A story every day

DAVENPORT – Sue Tebow is not a professor, a professional anthologist, or a university researcher but her daily work falls neatly in the lines of preserving culture as it is happening. Tebow, a blogger and ag advocate, has made it her mission for the last four years to write a story about someone in ag every day.

As she chronicles the lives of farmers, ranchers, farm kids and hired hands, Tebow has been taking notes and snapping photos to create content for her website on the Patreon platform. Tebow also shares the content on her Facebook page, agri.CULTURE.

Tebow, who lives on a ranch with her husband and cowboy poet Ron, said she decided to start writing the stories after realizing how little many people knew about agriculture.

"When I got married I realized that farming and ranching isn't what town people think it is," she said with a laugh. "I married into farming but I did have family that farmed when I was a kid. I remember not understanding who my cousins couldn't go to the movies because they had to change water."

Before starting the agri.CULTURE project, Tebow also worked in print advertising for 25 years, managing the Nickle Saver in Moses Lake. Despite her experience in media, Tebow admits she was nervous about starting the agri.CULTURE project because she didn't have much experience in writing.

"I was a little intimidated because I hadn't done much writing, but I figured what is the worst that can happen? I will just tell the story the way the farmers do," she said.

With more than 1,000 stories under her belt, Tebow continues to gain support for her work. Along with occasional sponsorships for businesses, her Patreon site also offers a subscription option for monthly fees under $5.

"I didn't start doing this for the money. I wanted to help the industry that our ranch belongs to, but in doing it I would have businesses that would contribute to the project," Tebow related. "They encouraged me and said 'keep doing what you are doing."

Future plans

Tebow said she is hoping to encapsulate her stories in to a feel-good coffee table book that can also act as a way to connect with people in urban centers.

"I'm thinking of a Chicken Soup for the Soul type book where people can read a fun, interesting story every day," she said. "These stories help explain our lifestyle to people in urban places, but it also reaches out to the person that is now living in a city but might have been raised on a farm."