– Every Farmer has a Story with Henry West –
Rolling with the times
Almost 100, Henry West of Rydal, Georgia, is still kicking up dust
Story and photos by Page Haynes
– Every Farmer has a Story with Henry West –
Rolling with the times
Almost 100, Henry West of Rydal, Georgia, is still kicking up dust
Story and photos by Page Haynes
You could say 98-year-old beef farmer Henry West is used to changing times. He’s been farming for more than 70 years and has seen lots of transformations and challenges in the agriculture industry. But he says he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’ve been farming since the 1950s,” says Henry. “I started plowing with a team of mules. I did that about a half a day and decided I wouldn’t be doing it again. And then I bought me a little Ford tractor!”
Henry says he has tried farming pursuits from chickens, pigs, and horses to row crops, dairy, and beef cattle. Visiting with him provides a glimpse into the lifelong dedication and resilience of his multi-generational farming family.
First, Henry is no stranger to hard work. He helped his father on the farm as a teenager and was ready to stay in agriculture after graduation. He was drafted into the Army, however, and served in the 24th Infantry Division. He was sent to Japan during the post-World War II occupation from 1946 to 1949, his division’s primary responsibility focused on rebuilding efforts on the island of Kyushu. He started out as a mechanic working on trucks and other equipment, but he wound up taking a course in cooking and baking while there and then ended up with a job in the kitchen.
“I spent nearly three years in Japan,” he says. “When I came back here, I bought a grocery store, and I ran it from 1950 to about 1953. I stayed in it about a year longer than I wanted and then I sold it and got out of the grocery business — that lifestyle wasn’t for me. So, I moved here and bought this place in 1954. And I’ve been farming ever since.”
He and his late wife, Lois, began with a small farm and gradually expanded into cattle, hogs, turkeys, and crops like corn, wheat, soybeans, Bermuda hay, and barley. Though he’s tried lots of segments of the agriculture industry, he’s always stuck to farming, he says, and tried to figure out how to stay in business in the job he loves.
“If you quit, you’ll never understand how to fix the problem. Hang in there.” — Henry West
what a person told me one time, and I’ve stuck to that motto,” says Henry, explaining the need to regain a sense of direction when he felt overburdened at times in the industry. “I had to find my way again and discover what I needed to do to be successful.”
After experimenting with different breeds over the years, Henry settled on raising Angus cattle. Today, he and his son, Terry, have about 110 heifers and steers, 160 mama cows, and 80 calves. They sell their cattle with a local broker in the area who comes out to video groups based on weight and then sells them via an online auction.
West says he believes farmers should become active with their local Co-ops and other farming institutions. He has been involved with Georgia Farm Bureau for 30 years, serving on their board of directors, and has traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for farmers and help policymakers understand the challenges faced by real farmers.
He and Lois, who passed away in 2015 at age 91, shared their love of farming with people throughout the years. He says that Lois, a teacher who taught homemaking, enjoyed farm life very much. She documented her days as “a farmer’s daughter, a farmer’s wife, a farmer’s mother, and for a short while, a farmer’s grandmother” by writing short articles for the Calhoun News Dispatch from 1985 to 1988.
In 1996, she compiled her short stories in a bound notebook called, “The Farmer’s Wife: Farm Life as it Used to Be, Is Now, and Might Be.” The 100 or so articles included titles such as “When Sweat was an Honor,” “Snipe Hunting – Hold the Sack,” “The Many Uses of a Corn Shuck,” and “A Farmer’s Work is Never Done.”
Nowadays, Henry’s son, Terry, helps manage the farm, but the 98-year-old cattleman is still involved in the day-to-day operations when his health permits. Just one mention of going to see the cattle and he joyfully invites visitors to hop aboard his Can-Am off-road vehicle and takes off.
By Page Haynes,
Contact phaynes@ourcoop.com