Farm Life Part 3 – Conclusion

We dug our last row yesterday afternoon and are now complete! My farming life has come to and end (at least I think so). I really enjoyed the experience funny enough. I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, and the first few days seemed long and tiresome. Eventually I got into a nice rhythm and coupled with beautiful days and listening to my music, I was having a good time. Towards the end I was working shifts as long as 11/12 hours and I didn’t mind one bit (more money is always welcome). It was a different job for me. I didn’t have to interact with people that much, I was always outside, working with all sorts of equipment. It was a good learning environment and something I needed to experience without really knowing I had to. I have a brand new appreciation for the work farmers put in and just how much they have to do and know about. Surprisingly I’m not sick of potatoes either, it was the first meal I had after finishing!

Well, time to move onto something else! Anyone looking to hire a cool guy such as myself? 😉

Farm Life Part 2

Starting to get busy!

I worked 46 hours last week, definitely the most hours I have ever worked in any job for one week. It wasn’t so bad either, the time flew by. I think I have another week and a half of work left, so things will keep staying busy.

I made a few more observations this week too:

– Windy days are the worst. When it is fairly windy out, all the grass that comes up the harvester blows right back in your face once you toss it. It gets so annoying after a while and impedes any further picking. We have a sort of blind to keep the wind out a bit, but it doesn’t stop it completely. I borrowed some goggles off my friend which definitely helped.

– Keep pulling up golf balls on a regular basis. It’s funny how we keep changing fields and locations and still keep fining them. I keep saving them when we find one, and I give them to my friend. He golfs occasionally in the summer so he’ll be all set for golf balls now.

– Some of the cows got loose the other day and I helped chase them back in. It can be pretty intimidating facing down these cows. We had two left to get in and one was this large black bessie. She came right towards me and stared me down like she wanted nothing better than to run me over. Luckily a quick wave of the arms and a sharp “yep!” sent her back towards her field.

– Still flying through my music while I work. I think I have listened to over one thousand songs by now. I like that I’m able to revisit some of the songs I own that I haven’t got to in years.

More to come! Work and words.

Farm Life

Ok, so I haven’t been updating my blog recently and that’s because I picked up a new job recently.

Working on a farm!

Some backstory for you. One of my best friends growing up (and still is) grew up on a family farm. When I went over to his place as a kid we played all around the farm and fields. Both his dad and grandfather tend to the farm and I knew them well growing up.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My friend who still helps his family on the farm when they need him, mentions to me that I could assist the farm for the month helping them harvest their potatoes. I still wasn’t hearing back from jobs I applied too, so I figured why not? I could use the money and I was getting a bit bored at home anyway.

My job on the farm is to stand on the harvester and pick out rocks/dirt/random stuff as the potatoes travel on a belt and get dropped into a truck. It is a pretty simple and at times boring job, but it isn’t so bad. I get to listen to music the whole time I’m on there, which is very enjoyable and helps pass the time. I think the best thing about the job is how quickly the day goes by, what feels like thirty minutes has actually been two hours. The days can get long, but I’m there to make money, so the longer the better.

I’ve been wanting to update this blog for a few weeks but haven’t had the time since starting the job. I work long days usually and when I’m off, I’m either too tired or have other things I want to catch up on. I thought I would share what I was up to on here and try to post some updates and thoughts on the whole farm life.

Here are some highlights and observations I’ve noticed since working on the farm:

– There are some interesting characters who work on a farm. The guy who picks with me on the harvester is quite the storyteller and perhaps tells me more about himself then he should be.

– There is never a concrete time we will finish for the day. Sometimes we finish earlier than expected, sometimes we go for two hours longer. Sometimes I don’t have to work a day at all, or get called in for three hours. Time is ever changing on a farm.

– There are a lot of small breaks in between work. Sometimes equipment breaks down and has to be fixed, we need to wait for a new empty truck to be brought over, we have to wait until the guys in the warehouse unload the trucks full of potatoes. Before starting the job, I thought it would be constant picking, but these little breaks really help get some energy back.

– Picking can range from brutal to easy. Sometimes there are rocks upon rocks flying up the belt and I’m trying to pick at a furious pace, while other times barely nothing comes up the belt but potatoes, which means a more leisurely pick (I like these). Sometimes weird things come up the belt too, like old animal bones, pieces of metal, golf balls (my friend and I used to hit golf balls in the field as kids, so probably ours) and the most memorable being a wallet.

– The farm also has cows, chickens and turkeys. One day when I was picking loose potatoes off the ground, the cows suddenly all turned towards me and starting mooing like crazy and giving me a hardcore stare down. It was really sudden, so I just casually snuck away from them for a while.

– There’s a lot of older fellas who like to come by the farm and see how things are doing and try to help out. It’s nice of them to stop by and makes me wonder how bored they are at home to always be stoping in.

– It’s nice to be working outside for most of the day. I haven’t had too many jobs where I’ve worked outside, and this October weather has been really nice. I find myself feeling refreshed for most of the day, which is a great feeling.

– I enjoy learning about how certain aspects of farming works. It can be quite intricate with all the processes needed to be done. Working there has made me appreciate all that goes into farming and the many roles and jobs a farmer must undertake.

That’s enough for now, but I’d like to try and update again if I find the time. Working on a farm is totally different from any other job I’ve done before, but I am enjoying it. I don’t find myself dreading going to work like I have for jobs in the past and I feel like I learn a bit more about farming each day.

Potato love