Kids Farming

One of the perks of living where we do is that we are so close to the main farm.  This is where the farm shop is and where a lot of work is done all year long.  The kids and I stop in from time to time.  Sometimes it is busy and we don't stay very long, other times hardly anyone is around and we "play" a little bit over there checking out different tools or climbing on the forklift and pretending to drive.  I will be honest sometimes they just need a change of scenery and it is a nice walk over there and gives us something new to do.  As the kids are getting older it is easier and safer to allow them to go help Brad.  No matter how old you are a farm is dangerous but we try to keep it safer by being careful who helps with what job and making sure there is plenty of supervision and that the kids are well aware of the rules.

While there is a ton of talk about the grain market and other random farm things around here the kids aren't usually paying attention.  Brad tries to work farm talk in as much as he can with the kids and does a great job of making it fun.  Sometimes I wish he made the grain markets more fun to listen to.  I listen, my brain struggles (I need visuals not just words), I try to keep caught up and then he starts talking about selling corn and buying it back and no matter how much I try my brain stops listening at that point.  It is getting slightly better, but we are talking at a snail's pace. 

I try to help fill in the blanks on the basic farm stuff, but I am still learning too.  The kids don't all get super excited about farming.  V never wants to go to the field but once you get him out there he has fun and enjoys it.  J protests, doesn't like being out there and if you happen to let him actually use a tool he might hang out and not complain for awhile.  C loves to ride with Brad in any equipment he is driving.  D loves all the tractors and combines because they are yellow, his favorite color.  We finally have a kid that enjoys the color of our equipment.  V's favorite color was green and we are not John Deere people.  J's favorite color is red and we aren't IH people.  C's favorite color is pink and you just don't see a lot of pink tractors and combines.  D loves yellow and with many CAT tractors and a Claas combine we can keep him happy.


A sampling of things farming facts the kids already know include important things like we grow, harvest and sell corn and soybeans to make money.  If you want to spent time with Daddy in the spring, summer or fall you need to head to the field.  Don't walk on the dump pit. Delivering meals to the field always takes longer than they want it to.  Uncle Bob has the most snacks available for stealing in his combine.  You will get reprimanded for wishing for snow before harvest is complete.  It is more fun to drive the ATV and ride horses in the field in the short time between harvest and the field getting worked.  That Uncle Bob and Grandpa drive the combines.  That if Grandma is driving a grain cart she will teach you how to do it and actually let you drive (Vince found that out this fall!).  And when you are in a tractor you don't really get to drive if the GPS is working, except for turning at the end.  And most importantly that we feed the world.


The three oldest actually know how to run the moisture tester to test the moisture in the corn.  One day J was sick and I had to volunteer at C's school so he was stuck in the little office next to the dump pit helping Brad.  He did a good job too.  J was testing the moisture on the corn.  Plus, Brad told him what to do when certain lights appeared on the dryer control panel.  J would be watching a video on the iPad and then lights would change colors and he would turn the dryer on and off as well as conveyor belts.  The kid can rarely do anything if he has a screen in front of him, and following multiple step directions is not something he can usually do without verbal cues, but according to Brad he was mostly doing it on his own.  Under Brad's supervision of course.  In typical J fashion he didn't complain which means he probably liked it. 


Over Thanksgiving break Brad took V out to the field to help spread lime.  Brad told V that he needed help with an experiment, we usually have to trick V into putting down a book to leave the house.  They calculated how much lime they needed and they made sure the spread pattern was configured correctly.  I am told V loved it and was doing a really good job and was able to almost figure it out on his own once Brad walked him through it.  Over Christmas break he helped build gates.


C gets is usually the first to volunteer to help Brad and she follows directions well when she is with him, so she has been able to help more than the boys ever did at her age.  Their project over Christmas was not farming related but they did build a manager for baby Jesus to go with our nativity scene outside.  D is much too young to do much more than ride in equipment for short periods of time and don't even dream of running the skid steer in front of him without offering him a ride.  He also cried almost every day this fall when Brad would go to work because he wanted to farm too.