Kids Corner: The Wacker Family

Layna Wacker 
Age 13
Seventh grade

When do you do chores? I do chores four days a week at night after school. 

What is your favorite chore? Feeding the calves is my favorite part. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? My favorite things to help with are fence breaking, helping my dad haul manure and giving shots.

Tell us a fun memory you have of living on the farm. One time, my brother was walking across some old feed and thought it was frozen over, but it wasn’t frozen, and he started to sink into it. I had to run and get my dad to help pull him out. By the time we got back to him, he was ankle deep in feed and couldn’t move.

What is your favorite animal on your farm? I really like the new calves. They’re so small and can’t really trample you yet, and they look cute in the calf coats we put them in.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  I either want to be a hairstylist or a farmer. 

If you had a farm, what would it look like? It would have a long driveway, with a two-story white house to the right and a chicken coop on the left. They’d lay eggs, more than Aunt Jana’s chickens do. Also, on the left after the chicken coop would be a barn for the cows with robots to milk them. Next to the milk house would be the calves; that way, if the hydrant freezes up, we don’t have to walk as far. We’re going to have exactly four pink pigs between the calves and the horses. Then, behind the house, we’re going to have the horses with a pasture so they can roam, but we will have only two horses because more than two is just too much.

What is your favorite game to play on the farm? I like playing hide and seek. My favorite hiding spot is an empty calf hutch, depending on where it is, or in the back of my dad’s truck.

What is your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Steak and Caesar salad is my favorite.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? I like when we go out to eat for dinner. The Longbranch in Cataract is one of my favorite spots because the food is good.

Are you involved in activities? What is your favorite and why? I play soccer and softball, and I’ve done cross-country. My favorite is soccer because I feel more comfortable playing that and it’s a lot of fun. My favorite part is scoring goals.

Esden Wacker
Age 10
Fifth grade

When do you do chores? My sister and I do chores together four days a week after school.

What is your favorite and least favorite chore? My favorite part is feeding the calves. I don’t enjoy the mixing and making of the bottles as much, but feeding is the best. We don’t really have a least favorite chore to do.

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? I enjoy helping my dad haul manure. I like to sit in the tractor with him while he hauls. I also like to help give shots.

Tell us a fun memory you have of living on the farm. One time, there was a hornet on my sister’s shorts, and she screamed and tried to get rid of it, but she ended up running to the bathroom with it still on her shorts. It didn’t sting her, and Dad eventually took care of it.

What is your favorite animal on your farm? The newborn calves are my favorite. They’re so cute.

What do you want to be when you grow up? To be determined; I like to keep my options open for whatever life throws at me.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. It’s going to have a long driveway with a house on the left. It is a three-story house, so it’s bigger than my sister’s. We’re going to have horses and pigs in the middle, and we’ll milk cows with robots. We’re going to have chickens on the right that lay more eggs than my sister and Aunt Jana. There’s going to be a big shed for storage.

What is your favorite game to play on the farm? I like to play hide and seek. There are lots of places to hide. My best spot is in the back of the cattle trailer. We can make it look like it’s closed, and no one knows I’m in there.

What is your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? When my mom makes steak and then steak fries on the side.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? I like when we go mini-golfing. One of the last times we went, my mom and I tied. My sister is always last.

Are you involved in activities? What is your favorite and why? I play soccer and baseball. My favorite is soccer because I can do it most of the year and I’m better at it.