There’s nothing better than unwinding from a long summer day of hard work outside than with a cold drink and a good book. I recently received a review copy for a book titled, “Dear County Agent Guy: Calf Pulling, Husband Training, and Other Curious Dispatches from A Midwestern Dairy Farmer,” written by Jerry Nelson, and I definitely recommend it for a light-hearted, fun summer read.

Released on May 3, the book features highlights of Nelson’s columns as a freelance agricultural writer. Nelson captures life on a ranch in a humorous way that’s certainly easy to relate to.

Photo Credit: Author Jerry Nelson

His first column, “Dear County Agent Guy” is what inspired the title of the book, and Nelson asks his local Extension agent for advice on how to get the ducks, crocodiles, cattails and jet skis out of his flooded corn fields.

He has a section on marriage and talks about how he asked his wife to help him chase cows in the dark in her wedding dress on their wedding night before taking off for their honeymoon.

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He writes a lot about his kids, and at 32 weeks pregnant, I could relate to his humor comparing child birth with calving cows. He even offered the calf puller to his wife’s OBGYN in the delivery room!

Nelson shares a lot of his personal life, from losing his dad to meeting his future wife, and his family values, passion for agriculture and love of the written word clearly come across in this series of short stories.

The book was a quick read that I devoured in one sitting, but it’s just as easy to pick it up and read a few short stories and save it for later, picking up where you left off.

So if you’re looking for a fun, entertaining read from someone who “gets it,” you’ll love “Dear County Agent Guy” and the honest, humorous stories that Nelson shares in his book.

Do you have any book recommendations to add to my summer reading list? I would love to hear them! Share them in the comments section below.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Penton Agriculture.

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