I drove to Wagoner, Okla. last week to meet third generation dairy farmer John Butler and do a story about wheat harvest.
When I arrived at Butler Farms, John got out of his truck and turned back to help his four-year-old son, Rhett, out of the cab.
I knew at that moment that this story became something more than just the wheat harvest. It became an opportunity to show the current generation teaching the next generation this way of life.
What John enjoys most about farming is the days he can spend with his son, which is something he could not do at any other job, he said.
"He feeds the babies for me. He's learning life lessons as he gets older. He learns responsibility."
It is uncommon to find farmers in our part of the state that make their entire living off of farming with no other source of income, but John is one of the few exceptions.
"We do okay," Butler said. "It's tough, but we're pretty diverse."
John, with the help of his dad and other family members, raises dairy and beef cows in addition to raising crops of wheat, soy beans, and corn.
"Between all that, something will make it that year," he said.
"Some days it feels like we ought to do one and stick with it, but I got a little bit of A.D.D. in me. I like to do different things."
John Butler is holding on to his way of life and raising the next generation that will help feed the world.
Follow Tulsa World Photo on Twitter.
PHOTO & VIDEO: View photography, videos and visual journalism from the Tulsa World staff.
John Butler and his son, Rhett, bottle-feed a newborn calf at his dairy farm in Wagoner, Okla.
Rhett Butler, 4, rides on a tractor with his dad, John, at their dairy farm in Wagoner, Okla.
Rhett Butler helps his dad, John, collect grain to feed calves at their dairy farm in Wagoner, Okla.
John Butler walks with Rhett from a truck used to haul grain from the field to the grain elevator.
John Butler helps his son Rhett get a drink of water in the cab of their truck on the way to a grain elevator in Wagoner.
A combine runs through a field of wheat at Butler Farms in Wagoner, Okla.
