Harvest Time!

This fall I was privileged to be able to go to my parents' and help with harvest. Usually I am in the classroom by that time of year and unable to get away to help with the farming. Because it's been my plan for the past several years to go home and learn as much about farming as possible, this was something I had been looking forward to for, well, several years. It would be perfect--I would get to be outside farming all day with breaks for feeding Matthias, and my mom would get a break and some fun grandson time.

The first couple days went great--Matthias slept all morning, I got out to ride horse and still had time to help my dad grease up the combine. Then I would ride in the combine, learning the ropes, hopping off to haul the grain home and dump it in the bin.

Then I lost my voice, and Matthias ended up with a cold. So there was an unfortunate change of plans for me, who was looking sooo forward to some "outside" time, and my mom, who was looking soooo forward to some "inside" time, especially with such a cute little guy. We ended up being inside much of the day, taking supper out to the field in the evening.


I was able to get out quite a bit, though, and spend time with my dad in the combine. During these rides I had a great time visiting with my dad about farming. I should have had a tape recorder because I knew I'd forget the way he worded things that made them make so much more sense and mean so much more than the way I just type them. There's just something so calming about driving along, watching the wheat heads feeding in, bumping against the reel, pouring in an amber wave out of the auger and into the truck. For all the changes that I've seen in farming since I was a kid, those things have remained a constant.

Which reminds me of one conversation my dad and I had about the changes and advances made in farming. From the horsedrawn equipment that my grandpa used to the Easy-Steer, GPS and DVD players that some farmers enjoy in their equipment today, it's hard to say what is an advancement and what isn't.  Yes, bigger equipment has absolutely revolutionized farming and made it more efficient. It's foolish to think that we'd really, truly be better off if we were still using the single-bottom horse-drawn plow. Because the steel plow itself was a huge revolution of the time--do you suppose many farmers mourned the loss of their previous, less-advanced farm equipment with the advent of that plow? Maybe. I doubt it.

But along with the advancement in efficiency, there comes a bit of a loss of connection to the land. My dad told about farming with an open tractor--no cab, certainly no A/C. "You were close to the dirt. You could smell it and feel it." You would see the gophers and field mice as you worked. So I suppose many of the farmers of the day joked about how "soft" these modern farmers were getting--a padded seat on the tractor for their delicate tush, an umbrella so they don't get sunburned. Pshaw. What is farming coming to? Heaven forbid cabs...and air conditioning! The combine we had as a kid even had an 8-track player! What luxury!

The distinction I have drawn as far as the advancement of farm machinery is this: does it help the farmer be more efficient and do a better job doing the thing he (or she!!) loves? If so, great! Most all the advancements I listed above (save the 8-track) had the purpose of helping the farmer do a better job. As our equipment becomes more and more gargantuan, it does continue to help the farmer do more work with less help. Great.

But when does it become about having the "biggest" and "best?" There seems to have been a shift in farming even from the time I was young to now. Sure, yes, farmers have proudly shown off their new equipment for eons. But I grew up in a Norwegian community. No matter how proud you were of something new, you didn't brag on it. It was kind of a joke (but not too far from the truth) that if someone would buy a new vehicle they would practically hide it away for the first few weeks until they got over the embarrassment of having bought something "new."

It's values like those mentioned above that draw me to farming. Later I'm going to post a poem I found posted in my dad's "office" (gun room). That does a better job of summing it up. But knowing that it's not just a job, not just a career, not even just a business. It's a lifestyle that allows a person to enjoy the values of a hard day's work, the satisfaction of being your own boss (Mother Nature notwithstanding), the enjoyment of watching wildlife in the field, even when it means losing some extra time to allow that mother pheasant and her chicks to cross your path safely, or leaving a few heads of grain untouched for the wildlife to feast on during the winter. I could go on, but I see how long this is already, so I will leave you with a few pictures.

We did spend some time out in the field! Matthias was dressed appropriately.

He sneaked in some naps in the pickup.

Daddy came to visit us!! We were sure happy to see each other!