Pedley's Ponderings

Nobody has ever confused me with a farmer. My agriculture resume includes picking rock as a teen, riding in the combine with my grandpa as a youngster and sorting chickens once in college. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve driven a tractor, and I wasn’t in FFA nor did I win ribbons at the county fair.

Because it’s important to try new things, I got out of my comfort zone last weekend. A friend asked if I’d help him with harvest, and I obliged. I warned him of my thin experience – the last time I piloted a tractor was nearly 20 years ago and the last manual transmission I drove was a Ford Festiva. No bother, he assured me – tractors these days basically drive themselves.

I shrugged and told him I’d do my best. Saturday morning was the big day, and after a brief training session, I was driving a dually John Deere 10.5 miles one way from the field to the bin site.

The first trip was a bit unnerving. I was simply trying to stay out the ditch, so the going was slow. By the time I reached the field my left hand had severely cramped after 30 minutes of white-knuckling the steering wheel. Nonetheless, I did in fact make it safely, and I was quickly loaded up with two full wagons of corn.

I had feared turning corners the most prior to jumping in the cab. That quickly proved easy, and my anxieties broadened to fellow travelers on the road. I was terrified that I’d meet another person hauling corn on the gravel byways and didn’t want to move over with a full load. Luckily I never had to, and when I saw someone coming on the same road I was traveling, I simply turned and took a different route.

Saturday wrapped up without issue. I kept it between the shoulders, and I didn’t screw anything up while unloading at the bin site. I was rather proud of myself for learning something new.

Sunday was smoother. I felt more comfortable driving the tractor and seemed to have the hang of it. I was so relaxed that I started getting rather bored – drive to the field, get loaded up, drive back to the bins, unload, repeat.

Comfort in repetition proved to be my downfall. Before unloading my very last wagon of the weekend, I tried to angle it closer to the auger when I pulled forward after my first wagon was emptied. The conveyor belt barely reached the wagon on the first load, so I figured it would be better if it were a few inches closer.

After moving forward, I exited the cab and heard a loud whooshing sound. Upon inspection I found a huge gash in the last wagon’s front left tire, and air was escaping quickly. Confused, I did an inspection. Apparently I didn’t move the conveyor belt far enough out of the way when I pulled ahead. I ran over the hitch on the conveyor belt, which then sliced a sizeable tear in the sidewall of the tire.

D’oh.

I called the boss and told him my dilemma. Embarrassed and disappointed in myself, I got the wagon unloaded and he moved the tractor out of the way.

“The last load, too!” he lamented.

He wasn’t too upset; at least outwardly. I felt terrible for creating a new expense for him to pay – tires are costly on cars, so I knew the bill to replace one on a wagon wouldn’t be cheap.

After getting everything out of the wagons and into the bins, we headed back to the empty field to grab the combine head and other equipment. I was bummed that I didn’t make it out of there mistake-free, but I suppose it could have been much worse. At least I didn’t crush the conveyor belt itself with the wagon tire.

Additionally, my stint in the tractor gave me a new perspective on farm safety during harvest season. It may be annoying getting stuck behind trucks, tractors and trailers each fall, but it’s important to chill out and take it slow – you never know if there’s some inexperienced dolt like me behind the wheel of the rig you’re tailgating. Please proceed with an alert sense of caution as you traverse our rural highways and byways for the sake of everyone out there.

Whether or not my part-time foray into farming continues remains to be seen. My weekend-long probationary period was not blemish free, so my career jockeying an office chair seems pretty safe. Still, I’m glad I tried something different and kept the tractor right side up.

Though that tire may be empty, the glass – or in this case, the wagon – is still half full in my book.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.