.

The price of land has dropped dramatically in this part of South Dakota. Grain land that sold for $400 an acre three years ago is now $225 an acre; grazing land that was $125 an acre is now $60 an acre.

Carol Didier married her husband in 1946. Both have lived on South Dakota farms all their lives.

‘It’s Harder Today’

Is life easier now than when she first married, Carol Didier was asked?

“I think it’s harder today,” she maintained. “It used to be we didn’t have a lot but what we had we paid for. When we wanted something we would save a few dollars and buy it.

“Now people live on credit and worry their heads off about making payments. No, I think it was easier for us than it is for young people today.”

She said her family is in pretty good shape because they have lived within their means. “Many people we thought were rich are going under. They extended themselves too much.”

Someone knocked on the front door of the Didier home. It was a neighbor who informed the family: “Some of your cows have gotten out.”

Jerry Schwarting and Tony Benda hopped in their pickup and drove off to gather their animals.