It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes my kids will say something out of the clear blue that totally surprises me. Such is what happened here a while back. I was working in the barn with Catherine one day when she asked me a question that caught me totally off guard. She said, “Dad, you know what the most fun thing was that we did here last summer?”

Lately I have been thinking about my heritage and how lucky I have been to have parents and grandparents who left a clear path to follow. They were devout Christians who came from the roots of strong pioneer stock. You know the kind who worked every day of their lives to build for the future.

I know am I preaching to the choir when I tell you that making the most of every input is paramount to the success of a farming operation today. Folks that cannot control costs (at least those outside of government) simply don’t last too long in the business world, whether their business is farming or not.

I was able to come to Iceland by convincing the U.S. and Icelandic governments to let me write about what it means to be a dairy farmer on the island.As the end of my time draws near, I’m forced to reflect on how well I’ve answered that question.

Dear Editor: I read your editorial, “Dairy is a risky business, and you’re OK with that” in the May 7 issue. Risk taking is a great American phenomenon. However, there is no reason dairying should be inherently any riskier than other types of farming. It is heavy government intervention that makes dairy more risky than crop farming, for example.

On my farm, the worst day of the year for milk production is the first day of summer. That’s when the cows have noticed I dragged out the old grill from the barn. Older cows know that grill stays fired up from now ’til Thanksgiving with a short spark on New Year’s and the Super Bowl.