Chapter 8

The countdown was happening because it was now less than a week. Josey and I went with our future spouses to the six o'clock Mass Sunday morning and Jed and Jenny joined us at our service at ten. We went to our house that was occupied by the entire Browning family afterwards. Grandpa was happy to have so many people in the house. We had brought all our extra tables and chairs out to barely be able to give everyone a place to eat dinner.

Grandpa gave the blessing, and I think everyone in the two rooms said "Amen."

The kids went outside to run off some of their excess energy while the women cleaned up. Burt, Jed, and I went outside for the fresh air that wasn't too cold considering the time of year. The three of us talked about farming. What else. Burt said, "My boys aren't that interested in farming, and Jed has a very good job that pays well, although he still tries to do as much of the farm work as possible. The farm is actually profitable but I'm going to tell you something that I would hope you would keep quiet, Kenny."

I looked at Burt and Jed, and could tell that Jed didn't know whether it would be a good idea to even tell me. Burt said, "A man who said he was a geologist wanted to lease some of my land to drill for oil about a year and half ago. Well, they paid me some upfront money that came in handy at the time, and then began drilling. They drilled seven different locations and only had some brackish water come up. The eighth hole they drilled found oil. That well is producing over a hundred barrels a day. That's really good, and has been bringing enough that I don't need to farm any longer. We're not going to get rich from the oil, but we'll be comfortable for a long time to come. I'll be able to send the kids who want to go to college to good schools or at least to State. The drilling company wants to try some more of my land and says that if we hit natural gas, it will be worth almost as much as oil. What I'm getting at, Kenny, is that I'll do shares with you on the land and I'll sit back and be a gentleman farmer if you want to farm my ground."

"That's awesome, Burt. I understand how Jed was able to get the trailer together so fast now. I know he's been bringing a check home from his job, but it's nice to have a dad who can help out."

Burt told me about how his farm was set up right now. "I have two hundred acres in winter wheat and was planning on putting beans in after harvesting the wheat. I have a hundred and fifty acres in alfalfa, with some lespedeza and clover mixed in. The other three hundred are planned for corn again next year. That's six hundred fifty acres of good farmland to produce for us. You have to work around the drilling sites and the active well, but you only lose about an acre where they drill."

I told the man, "We'll probably want to farm your place. You're still going to be doing something because you wanted that disc, plus a calf."

Burt told me, "I think I'm going to back out on that disc. I might keep some equipment for my garden, but like I said, I think I'm going to be a gentleman farmer for a while. I can always come over and put in a day or so with you if I get restless. I still want that calf so that I can continue raising my own beef."

"It's good to know your family is fixed, Burt. All is well out this way, isn't it?"

We went back into the house and the kids came back in as the temperature was lowering.

Jed went down to his place for the night, and Burt and Sara forgot to take Jenny with them. The kids were checking their homework for school tomorrow, and Josey, Jenny, and I were sitting at the kitchen table. Josey said, "Sara and I had a long talk and she told me some very shocking news. She was telling me how they were one of the families who now had an oil well. She was saying how Burt was thinking of being a gentleman farmer and to let you rent their ground. She said he was going to talk to you about it."

I told Josey and Jenny, "He told me about their good luck, and said their well was producing about a hundred barrels a day. That's going to give them almost three hundred thousand a year. They can live off that without a problem."

Jenny said, "It's too bad that you don't have oil, but you are a good farmer and know how to make a profit from your land. Your whole family helps on the farm and that's what makes it work. I'm going to help us make the farm a good business."

That night was almost embarrassing. I went to bed with the fan bringing air through the bedroom and didn't put a T-shirt on. Jenny walked into the room from the bathroom, pulled her shirt off, and climbed into bed topless to snuggle into me. Those stiff nipples had my interest. Josey asked, "Can I sleep with you two?" from the doorway.

I didn't get a chance to reply. Jenny sat up, showing that she was without a top, as she said, "Get on the other side of Kenny. He feels so good to sleep next to."

I watched my sister pull her T-shirt off and climb in on the other side of me. The two put their heads on my shoulders, kissed the cheek on their side, and rubbed my chest and stomach before sighing and falling asleep. I'm sure the sheet was tented over my middle, but neither woman noticed.

I woke to Jenny whispering to me on Monday, "Only five more days until I can do everything and anything I want with you. We're going to be so busy learning about each other. Do you think it's wrong to sleep almost naked with each other? We both want to do something, but we don't. I'll bet your sister wants to do something with you too, but you don't. Let's get up and get this day started."

I was standing in front of the toilet letting it blast into the bowl. I saw Jenny staring at the process out of the corner of my eye. She observed, "You were really big when you started but it became smaller as you were letting all that out. I think Jed does that too."

Josey elbowed Jenny, and asked, "Are you perving your intended? There is another john downstairs if you have to go bad."

"I can't go downstairs like this. I'm still topless." Jenny was blushing.

"Hurry and finish, Kenny. We both have to go."

I grabbed my toothbrush and my clothes and went downstairs. I used the big bathroom down there to brush my teeth and dress. Jenny and I would be using this bathroom next week. I walked by my parents' bedroom and realized that it had mostly been stripped. The closet was empty, and the chest and dresser were empty when I looked. The bed was stripped and there weren't any curtains on the windows. The girls were doing a good job on getting the room ready for Jenny and me.

I did the morning chores while the girls got the kids up and worked on breakfast. Jed came into the kitchen right after I came in from chores. He looked around, and said, "This is going to work, isn't it? I even walked up this morning to see how far it is. I wouldn't walk if it was raining but I probably will most times."

Jed left, and then it was time for the kids to go to school. Josey said, "I'm taking the new Suburban this morning to see how it drives. It really is beautiful." The big nine passenger truck only had five in it this morning, but it did look nice going down the road.

As we cleaned up the breakfast dishes, I told Jenny, "I'm going to work on equipment today. I need to get some of the other equipment like the discs, plows, cultivators, and such cleaned up and ready to sell. We're going to need curtains if you're working on the downstairs bedroom so you can drive into town if you want, and see what you can get. The rods are already up, so get what will work with the rods." I dug my debit card out and told her to use it for what she needed.

There were four discs in the bunch of equipment, so I thought I would clean those four and decide which was best. I used the tractor with the front loader and lifted a large disc off the pile and took it to the wash area. I turned the water on, filled the steamer, and turned the power on. I separated another big disc for the next cleaning project while the steamer was heating up.

I decided that I would use the pressure washer first and finish with the steamer. There was still a lot of caked on mud when I finished with the pressure washer, but the steamer was now ready. I had the disc as clean as it had been when it came from the manufacturer in minutes. I checked and greased all the fittings while it dried. I painted the discs with oil and then took it to the machine shed to store until I either sold it or decided to use it.

I put the second disc on the wash pad and repeated the process. I was checking grease fittings and painting the discs with oil less than thirty minutes later. I was able to finish the four discs before lunch. The three plows would be next.

Jenny had come back from town with new curtains that were colorful and brightened the bedroom up. She had also bought a new bedspread that matched the curtains. She found some new lampshades for the lamps on the nightstands. The room had a different feel to it with a few throw rugs on the floor and some doilies on the dresser and chest of drawers. It wasn't Mom's and Dad's room any longer, it was Jenny's and mine. Jenny said, "I'll bring my clothes, toiletries, and jewelry box over. The dresser won't look so empty when they are all set out."

I had already sharpened the coulter discs on the plows and plow shares, but hadn't been able to get all the caked on mud off and didn't want to wire brush them unless I had to. It would be better if I didn't have to paint them. I was able to clean the plows and then decided which one and which disc I would keep. We would end up with double of almost all the equipment. I put three discs and the two plows I didn't want on our big truck with the sides removed. I would take it to the equipment dealer tomorrow. I went inside with clean hands about three thirty, and called the equipment dealer in town. When I got to talk to the man, I said, "This is Kenny Schulz. You were telling the men at the grain elevator that you need equipment. I have three fourteen foot seventeen inch discs and two six furrow 16 inch plows. They are serviced, clean, and look new. Are you a buyer?"

The man asked "What else ya got? Are you in need of money since your folks died?"

"Nope, I made a hell of a deal at an auction and I'm cleaning and servicing the equipment to sell. Make no mistake, I can always use the money, but I'm not desperate. I have a six row corn planter and another set up for eight 15 inch rows of beans. I have at least one cultimulcher, a windrow rake, a decent baler, and four cultivators. Some of the equipment isn't cleaned up and gone over yet, but I'm putting everything back into new condition, including paint if it needs it."

The man asked, "How about tractors, what do you have?"

"I probably have two extras, but I'm undecided as to which two or three to keep. I have an old tractor that's small and perfect for small fields, but I no longer have any small fields. We've cleared the land between fields so our tillable acreage has grown a lot."

"Your dad always was a good farmer and brought good crops in every year. I heard you did some custom work this past season. You're following in your dad's steps. Bring your extras in and we'll dicker. I'm giving as good as or better than the dealers in the city."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I told Jenny that I was going to clean up after I do the evening chores. She told me that she would get clothes out for me. I thought that was sweet. I put my boots on out on the bench, and went for the barn. I was wondering if hay really was a money crop while I did the chores. The cost of production is pretty high at two to four hundred dollars a ton. That was something I'd have to look at. The advantage of a good alfalfa crop was resting the land and building the nitrogen level, but you still have the cost of land preparation and seed and that isn't cheap. You'll then have the cost of cutting, raking, and baling if you get a good start. That's all fuel and maintenance. You have to take it from the field and store it. You'll need the hay in the winter if you have livestock, but you have to wonder how profitable it is if you're growing and harvesting hay for sale. You do get a minimum of three cuttings per season, and you can get as many as five cuttings if the rains are exactly right and the weather holds. Even with over-seeding every year, the value of the end product probably makes it a good crop.

I'll have to figure it out on a per acre basis to see how it compares. We always had buyers for our wheat straw, since we were one of the few farmers who raked and baled theirs. Wheat straw just didn't seem that profitable considering that you only received about forty dollars a ton for it. The people who wanted the straw at least would pick the bales up in the field. They resold it for a little more than they paid for it, so were apparently making money.

Jenny said, "Use the downstairs bathroom and shower," when I was going to go upstairs to clean up. "It's bigger than the upstairs one, and I've moved your razor and toothbrush downstairs. Your clothes are in the big bedroom now." I think I heard her say that her clothes were in there too.

The kids would be back before I finished if I didn't get it on. I took a quick shower and shave, and then dressed in the jeans and shirt that were laid out. I had just gone into the kitchen and was hugging Jenny from the back when the kids burst in the door. They stopped, and then went to the bench to take their shoes off.

First things first for the kids; Jenny had some neat little pizza rolls made up for a quick snack. I'm sure the kids devoured them in less time than it took to make them. The way they enthusiastically ate them pleased Jenny. I had one, and wished I had been faster to get a second one. I told the kids; "Do your homework now because we're going to have company and a family meeting after supper.

Jed walked in the door ready for a meal when five thirty came. Grandpa said he had wanted to eat a couple of hours ago as it seemed Jenny had been cooking all day. Tonight was tacos and burritos. Jenny said there was a ton of ground beef in the freezer because we were always eating the nicer cuts. We should be able to trim down the ground beef supply with the way the kids dug into the tacos and the burritos. The very spicy chili Jenny served with the meal was also a hit, and I figured I could have some for tomorrow's lunch.

I watched for a car to come up the lane. I put my shoes on and walked out to the parking area when I saw headlights show on the front of the pump house. A woman got out of a Ford Explorer and smiled at me. I stuck my hand out, and said, "Kenny Schultz."

The woman dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt under a leather jacket, and western boots said, "Shirley Dobson."

"Please come in, the family is waiting to be taught by you."

Shirley said, "That's the first time anyone has ever said that to me. I hope I can teach you what you need to know."

I spoke directly to Jenny and Jed. "There is going to be some very personal family stuff discussed tonight. You can hear what this is about since you two are going to be part of the family, but I have to tell the both of you that you cannot tell anyone about what you hear. That includes your father and mother. Can you do that, or should the two of you go down to Jed's and Josey's new trailer?"

Jenny grabbed hold of my arm, and said, "What's private in this family is private."

Jed looked at me with squinted eyes, and finally said to Josey, "I can do that. I can't imagine what is so secret."

Shirley was getting out a bunch of papers, so I looked at Jed and patted Jenny on the hand. "You guys know that your dad is planning on quitting farming now because of oil on your property. Some oil explorers have found oil on our land, but we're going to continue farming. We're going to split what we get from the oil seven ways; an equal share to each of us kids, and a share for the farm. To give you an idea of how much this amounts to, we should be pumping over three hundred barrels a day."

Jed gasped, but the others at the table didn't comprehend what this meant. I told them, "This means at forty-five dollars a barrel of oil, each of us kids and the farm should receive about a hundred forty thousand dollars a year for the next twenty plus years. That sounds like a hell of lot of money, but we have to pay taxes. Those are about twenty-five percent, so that will whittle that big number down a bit. Shirley is going to help us preserve as much as possible."

"Take it away, Shirley."

The woman laughed and said, "You've done some research which is good. I talked to John Smith earlier today to find out how he set you guys up. He talked to you about the company he set up to distribute the income. You wanted to make sure the income would be divided equally, and John talked to you about farm expenses related to the oil business. The good news is that the farm's share will be available to you for such things as seed, fertilizer, fuel, equipment, equipment repairs, and such. The bad news is that you will have to pay taxes on all the profits if the farm makes a decent profit. Farmers usually keep good records for costs, and I assume you have a decent record of expenses and income. You and I will go over your ledgers, Kenny."

Josey said, "We have an exact accounting for just about every penny spent and taken in for the year. I have the past income tax returns, so you can use those to prepare this years."

Shirley nodded and said, "That's good. We can show the continuity of the farm from last year to this year. The only thing different will be your royalties. You probably won't receive any royalties this year, and will begin receiving them in January. That will make it easy for all of you. You kids are lucky that the farm was sold to Kenny a while back so that you don't have to go through the courts for the farm. Has John taken care of the vehicle registrations yet? You might need to remind him so that you won't have a problem when the renewals come up."

The woman then told us, "You may wonder how to pay John for his efforts negotiating for you. John and I are contractors to you. You should probably give both of us a retainer, and then we bill you for the hours or instances we work. The retainer is to always be your representative when you need us."

I asked, "How much should the retainer be, Shirley?"

With a smile, she said, "A thousand for each of us should be enough. Why don't you pay that when you receive your first royalty check? Pay it out of the farm account so that it will be easier than dividing it between each of you."

"That's it, Kids. Do you have any questions?"

I asked, "How do I handle the money I need to give the kids for things if I own the farm now? We have health insurance, and Dad had applied for a large life insurance policy on me so that the kids would be taken care of in case something happened to me. How do I account for those expenses?"

"We'll set the farm up as a limited liability company with all of you as employees. By providing "generous benefits", you can deduct 100% of the medical insurance, which you couldn't do as a family expense, pay "educational benefits" and deduct those, and even award "bonuses", like expense-paid vacations, and set up 401K and college accounts for everyone. You've obviously paid enough attention to the business of farming to know that no really well-run farm ever generates a profit so far as the IRS is concerned, but the cash flow can be really good and you can live well from it. We should set up the Schultz Oil Company as a separate LLC so that we can take the oil depletion allowance and other adjustments off and then just flush all the royalties through that to each of you. The farm's one seventh share will be a lease payment to the farm for the use of the property. I'll work all that out for you guys so that the kids can have their royalties put into an investment trust and to also have some spending money. Some of you will go on to college and will need extra money then. Once again, you all need to keep good records to lessen the tax impact."