Producers should temper expectations, one grower said
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
As combines start to roll for the 2020 harvest, Farms.com reached out to members of the ag community to gather words of wisdom for fellow producers during this busy time.
Dana Quigley, a cash crop producer from Yellowgrass, Sask., wants to remind other farmers to take it slow to ensure a safe harvest.
“You just have to take it acre by acre,” she told Farms.com. “Obviously everyone wants to be efficient and get the grain in the bin, but we can’t take safety for granted.”
Farmers should also temper their expectations, Quigley says.
A crop may look like it will yield above an individual farm’s average but, until the numbers start to appear on a yield monitor, producers don’t know for sure.
“Everybody wants to have the best crop ever, but you never know what you’re going to get,” she said. “You could do 100 crop checks and think you’re going into a higher yielding field and the crop could actually end up yielding 20 bushels less per acre.”
Pat Murken, a cash crop producer from Story City, Iowa, had some fall messages for growers too.
When a producer climbs into his or her combine or other farm machinery, he or she should feel a sense of pride, he said.
“Be proud that you’re a farmer and that you help feed the world,” he said. “Not that many men and women can do what we do as well as we do it. We need to keep that in mind all the time.”
Producers should also celebrate the unsung harvest heroes.
Family members can play crucial roles to ensure a timely harvest, Murken said.
“I know that, if I have a flat tire at two o’clock in the morning, my wife Mari Jo will bring me a spare tire,” he said. “Our families are our number one supporters and help us get through the long harvest hours.”
In addition, farmers should take time to focus on the positives.
Getting bogged down with negativity can be physically and mentally tiring, Murken said.
“I try to start the day with something positive or see the good in things,” he said. “Today, for example, it was raining. But that gave me an opportunity to give my combine a thorough onceover. So, when it dries up, I can really get going and know my equipment will hold up.”