Here’s our next OurPatch country character profile, of Idaho farmer and gopher-stopping entrepreneur Ed Meyer.

(By the way, I’m keen to hear from more Australians who are willing to be profiled for OurPatch. Please let me know if you or a friend are interesting and interested!)

Who are you and what do you do?

I wear many hats living in a small town and being a part of the community. First I am a business owner, next I am the Mayor, and then I am a citizen of the community, being a part of the local Masonic Lodge and Lions Club. When that is all finished I try to get in a date when I can find a nice girl to spend a little time with.

My name is Ed Meyer, “a local boy” said by people from here, 37 years old, never married, but always willing to take a look. My family raised me on their cattle ranch 20 miles east of town in an area named Crane Creek where the old town of Granger, Idaho once stood. It seemed the bus ride in to school got longer and longer each day of my life. Growing up in the country I always saw the great quality of life we had and how people from the city loved to come visit and even work for free just to say they have been “working cattle” on the weekends.

I have cattle in my blood and have been explained that it is some kind of sickness that will drive a man to spend his last dollar on the home place and give his last bit of strength. I love the ranching upbringing I was fortunate enough to have and want it for my kids when I have them someday. I decided to go study Biology and become a doctor so I could afford to have the ranch without having to starve my way through life.

After I was well over half way through my college experience I decided being a doctor was not in my blood, I needed the great outdoors and an opportunity other than the one the medical field had to offer me. As I was home helping out with the hay crop one summer we invented a product for our own need with no intent of selling it. Necessity is the Mother of all inventions. Gophers were a terrible scourge to our place and were responsible for costly repairs to our equipment as well as killing our crop by eating the roots down. We devised this device that injected a mixture of propane and oxygen into their tunnels and then ignited it killing the gopher instantly. The problem was serious, and I was just as serious to get back at them for the years of frustration they had given me and my family. Funny how you can get so wrapped up in your problems and never notice that your neighbors have the same ones. Our neighbors were curious as to why all of the loud blast sounds were coming from our ranch echoing across the valley.

When we told them what we were doing they all placed their orders for one of our devices. We scratched our heads and thought that maybe we were onto something? We decided to load up the truck with a few of these “Rodenators” we had built and took them down to California to the world’s largest farm show in Tulare. To our amazement we sold the six units we took down and come home with order for about 15 more units. Ten years later I am still making them and employing many people around the world.

I go out of my way to let people know that you can have a successful business in a rural environment. I am proud that I choose to live in this area I live and just this last weekend I came to an agreement with my family to purchase to family Ranch. The American Dream is still alive; don’t let anybody tell you different.

Where do you live?

I live in a great little village named Midvale located in Washington County nestled in the West Central Mountains of Idaho, USA.

How did you end up where you are today?

I saw an opportunity and I was willing to give it a go. I made it 20 miles away from the home ranch into town where I now reside, by choice. Luckily enough I have had the privilege of traveling the world and seeing more than most will ever see. I live here in Midvale by choice and am glad it is my choice. My business has allowed me to stay here and employ some of the great local people giving them the same choice I have been able to give myself.

What do you love most about the country life?

The people and the peace of mind the country life has to offer. Driving down the road and having someone wave at you and you waving back with a full hand of fingers. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Finding farm fresh eggs easily. Knowing what whole milk really tastes like, and knowing that there are no such thinks as chocolate cows. Snipe hunting with people visiting from the city. Hunting on your own land. The country has a way of allowing you to really know yourself. The “Cowboy Way of Living” where your name is your bond is not a characteristic you observe in the city very often. Feeling safe while your children are outside playing. Big vegetable gardens, chickens scratching the ground, and hearing a cow bellow in the distance. That first cup of coffee in the morning on the deck overlooking the ranch while you are deciding what projects you are going to work on for the day. The smells of saddle leather as you are fixing up your trusty steed. The spirit of involvement and helping out when times call for it.

What do you miss about being in the city?

I lived in Burbank California right out of High School. I could not wait to get out of this hick town and get down to the city bright lights. Shortly after I left home I was so homesick I could barely function. I did enjoy being able to go to the grocery store without planning a day long outing, or just deciding that you wanted to go to a movie or dinner, and just go, and be there in a few minutes. The city allowed you to find things at a moments notice to occupy your time and attention.

Conversely,what do you definitely not miss about being in the city?

Traffic, smog, noise, waiting in lines, irritated people, hustle and bustle of everyday life. That about sums it up. What do you do to stay in touch with friends and family? Email, telephone, or they just drop in and say Hi.

Describe a typical working day in the country

It is nice to have a routine to follow, but things never break down on a normal schedule. In the spring we are fixing fence and getting the equipment all greased up and ready for haying season. Cattle are in the feedlot in the spring until the grass is high enough mid-April to turn them out. Summer we are irrigating cutting hay and checking cattle in the summer range pasture. In the fall we are sorting cattle, selling some cattle, killing gophers, and taking time to go to a few local Rodeos. Growing up on the ranch we worked from sunrise to sundown six days a week. I felt so abused as a child having to work so hard, but now that I am older I am so thankful that I was taught a work ethic whether I wanted to or not. I am the man today because of my Grandfather guiding my way and teaching me the keys of being a man. Grandpa and Grandma both passed away on the ranch last Christmas after 72 years of marriage. I guess we all can learn something from that.

Describe a typical non-working day in the country

A typical non-working day comes few and far between, especially during harvest. When I have a day off I always love to get to the mountains. We live in a large, very large valley with mountains full of timber surrounding us. We are fortunate enough to have many old logging roads zig zagging around the mountains allowing you to find a nice trout stream far from anybody else.

For more information about Ed’s ‘Rodenator’, visit http://www.rodenator.com/ .