People often ask me “what do you do,” in reference to what I do for a living. I usually
laugh and tell them I’m retired, when in all actuality I wear many different hats. I even get paid
to wear some of those hats! In 2014 I “retired” from working a 9 to 5 job. Well, okay, I owned a
restaurant so it was more like 6am to 9pm but you get the point, and since then I have been
able to do things that I enjoy. One of those things is farming, and although I don’t technically
get paid to farm, I am thankful that Mr. Husted has a “real” job that pays the bills and I can
continue to be “retired.”
Now, about three years ago my buddy Gary, who we lease land for cattle from, asked
me to move some hay bales off a field for him. I think this was a test on how well I adapted to
life in a tractor. I guess I passed his test, because the next year I was promoted to “hay raker”
and this year he’s trusted me with a big fancy hay cutter! I’ve learned some valuable lessons
and skills behind the windshield of a tractor and I have loved *almost* every bit of it. . .but it
does help when I get to use nice equipment and cabbed tractors with good air conditioners!
The point of this article is to give you a glimpse into my world in the hay field, to honor a
couple farmers I know, and talk about a few things I’ve learned through the windshield of the
tractor in the hay fields the last few years. Some of those things you may relate with, some are
serious, some you may laugh at, and some you may roll your eyes at and wonder what I was
thinking and how in the world I survive.
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| Hay bales scattered after we finish raking and baling |
Maybe I should first start by explaining the haying process for those who aren’t familiar
with that part of farming. This is how Gary and I do it, and some may have different techniques,
that’s alright, they can be wrong if they want to! Right off the bat, you need a field with good
grass that has been sprayed for weeds or the weeds are minimal. Then you need optimal
weather. Rain on hay once it is cut and laying on the ground can causes mold and you have
the possibility of losing nutritional value, and if you bale it while wet you take a chance of the
hay overheating and catching on fire. Yes, odd as it sounds, wet hay is more susceptible to
spontaneous combustion. After a field is picked and you have a good window of weather you
will start by mowing the field using disc mowers, in our case. Mine folds up to the side of my
tractor when not in use and Gary’s is pulled right behind his tractor and when in use it is moved
over to the side. After mowing, depending on the type of grass, we wait a day or two or three
and then I go in with a rake attached to the tractor and start making rows to be baled, then Gary
follows with the baler and bales it, and then someone comes along sometime and hauls it from
the field.
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| Mowing a hay meadow |
We’ll dive right in and start with a bit of a laughing matter to some. To avoid dehydration
I try to drink water, a lot of water, which is great and everyone should do this, unless you are a
female, spending hours in a bouncy tractor, in the middle of nowhere, and your sidekick in this
hay business is a male. What do you do? First you strategize. Yes that sounds funny but you
do what you gotta do in intense situations. So, you get to the field after driving the tractor a few
miles down a bumpy dirt road and immediately start looking around for good places to stop and
take care of business. A few things have to be taken into consideration. Are there houses
around? Is the road close? How far away is the other tractor? Probably most importantly,
does that look like poison ivy on that tree you’re about to squat behind? If you are raking and
the baler is behind you, you can get a lap on him and angle your tractor so that the giant wheel
and the hay bale give you a bit of privacy. The first time out to the hay field, you probably didn’t
think of all those little details before drinking a lot of water. . .but you will think about them from
now on!
One of my favorite things is to see God’s beautiful creation. A couple weeks ago we
went to a prairie meadow that was hidden deep in the trees in the middle of a section of land. It
was beautiful, almost breath taking, a pretty field surrounded by dense woods with smatters of
wild flowers, clumps of hardwood trees, and a few giant cedar. Yes most farmers hate cedars
but I think they are pretty. It was a place that you could sit and be surrounded by God’s beauty
and be at peace. I did spot a tree stand on the edge of the woods and I’m a little jealous of the
hunter that gets to sit and view the beautiful place while hunting. I love that these hidden gems
exist and that sometimes God brings me to one of these places so I can be in awe of His
creation and worship Him.
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| One of the prettiest fields I got to rake and mow. |
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| To get to this pretty field you had to go up on the side of the steep terrace so the mower wouldn't hit the trees |
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| Thankfully the rakes can roll through the light tree branches but you do have to watch for the heavy stuff! |
The down side of finding one of these beautiful places is sometimes they are hard to get
to and that brings me to my next topic. Terrible-ditch ridden-creek crossing-steep- narrow paths
to the fields. Wow, when you are driving a tractor with a mower attached that sticks up above
the cab of the tractor or pulling a rake that is long and a bit wide you really have to be cautious
about your surroundings! I broke the tail light off the top corner of the tractor cab going from the
road into a field the other day and I felt terrible, especially since it isn’t my equipment. I really
hate to tear up something that isn’t mine. I was on the edge of the road going about a tenth of a
mile an hour and went to up a small ditch and my mower, that is folded up the side of my tractor,
bounced funny and busted the tail light out. You also have to watch all sides of you and make
sure that your mower isn’t too tall to go under big tree limbs. The rake isn’t as bad because it is
on the back and pulls straight like a trailer but you do have to watch corners and mail boxes.
Then think about steep hills/ditches, again with a mower hanging on the side it is a bit scary.
You have a lot of unbalanced weight sticking out that you have to pay attention to. Then while
you’re in the field mowing or raking you have to watch fences and obstructions in the field. I
actually prefer to work in a field with a little bit of an obstacle course, it keeps things interesting
and keeps me awake, but I have gotten my rake tines in a fence or tree a couple times.
Thankfully it was all easily fixable. . .and I know I’m not the first to make those mistakes.
Something else you don’t think about is that mowing a field disturbs a lot of wildlife.
There is the baby fawn or cotton tail rabbit that is buried in the tall grass, the field mice that feast
in the fields, and the heebeegeebee giving snakes that eat the mice and other things.
Somehow the coyotes and hawks know that you are churning up some dinner for them when
they hear the mower on the tractor and come running. I try to remember to carry a rifle in the
cab with me to take out those rotten coyotes but a few weeks ago I forgot to grab my rifle. I
really didn’t give it a lot of thought until a young coyote came out of the woods. It taunted me for
what seemed like hours chasing mice and such. It would catch something and trot off to the
woods to dine in privacy then come back for something else. I shot it with my finger a couple
times and yelled at it in the cab of my tractor but neither of those things did any good. Of course
the next day when we went back to the field to rake and bale and I *had* my rifle the coyote
never came back. For the record, coyotes build dens in the fields and make them rough to drive
across and if you have a big watermelon patch, like I do, they come in the field and carry your
watermelon off right as they are ripe and ready for picking. That’s one of the many reasons
farmers don’t like coyotes….
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| I keep my rifle behind the seat to dispatch unwanted critters! |
As any farmer can tell you, farming (or haying, in my case) involves hours of driving
circles, which makes comfort pretty important. “My” tractor is, of course, not as nice as Gary’s
and not even mine! He owns them both, so I use the smaller one and he uses the “Cadillac.”
I’ve only used the Cadillac once to move hay, and he was sure to mention that I shouldn’t get
used to it, because I wouldn’t be using it very often! Mine has a radio but it doesn’t work so I
often serenade myself. I’m pretty sure y’all would get a kick out of me talking and singing to
myself if there was a hidden camera. I also download books or sermons on my phone to listen
to or I sit in the peace and quiet (except for the comforting noise of the tractor engine), pray or
praise or listen for the still small voice of God. The seat of a tractor is a great place to reflect on
life and the beauty around me, to plan and dream about the future, and to learn to enjoy being
by myself.
I am super thankful for the experience I’ve gotten the last few years behind the
windshield of a tractor and have become more aware of how even the small farmers feed the
world. So, in closing, something staggering to think about: according to Clemson University, in
1940 a farmer could feed 19 people, and in 2011 that increased to 155. Technology and
advances in equipment have helped increase those numbers in a good way. By 2050 the food
production will need to increase seventy percent to feed 9.1 billion people. With less and less
farms, farmers, and farmland there has to be other ways to increase production from the
available land. That is where technology comes in. Just something to think about………
*Because of space limitations these did not get included in the article but I want to make sure they are recognized anyway!
Honoring Farmers: I am so thankful for all farmers big and small. You can't begin to imagine how much these families sacrifice to provide food for the world. So take time and thank a farmer!
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Snyder Farms in Prague, Oklahoma has been a
Strong Family Tradition since 1891. Seven generations deep with four
generations currently helping on the family farm together. The Jesse Snyder
family raise Angus Cattle, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Hay, Sweet Corn, Pumpkins and
various Garden Produce.
You can follow their farming journey at
https://www.facebook.com/snyderfarmsok
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Tyler and Karen Stefansen are relatively new
to farming. Tyler was raised on a
homestead where he learned about gardens and deer plots. He has a degree from OSU in
Wildlife/Fisheries Ecology and Rangeland Management and worked in college for
the Oklahoma Wildlife Department as a field biologist and Soil Conservation
Service. They currently raise soybeans
and wheat. I asked Tyler how he’s
learned what he knows and been successful without having the experience of
working for a row crop farmer. He says
“by immersing myself in the trade; book knowledge from OSU, hours and hours of
research, visiting with local farmers, and most importantly tons of prayer.” He
and Karen are raising two children and hope to ingrain in them their love of
the land.
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Sherman Terrell is a 3rd generation farmer. With the help and support of his wife Mary Jo
he started farming full time in the late 1950’s, and has continued since.
Over the years they have produced peanuts, alfalfa, wheat, and has grown
produce such as watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins.
At one time, Sherman and Mary Jo grew and supplied produce crops to around
fifteen local grocery stores. They have also raise beef cattle.
They have two sons that are involved in the farm operation, and a daughter
whose husband was involved for many years.
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Just some fun pictures I've taken the last year from the seat of a tractor.
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| We had to cross this little creek to get into the hay field. |
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| Gopher mounds can make a very dusty mowing experience. Thankful for a cabbed tractor. |
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| I often get bugs that ride along. This ones name is Fred and he rode with me about 2 hours! |
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| Sometimes we have to refuel! |
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| Okay, we have to refuel a lot. My tractor uses more fuel mowing than raking because it's having to work harder. |
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| Sometimes you can sit on a hill and find hidden treasures. This house looks amazing, I may have to see if I can see it from the road sometime. |
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| I over heated, YIKES! The radiator got covered with crud and the tractor was having to work extra hard in thick grass.... |
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| Sometimes things get clogged up and you have to get down and dirty to get it going again. |
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| Kind of like this mess with my mower. Finally got enough pulled out that I could put it in 4 wheel drive and back over the mess. Wet grass is sometimes tough to mow. |
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| Workers gotta eat and sometimes there isn't shade so you have to make due with a bucket for seating and the tractor for shade. |
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| This field was full of terraces. It looks like it'd be an easy job but it isn't you have to cut and rake between the terraces instead of going back and forth over them. |
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| Sometimes farmers have to "road" tractors. Please Please Please be patient with them. They are doing the best they can and will get out of the way when they can. Keep a decent distance, pass them when it's safe, and pray for their safety. |
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