Give A Hutte

My new job requires me to meet with growers to contract grain acres all over eastern Washington. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, there are a handful of huge Hutterite colonies on this side of the state. Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with some Hutterite brethren and was blown away with their operation. Everything they owned was either brand new or in immaculate condition. All of their tractors are GPS and they only use semi-trucks (about 30 total). This particular colony recently got too large and the church part of the colony to move to Oregon and start another colony. It is amazing to see their operation because this one colony farms over 100 pivots which is around 15,000 acres. Plus they have a dairy and a poultry operation. It has been said that between the half dozen or so colonies in Washington, once you cross the state line on the south, you can drive all the way to Canada without leaving Hutterian land. It is impressive. The one thing that really struck me was their total communal living. I compare that to southern Idaho and try to picture residents (Cranneys, Stokers, Searles, Whitleys, Critchfields, Bedkes, Robinsons) giving up ownership and taking orders. There is absolutely no way that would happen.

I think I would be a great Hutterite because I can grow a fabulous beard.