Aw, I wasn't trying to make anybody cry ... but I get it. This stuff runs deep. Means a lot to hear that from someone who's lived it too. I'm grateful to have folks like you still in this with us. Thank you.
Nice work again, Adam. You're a poet. But remember - Most women didn't get to do any of that. We didn't get to hang at the co-op or help clear out the barn. If we did, we suffered the slurs about being "butch" or "dyke." Most of us/our mom's generation were in the kitchen cooking the meals for the guys because sharia law lives in rural America whether we admit it or not. It's a different kind of community - maybe not as dramatic, but just as meaningful I suspect. (Hope the "whining" and the "postcards" cracks weren't aimed at me! You get where I'm coming from...I think...)
You know what’s funny? You spend weeks on a piece—tweaking it, rearranging stuff, trying to make it sing—and then thirty minutes after hitting publish, boom. Two things smack you in the face that you totally missed.
First, yeah … women in agriculture. You’re absolutely right. I wish I’d made room for that. I wish it had even crossed my damn mind.
And second, the postcards thing … holy hell, I stared at that for days and not once did I catch it. Ha! I’m sorry it came off that way. Makes me feel like a bit of a shitheel.
But the cool part is, your comment made the piece better. Like I said in there somewhere, it’s about perspective, and yours opened mine up a little more. That’s the whole beauty of this weird thing we’re building.
Which brings us right back to the point: why we need a home. 🌱
Yep, I get it. Happens to me all the time! But the perspective thing -there's no REASON why it would cross your mind! And that's OK. That's why I made the comment. It's really hard for any American to think beyond marketing stereotypes (they're stereotypes for a reason after all). Even women of a certain age see no problem with "playing their part" in the kitchen or doing the books. OK, fine, but let's be sure women can play whatever part they're capable of playing too! That's my hope with these younger women getting into livestock and other kinds of farming. They're not letting the old ways get in their way.
Well, my 15 year old niece is getting to skip some school during seeding this year because she wants to help drive the tractor. For a few decades already, women in Saskatchewan at least have been in the fields as much as their husbands; there are plenty of them working their farms and ranches alone, too. Maybe you take issue with the "traditional" role of women on the farm, but someone had to do it and still look after the kids while the men were in the field. Simply put, it was a far more physical job to work in the field in generations past that most women simply couldn't handle and still look after domestics. Unless you were Doukhobor, and the women were in harnesses...
Or in Turkey (my father's homeland) where peasant women are still out there in the heat with a hoe and a kid on their backs! I'm not "taking issue" so much as pointing out the different perspectives on farm work. If your niece doesn't have kids to manage or has a partner willing to share the work in the house with those kids, then she has the freedom to get on the tractor. Men always have that freedom. And it's not like it takes more brute force to drive a tractor these days, or like kids are breastfed til they're 5. Most of these jobs are interchangeable now (though changing and maintaining implements is still a job for stronger hands in my experience!) Next generation farmers are getting that and I celebrate that for them. It complicates things, it's really hard to try to do both, and maybe they'll default to the old roles, but at least they'll make their choices, not have those roles handed to them.
Uh, my niece is 15 and in school. My sister-in-law helps ALOT in the field too, but also does not work outside the farm because they decided it cost too much for childcare and it took away from the time they could spend with the kids. They literally tightened up those belts for the first 10 years, yet managed to have the kids in hockey and dance. For the last few years, they have also had 2 hired guys that in between seeding and harvest and over the winter, they haul oil and cattle with the trucks. The farm has not always been a paying thing, because they bought it fair and square, the did not inherit.
All things said already, there were pioneer women that even when heavily pregnant had to play both roles as well. There literally WAS not enough help when you were cutting your farm out of raw prairie and people hadn't populated the area enough. It was only in the larger groups that came over together that they could divide the roles more clearly. But it does still stand that some men just aren't equipped to be the "main" caregiver, and some women aren't equipped to do the hard labour, whatever that amounts to nowadays. Biology matters in alot of cases.
Well spoken! I know you are a true Midwesterner, we farm kids would know to check boxes for stuff like a box of 22's before throwing them out.
And at 14, you better know how to drive a tractor and at least pull a wagon stacked high with hay or straw out of the field to the yard without losing a bale. Boys & Girls.
Everyone contributed to the Ag effort in rural NY.
You see, we pastured our dairy cows; some farmers had horses. Woodchucks were quite common as were thier holes. A hooded animal stepping in a woodchuck hole suffered a broken leg; maybe they would have to be put down. Serious loss. Also a hay wagon hitting a woodchuck hole would result in a upset load that had to be restacked quickly; usualky by the tractor driver. No fun.
So, we learned to eliminate woodchucks. Hunt them with a 22 rifle. Woodchuck hunting was a great way to get to know farmers and assess when they would be hiring to stack wagons and haymows. First & Second haying (maybe Third) with oat and wheat straw for practice and indoctrination of newbies.
Haha yep ... battled a few of those woodchuck buggers myself. Had one set up shop under one of the sheds a few years back, and it nearly cost us the whole foundation.
And you're right ... .22's weren't for plinking cans, they were for jobs. Appreciate you sharing this. Brought me right back to all the .22 shells I wasted as a kid.
Adam. We see you. This time of year tends to give me anxiety. I don't farm myself (other than research plots) but rather work with farmers to help them produce more productive corn and soybean in NW MN.
Why am I anxious then? Long hours, stress and heavy machinery are a dangerous and even deadly combination for those that I work with, regardless of the time of year.
In fact, one on my most memorable encounters was holding a reluctant farmer as he sobbed - heartbroken with hot, bitter tears. He had left the farm to seek employment elsewhere and years later got called back when -right after planting and before post-emergence herbicides needed to go on- his dad died when the tractor he had been driving mowing ditches rolled over on top of him.
Heartbreakingly routine tasks can prove deadly. Just this Sunday, a farmer near Brooten, MN died when his planter crushed him underneath.
Augers, PTOs, heavily used machinery and implements constantly in need of repair, being strapped for time: guys and gals - take that extra beat to pause and let someone know you'll need a spotter. Have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, hearing, eye, sun and bug protection handy along with any PPE to be as safe as possible. WE NEED YOU.
Angie, I’ve been sitting with this one for a full day now. I don’t even know what to say except … thank you. For seeing us. For doing the kind of work that doesn’t make headlines, but saves lives.
That story about the farmer and his dad … damn. It stopped me cold. The grind gets deadly, especially this time of year.
My Daddy always stepped on a nail that punctured his foot. I remember him packing the wound. How we managed to get through without a scratch is a miracle. On another note, we bought a used clothes dryer when my husband and I moved out west. It was missing the front panel and a gasket on the inside of the drum. We had the dryer in the bathroom of the farmhouse we were renting. One night while our friend from college was visiting, we were brushing our teeth and laughing when I felt something fly by my head. It struck the wall and impaled itself there. I pulled out the .22 shell and called the hubby. He turned off the dryer and reached into the back of the machine. Nestled into the hot lint gathered, he gathered up the rest of the shells. The missing gasket allowed the shells to slip through, along with some of the lint. Always inspect used appliances.
Always check your pockets, too. Looks like you’re getting warm weather. My daughter lives in Grand Forks and works at UND, graduate school alumni. Always enjoy my visits.
Wise advice. UND is pert-near right in my backyard, what a small world. And yes, the furnace flips on tomorrow. Excited to get out there and get something done.
As usual, beautifully written piece that pulls back the curtain - for those who’ll stop to look - and maybe see, for those who’ll listen and maybe hear.
Thank you. For what you do every day, and for bringing your stories and passion here.
I didn’t mean to write something tear-worthy, but I guess when you pull back the curtain on the real stuff, it hits differently. Thank you for seeing it.
There are those among us that can only ever be farmers. It's in their blood. They do other things, but their true reason for being is working the land. I think my youngest brother is one; he has guys running oil and cattle in the off seasons with his trucks, but he has the family farm and it has started to pay off. And his younger boy is ALL ABOUT farming; think a 3 year old that would rather go crop checking than swimming at his sister's birthday party!
Adam, I was 14 when I began working on our farm. The Farm was part of the last of a Place put together in 1870. I retired after 2018. Just wasn’t profitable enough. People would sometimes kinda Scoff at the risks farmers endure. I would explain that every year I put All I have and All I hope to have in the Ground and Hope I get it back in the Fall. Crazy way to make a Living. I miss it every day. I really Enjoy your Posts.
Bud, I felt every word of that. Putting ALL you have and hoping to get it back is the most honest way I've heard this life described. I'm honored you're reading, and even more honored you shared this. Thank you.
Adam , you make laugh and cry. The world I grew up in is almost gone but I’ve experienced a sense of community through people, like you,sharing stories like this . You did one hell a job on this one
Hi Adam , I appreciate you also. I’m an integrated pest management guy. I try to farm and garden as cleanly as possible. We live in a fallen world and have to deal with the fallout as best we can. Your voice is an important one. Trying to navigate between the organic crowd and the conventional growers is tricky. That’ why your conversations with Liz are so I important.
Great piece, Adam! I think I've always been itching for a turn at the tractor, too. Trying to prove myself to the guys, to the women in the kitchen...to myself... And now, here at Substack sharing my stories I just want to be heard, to have the kind of reach we all deserve and to know I'm not just shouting into the storm, words lost in the wind.
Adam, I just discovered your Stack - thanks for your passion and purpose. My wife and I are 70-year old farmers and cattle people here in Northeast Kansas. With God's provision, we somehow made it through the Farm Crisis of the Eighties. Personal depression, financial hardship were woven into the angst of seeing friends and neighbors struggle while living our own struggle. Our youngest daughter, Kaila, was born in the midst of that. As a mental healthcare professional, she has tremendous compassion for farmers and ranchers and their families because she knows how hard it all can be. Recently, an author wrote about an initiative she's developed to help healthcare providers better understand the "behind the scene" factors facing their ag clients. Here's a link to that article:
Kaila's hope is to use the LandLogic model to train providers to better know how to connect to ag clients. She also has farmer-focused tools designed to naturally engage producers who happen to be in their family medicine doctor's office. Her website has those resources, and she hopes to add more client-facing resources while at the same time, helping healthcare providers better understand what makes farmers "tick" - that powerful tie to their land.
Aw, I wasn't trying to make anybody cry ... but I get it. This stuff runs deep. Means a lot to hear that from someone who's lived it too. I'm grateful to have folks like you still in this with us. Thank you.
Nice work again, Adam. You're a poet. But remember - Most women didn't get to do any of that. We didn't get to hang at the co-op or help clear out the barn. If we did, we suffered the slurs about being "butch" or "dyke." Most of us/our mom's generation were in the kitchen cooking the meals for the guys because sharia law lives in rural America whether we admit it or not. It's a different kind of community - maybe not as dramatic, but just as meaningful I suspect. (Hope the "whining" and the "postcards" cracks weren't aimed at me! You get where I'm coming from...I think...)
You know what’s funny? You spend weeks on a piece—tweaking it, rearranging stuff, trying to make it sing—and then thirty minutes after hitting publish, boom. Two things smack you in the face that you totally missed.
First, yeah … women in agriculture. You’re absolutely right. I wish I’d made room for that. I wish it had even crossed my damn mind.
And second, the postcards thing … holy hell, I stared at that for days and not once did I catch it. Ha! I’m sorry it came off that way. Makes me feel like a bit of a shitheel.
But the cool part is, your comment made the piece better. Like I said in there somewhere, it’s about perspective, and yours opened mine up a little more. That’s the whole beauty of this weird thing we’re building.
Which brings us right back to the point: why we need a home. 🌱
Yep, I get it. Happens to me all the time! But the perspective thing -there's no REASON why it would cross your mind! And that's OK. That's why I made the comment. It's really hard for any American to think beyond marketing stereotypes (they're stereotypes for a reason after all). Even women of a certain age see no problem with "playing their part" in the kitchen or doing the books. OK, fine, but let's be sure women can play whatever part they're capable of playing too! That's my hope with these younger women getting into livestock and other kinds of farming. They're not letting the old ways get in their way.
What a wonderful conversation with Adam, Suzan. Good people all around
Well, my 15 year old niece is getting to skip some school during seeding this year because she wants to help drive the tractor. For a few decades already, women in Saskatchewan at least have been in the fields as much as their husbands; there are plenty of them working their farms and ranches alone, too. Maybe you take issue with the "traditional" role of women on the farm, but someone had to do it and still look after the kids while the men were in the field. Simply put, it was a far more physical job to work in the field in generations past that most women simply couldn't handle and still look after domestics. Unless you were Doukhobor, and the women were in harnesses...
Or in Turkey (my father's homeland) where peasant women are still out there in the heat with a hoe and a kid on their backs! I'm not "taking issue" so much as pointing out the different perspectives on farm work. If your niece doesn't have kids to manage or has a partner willing to share the work in the house with those kids, then she has the freedom to get on the tractor. Men always have that freedom. And it's not like it takes more brute force to drive a tractor these days, or like kids are breastfed til they're 5. Most of these jobs are interchangeable now (though changing and maintaining implements is still a job for stronger hands in my experience!) Next generation farmers are getting that and I celebrate that for them. It complicates things, it's really hard to try to do both, and maybe they'll default to the old roles, but at least they'll make their choices, not have those roles handed to them.
Uh, my niece is 15 and in school. My sister-in-law helps ALOT in the field too, but also does not work outside the farm because they decided it cost too much for childcare and it took away from the time they could spend with the kids. They literally tightened up those belts for the first 10 years, yet managed to have the kids in hockey and dance. For the last few years, they have also had 2 hired guys that in between seeding and harvest and over the winter, they haul oil and cattle with the trucks. The farm has not always been a paying thing, because they bought it fair and square, the did not inherit.
All things said already, there were pioneer women that even when heavily pregnant had to play both roles as well. There literally WAS not enough help when you were cutting your farm out of raw prairie and people hadn't populated the area enough. It was only in the larger groups that came over together that they could divide the roles more clearly. But it does still stand that some men just aren't equipped to be the "main" caregiver, and some women aren't equipped to do the hard labour, whatever that amounts to nowadays. Biology matters in alot of cases.
Well spoken! I know you are a true Midwesterner, we farm kids would know to check boxes for stuff like a box of 22's before throwing them out.
And at 14, you better know how to drive a tractor and at least pull a wagon stacked high with hay or straw out of the field to the yard without losing a bale. Boys & Girls.
Everyone contributed to the Ag effort in rural NY.
You see, we pastured our dairy cows; some farmers had horses. Woodchucks were quite common as were thier holes. A hooded animal stepping in a woodchuck hole suffered a broken leg; maybe they would have to be put down. Serious loss. Also a hay wagon hitting a woodchuck hole would result in a upset load that had to be restacked quickly; usualky by the tractor driver. No fun.
So, we learned to eliminate woodchucks. Hunt them with a 22 rifle. Woodchuck hunting was a great way to get to know farmers and assess when they would be hiring to stack wagons and haymows. First & Second haying (maybe Third) with oat and wheat straw for practice and indoctrination of newbies.
22's were common, but never to be wasted.
Haha yep ... battled a few of those woodchuck buggers myself. Had one set up shop under one of the sheds a few years back, and it nearly cost us the whole foundation.
And you're right ... .22's weren't for plinking cans, they were for jobs. Appreciate you sharing this. Brought me right back to all the .22 shells I wasted as a kid.
Adam. We see you. This time of year tends to give me anxiety. I don't farm myself (other than research plots) but rather work with farmers to help them produce more productive corn and soybean in NW MN.
Why am I anxious then? Long hours, stress and heavy machinery are a dangerous and even deadly combination for those that I work with, regardless of the time of year.
In fact, one on my most memorable encounters was holding a reluctant farmer as he sobbed - heartbroken with hot, bitter tears. He had left the farm to seek employment elsewhere and years later got called back when -right after planting and before post-emergence herbicides needed to go on- his dad died when the tractor he had been driving mowing ditches rolled over on top of him.
Heartbreakingly routine tasks can prove deadly. Just this Sunday, a farmer near Brooten, MN died when his planter crushed him underneath.
Augers, PTOs, heavily used machinery and implements constantly in need of repair, being strapped for time: guys and gals - take that extra beat to pause and let someone know you'll need a spotter. Have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, hearing, eye, sun and bug protection handy along with any PPE to be as safe as possible. WE NEED YOU.
Angie, I’ve been sitting with this one for a full day now. I don’t even know what to say except … thank you. For seeing us. For doing the kind of work that doesn’t make headlines, but saves lives.
That story about the farmer and his dad … damn. It stopped me cold. The grind gets deadly, especially this time of year.
Thank you for the reminder. We need you too.
My Daddy always stepped on a nail that punctured his foot. I remember him packing the wound. How we managed to get through without a scratch is a miracle. On another note, we bought a used clothes dryer when my husband and I moved out west. It was missing the front panel and a gasket on the inside of the drum. We had the dryer in the bathroom of the farmhouse we were renting. One night while our friend from college was visiting, we were brushing our teeth and laughing when I felt something fly by my head. It struck the wall and impaled itself there. I pulled out the .22 shell and called the hubby. He turned off the dryer and reached into the back of the machine. Nestled into the hot lint gathered, he gathered up the rest of the shells. The missing gasket allowed the shells to slip through, along with some of the lint. Always inspect used appliances.
Holy smokes, Rosemary. What a wild and vivid memory. Thanks for sharing it and for reminding me to check the lint traps!
Always check your pockets, too. Looks like you’re getting warm weather. My daughter lives in Grand Forks and works at UND, graduate school alumni. Always enjoy my visits.
Wise advice. UND is pert-near right in my backyard, what a small world. And yes, the furnace flips on tomorrow. Excited to get out there and get something done.
Little tough to get through that without tears.
As usual, beautifully written piece that pulls back the curtain - for those who’ll stop to look - and maybe see, for those who’ll listen and maybe hear.
Thank you. For what you do every day, and for bringing your stories and passion here.
I didn’t mean to write something tear-worthy, but I guess when you pull back the curtain on the real stuff, it hits differently. Thank you for seeing it.
Beautiful, Adam.
There are those among us that can only ever be farmers. It's in their blood. They do other things, but their true reason for being is working the land. I think my youngest brother is one; he has guys running oil and cattle in the off seasons with his trucks, but he has the family farm and it has started to pay off. And his younger boy is ALL ABOUT farming; think a 3 year old that would rather go crop checking than swimming at his sister's birthday party!
I was that 3-year-old ... and you're right. Once it's in your blood, it's there for good. No shaking it.
Adam, I was 14 when I began working on our farm. The Farm was part of the last of a Place put together in 1870. I retired after 2018. Just wasn’t profitable enough. People would sometimes kinda Scoff at the risks farmers endure. I would explain that every year I put All I have and All I hope to have in the Ground and Hope I get it back in the Fall. Crazy way to make a Living. I miss it every day. I really Enjoy your Posts.
Farmers--the ultimate gamblers!
Bud, I felt every word of that. Putting ALL you have and hoping to get it back is the most honest way I've heard this life described. I'm honored you're reading, and even more honored you shared this. Thank you.
Thanks.
Yes! What a strange and wonderful world we all live in. Farmers know that, others better figure it out.
Adam , you make laugh and cry. The world I grew up in is almost gone but I’ve experienced a sense of community through people, like you,sharing stories like this . You did one hell a job on this one
Appreciate you, Al 🙏
Hi Adam , I appreciate you also. I’m an integrated pest management guy. I try to farm and garden as cleanly as possible. We live in a fallen world and have to deal with the fallout as best we can. Your voice is an important one. Trying to navigate between the organic crowd and the conventional growers is tricky. That’ why your conversations with Liz are so I important.
Great piece, Adam! I think I've always been itching for a turn at the tractor, too. Trying to prove myself to the guys, to the women in the kitchen...to myself... And now, here at Substack sharing my stories I just want to be heard, to have the kind of reach we all deserve and to know I'm not just shouting into the storm, words lost in the wind.
Adam, I just discovered your Stack - thanks for your passion and purpose. My wife and I are 70-year old farmers and cattle people here in Northeast Kansas. With God's provision, we somehow made it through the Farm Crisis of the Eighties. Personal depression, financial hardship were woven into the angst of seeing friends and neighbors struggle while living our own struggle. Our youngest daughter, Kaila, was born in the midst of that. As a mental healthcare professional, she has tremendous compassion for farmers and ranchers and their families because she knows how hard it all can be. Recently, an author wrote about an initiative she's developed to help healthcare providers better understand the "behind the scene" factors facing their ag clients. Here's a link to that article:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/10/farmers-mental-health-crisis-trump
Kaila's hope is to use the LandLogic model to train providers to better know how to connect to ag clients. She also has farmer-focused tools designed to naturally engage producers who happen to be in their family medicine doctor's office. Her website has those resources, and she hopes to add more client-facing resources while at the same time, helping healthcare providers better understand what makes farmers "tick" - that powerful tie to their land.
https://thelandlogicmodel.com/
Thanks again for your efforts - we're ALL better together!
Galen & Linda Ackerman