Life On The Tailgate

On large row crop farms, harvest isn’t a hobby, it’s a livelihood for each family. Acres and acres of multi-million dollar family businesses that feed the world.

What Time Is It? Harvest Time!

Some of my most fond memories of growing up on the farm, started in the month of October and usually wrapped up in November (weather permitting). Fields of corn and soybeans as far as you can see. Summer turns to Fall when the hillsides fade from green to to autumnal shades of fawn and combines fire up across the countryside.

There’s an order, like a sport, of cutting beans then picking corn. Farmers also take on jobs of mathematicians and meteorologist, watching weather and checking yields. The work doesn’t stop until the job is done.

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Coffee Time

Since the work doesn’t stop, some of the most cherished memories and breaks during the day are sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck next to grain carts and semi trucks. For as long as I can remember, the afternoon break was always accompanied by a sweet treat and a beverage. Often referred to as “Coffee Time” Even though we don’t always have coffee, the title will never change.

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Now that we are back on the family farm, I get to take a WOMENT on the tailgate again, sit back, enjoy the smell, sounds and company. Nothing beats coffee time on the tailgate! Midwesterners take tailgating seriously, it isn’t just for football anymore.