I’m going to revisit this column I wrote 10 years ago. I realize I have a somewhat traditional outlook on farm wives, while more and more there are women who are sole proprietor farmers in their own rights. I have the utmost respect for them.
Some of my readers have asked for more tractor stories.
Other farm wives have shared some of their experiences, too. I know a lot of you drive the tractor or grain truck when needed, often in addition to holding an off-farm job.
Farm wives usually get to do some of everything, from the normal housekeeping and meal preparation, to a variety of farm chores and fieldwork. Some jobs are out of our comfort zone, but “somebody” has to do them, so we buckle down and do our best. My mother-in-law was 71 when I came to the farm and she still enjoyed raking hay whenever needed.
Having started out as my husband’s hired hand, I am no stranger to tractor driving, as he taught me early on so he could spare me the heavier hand work.
First it was raking hay, one of the simpler tasks. Then the square baler that moved along gathering up the rustling windrows, packing them into snug bales, and slinging them into the wagon behind. I learned the hard way not to overload the pickup and break the shear pin.
In recent years I’ve gotten pretty handy driving the big round baler. But I never did master tasks like planting and cultivating row crops or backing wagons into tight spots.
I remember the first time my new boss taught me to back the feed grinder up to the unloading auger over the milking parlor. He showed me the principles, how turning the steering wheel one way made the rear of the tractor go that way as you backed up, thus the implement behind you would head in the other direction.
Then he said, “I’ll just get off and let you practice till you get the hang of it.” At first I was scared to be left alone at it (though he was not faraway), but it really did work better for me to figure it out on my own instead of being bombarded with “Turn your wheel that way, now cut it, now straighten it,” and so on.
I’m pretty decent now at backing an implement with just one axle (or tandem axles). If I take my time, I can get the manure spreader back into the cow lot without hitting anything.
But a wagon with a tongue and two separate axles, that’s something I don’t even try. As one farm wife reader remembered about that job, “It would go all kittywampus.” I’m glad to let one of my sons back the hay and grain wagons into their parking spaces.
I have a picture in my mind of a farm couple I saw while driving near my hometown a few years back. They had just pulled into a field of cut hay, she at the wheel, he on the fender. So they were sitting there, and he was making big sweeping motions with his arm, indicating which direction she should go to rake the windrows together, and she was watching and nodding. They were late middle-aged, and I surmised the sons that used to help were gone to college or other jobs, and now, who else would do it, but Mom. She just needed a little refresher course to remember how to go about it.
That’s kind of the way with farmwives. If no one else is around to do it, you can count on Mom. She might not be the most skilled, but she’s there. It’s an honor to help our family whenever we can, united in our common endeavors.
- Winifred Hoffman of Earlville is a farmer, breeder of dual-purpose cattle and a student of life. She can be reached at newsroom@mywebtimes.com