Rural Missouri - June 2021 - 5

Missouri
RURAL

Volume 74 | JUNE 2021 | Number 6
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Jim McCarty, editor
jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
Paul Newton, managing editor
pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
Heather Berry, associate editor
hberry@ruralmissouri.coop
Megan Backes, creative director
mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop
Zach Smith, field editor
zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
Angie Jones-Wheeler, co-op page designer
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Editorial:
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Rural Missouri (ISSN 0164-8578) (USPS 473000) is published monthly by the Association
of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, 2722 E.
McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101, Caleb
Jones, CEO/executive vice president. Individual
subscription rate: $10 per year or $22 for three
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member. Delivery as specified by subscriber. If not
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offices. Copyright 2021, Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives. Call for reprint rights.

Circulation of this issue: 573,531

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RM | PERSPECTIVES

Fast, cheap and good
by Caleb Jones
cjones@amec.coop

bout the time my
brother, Clayton,
graduated high
school and went
to Mizzou, my dad figured
out that the free labor he
had been enjoying on the
farm was coming to an
end. Like every farmer
who has had to face this,
he made the decision to
trade in the square baler
for a round baler. He found
a cheap round baler at a
farm auction and drug it
home - and that's where
Free help on the farm is great until the help leaves home.
the problems started.
a farmer - was good. That used baler
If there is something in this world
cost him a lot more than a new one
more worthless than a cheap round
would have considering all the time
baler, I've yet to find it. This baler
we wasted on it.
liked to jam, smoke and whine almost
It's human nature to go with what
constantly, but was guaranteed to do
we want, not what we need. Your electhis when you were trying to get the
tric cooperative deals with this all the
hay in ahead of a storm.
time. People want cheap electricity.
In time I learned something about
But they need it to be reliable.
that old baler. It worked pretty well, if
What good is a tiny electric bill
you didn't try to go too fast. We knew
when you can't depend on the service?
if we were going to get a bale that we
When you flip that switch, adjust that
could haul to the barn, we had to slow
thermostat or put a side of beef in the
things down.
freezer you need to know the power is
It was one of those life lessons that
going to flow - and keep on flowing.
stick with you. We all want things to
When outages do occur, we want
be fast, cheap and good. But it doesn't
the power back on fast, and we want
always work that way. Most times you
them to do a good job making those
can only pick two of the three.
repairs. Cheap won't cut it here. It's
In fact, there's only one thing I've
going to take overtime to get the lights
ever seen that is fast, cheap and good
back on. We also understand those
at the same time. There used to be
linemen making the repairs need the
a man who sold car wax at the State
right tools to get the job done.
Fair. You could count on him being
When your locally elected board
there every year, demonstrating a
of directors makes decisions on the
product that was so good he could set
budget for the coming year, they do
fire to his car hood and not ruin the
everything in their power to make
polish. It went on quick, and yes, it
sure your bill is as low as possible.
was cheap compared to other wax.
But they know we won't ever settle for
Car wax aside, if it's fast and
second-class service, like that old balcheap, it won't be good. If it's fast and
er Dad thought was such a bargain.
good, it won't be cheap. The best you
can do is choose two of the three and
Caleb is the executive vice president
live with your decision.
and CEO of the Association of Missouri
Back to that baler, what my dad
Electric Cooperatives and a member of
wanted was cheap. What he needed -
Boone Electric Cooperative.
being a busy county sheriff as well as
JUNE 2021 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP

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Rural Missouri - June 2021

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