Many students at PHS have many unique lifestyles. Some students’ lives revolve around sports and athletics or music and the arts. However, for senior Seth Hackney, farming is his life.
Hackney has been around farming for as long as he can remember and has always had the farm life to count on.
“The farm has been a part of my life since I was young. It’s just been something that has always had a presence in my life, something that’s always been there,” said Hackney.
Hackney’s farm consists of many things, including 30 cattle, a couple of semis, a few combines and around 5000 acres of land that is either rented or owned. With this large amount of land comes a large amount of responsibility.
Hackney realizes this, and with the help of his father, Hackney completes specific jobs in all kinds of areas on the farm. However, he also has some tasks he has to complete on his own.
“From the point I was the right age to actually do any kind of work, the only work worth mentioning I’ve done was take care of my dad’s herd of cattle. That includes checking them and feeding them daily, seeing which cows are close to calving and giving assistance to any cows in labor,” said Hackney.
Hackney also keeps up with any vaccinations the cattle might need and restores the fencing when needed to prevent any livestock from escaping. Experiences on the farm can vary, and Hackney enjoys almost all of them. However, he has his favorite parts about living on a farm.
“One of the things I enjoy about farming is taking care of livestock, especially considering it’s all I’ve done for the most part. Getting the chance to watch tiny calves, that you sometimes help deliver, grow up and go through the stages of life, is a really unique experience,” said Hackney.
The life on a farm has shaped who Hackney has become as a person. He devotes his work ethic, mindset and attitude all to his experiences on the farm. Hackney expresses that agriculture is a great field to go into after high school and that he might even go into the ag field himself.
“I consider agriculture and farming a noble and respectable profession, even though it may not peak any kind of interest out of me, and I’d highly recommend it to anybody that may have an interest,” said Hackney.
Story by Jace Ingle