I started this blog with a phone call to my dad. He’s the farmer and the perfect person to interview for a REAL view of a day in the life of a farmer.
My intent going into this phone call was asking scripted questions to get a pretty little blog post together.
Dad answered the phone. He led with “welp, the combine broke again”… Then he started talking about timing and weather predictions and why he wanted to get more corn out before the rain. After that, he started talking about a tire repair on a wagon, the ideal corn moisture levels, and a few others things he would do while they were waiting on replacement parts for the combine. Some of these things involved helping others with their farming operations.
That’s the reality of farming. You are a year round weatherman, a businessman, the epitome of hard-work, and you are always looking out for your neighbor.
My dad was an Electrical Engineer for 43 years at Delphi Electronics in Kokomo. After a full day or week of work, he would come home to farm. Farming was “his side job,” but really he called it his hobby. He is retired now, but still farms. Not a day goes by where he isn’t looking at the weather and itching to get on the tractor or combine out in the field.
Whether he is planting, harvesting, or tilling - he’s in his happy place in his John Deere.
Pictured: My Dad & Mom outside of their farmhouse. Bill on the left (the Farmer) and his wife (Anne). Also pictured is one of many farm cats: Simon.
Now that we are in the month of October, and my 35th birthday is around the corner, it seems fitting to share this brief story. I’ll have to call my mom for this one. Apparently, it was in the middle of harvest and dad was working at his Engineering job in town, then he was going to head home to get on the combine. Well, mom called to tell dad “we are having a baby today!” - she had to relay the message to his secretary because cell phones weren’t around, pagers weren’t even as common. After work, my dad still came back to the farm for one more lap around the field with my older brother, Ryan - leaving my very pregnant mom in the truck. Then, my parents headed back to town to the hospital. Because my parents were a little preoccupied, a neighbor was helping to run our combine that night (see what I mean by helping neighbors out!). The neighbors around my parents have always worked as a team - sharing resources and equipment and stepping up for one another in times of need - even if those times of need come in the way of a blessing of a new life! (Not to toot my own horn here. Just saying that children, in general, are a true gift from God.)
Later that harvest night, on October 24th, I was born. It is wild to think that 35 years later, I would be spending my days working on Marketing and Merchandising for a popcorn product (@poppincobs) grown on our family farm - alongside my husband and my 2 beautiful children.
Pictured: My husband (Adam) and I walking around the barn in our company logo shirts. Adam and I own @poppincobs and grow popcorn on the family farm where I grew up…from day 1… literally.
Farming isn’t always glamorous. There are a lot of things outside of our control (weather, equipment break downs, yield, crop prices, moisture levels and more) - but the beauty in farm life is the community. Our neighbors are like family and we are blessed to be able to provide grain to feed the world.
