Barn Talk
Barn Talk

The Day I Lost My Dad And The Day I Almost Lost My Son

September 28, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Day I Lost My Dad And The Day I Almost Lost My Son

The hosts of Barn Talk—a father and son farming duo—spend this episode trading stories about the days that shaped them most. There is no guest. Just the two of them sitting in a barn, working through memories that range from a childhood four-wheeler accident that nearly killed the son to the father losing his own dad at age 99. The conversation is raw, unhurried, and full of the kind of honesty that rarely gets spoken aloud among men in agriculture.

The four-wheeler accident that ruptured a spleen

The son starts with a day when he was 12 years old. He and a friend were waiting for other kids to show up for a backyard football scrimmage, so they hopped on the family's Polaris Sportsman four-wheeler and started running their usual track—ramp the ditch, circle around the grandparents' house, hit the straightaway. On one run, the son lost control at about 60 miles per hour. Both boys jumped off before the machine rolled, tucked and rolled themselves, but something was wrong. He walked inside, started spitting blood onto the table, and had excruciating stomach pain.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 Timestamped Outline
  • 2 (00:00) **Ad Break: Silicon Valley Bank & First Citizens Bank** - Sponsored segment promoting the combined banking services of SVB and First Citizens.
  • 3 (00:27) **Show Opening & Host-Only Episode Setup** - The hosts introduce themselves and explain today's format is just the two of them, no guest.
  • 4 (06:39) **Market Update & Economic Commentary** - Torque delivers a detailed commodity and financial market update.
  • 5 (12:49) **Introducing the Episode's Core Concept: Three Impactful Days** - The hosts announce they will each share three days that shaped their lives.
  • 6 (13:28) **Sawyer's First Day: The Four-Wheeler Accident at Age 12** - Sawyer recounts a near-fatal ATV crash that ruptured his spleen.
  • 7 (20:25) **Dad's Perspective on Sawyer's Accident** - The father shares his memory of the terrifying hospital experience.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Tork's dad lived to 99, flew fighters, practiced law, and paid for a farm. In July 2018 he fell down the basement stairs, and Tork brought him home to die in the same house he was born in. No guest this week. Sawyer and Tork each picked three days that changed their lives, and this is all six. Tork sat up alone that night giving the hospice doses every few hours, and his dad passed around 5:30 in the morning. The first year he went to the gravesite about once a month, by himself, and bawled most times. He felt guilty grieving a man who had lived to 99. Sawyer was 12 when he rolled a four wheeler at 60 miles an hour, ruptured his spleen, and spent seven days at the University of Iowa. In 2001 Tork was out of hogs, setting trusses on a 2,400 head finisher near Wayland, when a phone call changed his whole life. The part most farm guys never say out loud is what comes after. When your dad goes, nobody is coming to save you. Every field and bin site has a memory. You don't want to be the generation that screws it up. And now Tork is tearing out the hog buildings his dad put everything into, and he feels guilty about it. Also in this one: how to know she's the one, the 10 percent days in a marriage, why it gets easier to quit the second time, 380 yards of concrete and a trip to Texas Roadhouse, the boss who taught Tork to stack equity, and the Market Update with copper near a record. Some may be bigger, but this'll do. What day changed your life? Drop it in the comments and we read them. JOIN THE BARN TALK NEWSLETTER & GET LIVE EVENT ACCESS: We're on a mission to get 10,000 subscribers, and once we do, we're hosting a live event at the barn! Sign up to get exclusive access to tickets and details.👇🏻 Help us get there: https://www.joinbarntalk.com THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: ● Conterra Ag ➱ https://www.conterraag.com ● Propane Farm Research Program ➱ https://propane.com/farmfunding TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Just Dad and I, and prayers for Dougo Larson 03:14 Breaking outside the ag echo chamber 04:30 7 inches of rain in 10 days, harvest on hold 06:14 Market Update presented by Conterra Ag 10:48 The fuel price trend is not your friend 11:51 We need term limits, whatever side you're on 12:40 Three days each that changed our lives 13:51 See us at Gateway Farm Expo and HayCon 14:47 12 years old, a four wheeler, and 60 mph 17:12 A ruptured spleen and internal bleeding 20:59 The nurse who tapped the doctor's shoulder 22:32 "Four wheeler injury? He'll be all right" 26:24 July 11, 2018, the day my dad died at 99 28:52 Bringing him home to the house he was born in 32:38 What they don't tell you in the brochure 33:47 Nobody's coming to save you now 35:59 Every field and bin site has a memory 37:43 Guilt over tearing out Dad's hog buildings 38:37 How a farmer is supposed to grieve 42:28 Great American Farmer at the funeral 44:21 Some may be bigger, but this'll do 45:06 Why I can't pick the greatest day of my life 49:22 Summer of 1991, the first "I love you" 53:13

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