Over the last few years I have learned quite a bit about how to make the fall season go a little bit “easier.” Here are my top 5 tips to have a good fall!
Number 1: be prepared (as much as possible) Have meals prepped ready in the freezer. Have lunch meat, cheese, and bread in the fridge and also extras in the freezer so you don’t have to run to the grocery store during the week. Have easy, on-the-go snacks ready for lunches. Have lots of ice packs!
Lots of sunsets from work
Number 2: be okay with living in a mess. I’ll be honest, keeping the house clean during busy seasons is HARD. You’re rarely home but somehow, the house still gets dirty! Be okay and give yourself grace. You are doing your best!
Blurry but still a good sunrise picture of a fertilizer plant at another location
Number 3: find the positivity in not-so-good situations. There is always something to be thankful for. Even during breakdowns and rainy days, there is still some positivity to be found! Having a negative attitude is not going to help the situation so think as positive as you can!
Sunrise sprayer picture
Number 4: SAFETY. This is so important and should always be in the back of your mind. If you’re working around large equipment whether it be tractors, grain/fertilizer legs, conveyors, augers, all things moving, you have to be on the look out for dangers. Your number 1 goal each day should be making it home safely to your family every night.
Planting plots
Number 5: give yourself grace. You are trying your hardest and doing your best and that’s all anyone can ever ask of you! No matter your role or position whatever you’re doing is enough. Be kind to yourself and give yourself grace.
Well hello and welcome back! 😀 Sorry I’ve been MIA all winter, but here we are, the end of April.
How the heck did that happen?! Anyone else feel that way too? If you were not aware, April is my favorite month of the whole year. MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I was able to celebrate my birthday (my ✨golden✨ birthday) this year surrounded by those who love me!
It has been an odd April to say the least. Rainy and cold. Everyone is kind of just sitting around waiting it out to see if Mother Nature will quit throwing a tantrum. I think God needs to have a little chat with her..
At the beginning of the month, I had a close work friend retire. He impacted my life greatly and I surely miss him. I am bummed he is not at work anymore and I don’t see him everyday but I know he is living a very well deserved retirement and I wish him all the best!
Retirement party!
Easter was spent with lots of family and was much needed for the soul. We had a busy day traveling to two grandparents but was a very good day eating good food and being in good company.
Easter bouquet.
Even though it was by no means warm out on my birthday, Hunter and his family put docks in and the dogs got to go for their first swim of the year! Sig loved it, of course because he loves the water and anytime he gets the chance he’s in it.
If you listen closely, you can hear the loons chirping in the background. The dogs had so much fun in the water!
Other than that, April has actually been pretty mellow to say the least. Just one big waiting game for the weather to turn around and for everyone to get into the fields. I think we are all more than ready and just want to get #plant22 underway! Praying for warmer, sunnier weather to come!
Someone asked me this question once. “Does working with hazardous chemicals and products at work cause you more stress?”
Until I was asked that question I never gave it much thought. Part of the reason is because I have always been taught the proper handling protocols and safety factors and what to do if something does go wrong. So when asked the question I thought on it.
My short answer, no. Nothing scares me. (okay except snakes, lol)
The truth is some products I handle could easily kill me, if I don’t handle them properly. That is why company’s are always preaching safety and we are always having to sit through safety meetings and, even though it seems like we’re sitting through the same slideshow or movie time and time again, those meetings are powerful. Safety doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be taught. That is why it is so important to go to those meetings and watch those clips and slideshows. Some of those situations are ones you hope you never have to encounter, but if you were to, you need to be prepared.
The reason this whole topic came to mind was because we are entering the lovely anhydrous season. Ahh yes, anhydrous. I can not wait to fill tanks all day and have dreams of filling tanks all night. All jokes aside. Anhydrous can be a monster. It is by far one of the most dangerous products we handle in this industry. You have to follow all the safety protocols and wear personal protective equipment (PPE) because (like any accident) things can happen in a heartbeat. The best way to protect yourself is to practice safety. Our PPE is very important and should never be taken as a joke or thought of last. Should be first thing on your mind.
Long sleeve shirt
Sealed goggles
Rubber gloves with the ends folded up
Long pants
Boots
Absolutely no contacts!!
Maybe you don’t actually handle anhydrous yourself, but chances are if you live in rural America, you have seen an anhydrous tank being pulled by a pickup or even being applied in the field. Just with farming in general, please be patient. I know it can be hard to be stuck behind large moving equipment. Just take a deep breath and know they most likely won’t be on the road for a long stretch. If you do pass, please pass safely. No one wants an accident to happen.
Here is a little excerpt from a recent social media post of mine:
Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) is the foundation of all nitrogen fertilizers.
This probably doesn’t mean much to many people but for agriculture it means everything. Without anhydrous, we would have a hard time finding sources of nitrogen to feed the plants. Especially our staple crop in the Midwest, corn. If you are aiming for 250 bushels per acre, did you know you’ll need 250 pounds of nitrogen for those plants to grow?
Many farmers use practices such as crop rotation to help with the high demand of nitrogen. Soybean and corn rotations are popular in my area.
Soybeans do this cool thing called nitrogen fixation where the plant can actually take nitrogen out of the atmosphere and fixate it to nodules in the soil that will be available to plants in the future.
3 facts about Anhydrous Ammonia:
-28 degrees F anhydrous is a liquid. When the temp is above -28, anhydrous is pressurized to keep it in a liquid form. (Which is 95% of the time😂)
Anhydrous translates to “without water”. That is why water plays a huge role in the safety of handlers and applicators. If there were ever an accident, water will help with drawing the anhydrous away from skin (since it is water seeking).
It is a colorless, highly-potent odor gas that is lighter than air.
Anhydrous is no joke and should always be used with caution and taken seriously. Proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and training will ensure everyone is kept safe. Professionals only please 👩🏼🌾👩🏼🔬🥽🧤
This year marks my sixth harvest with Petersen’s. Now, I know I am not a farm wife. But trust me, I cannot wait for that day. (I have spent many years in training;) also this is not a jab at Hunter, I just idolize farm wives and can’t wait to be one, someday) I would like to think of myself as a seasoned farm girlfriend. When I think back over the last six seasons I’ve spent with Hunter, watching and learning from his mother and aunt and all the ins and outs throughout harvest. If you ask me, the whole farm would be lost without those two. They pretty much run that place in my opinion. Getting to watch and learn from them has been such a blessing and I am always so eager to be around them and help out. They are both such strong, independent, hard-working women who are definitely role models of mine.
I also follow lots of farm wives on Instagram and Facebook who are role models of mine as well. My two absolute favorites are the hosts of Midwest Farm Wives podcast, Whitney and Kylie. They always talk about whatever your role is on the farm, big or small, on or off the farm, your role is so important. Just because so and so is doing more than you or doing this or that, that maybe you are not, does not mean your role on your farm is any less important. Let what you do be enough. Another huge lesson of theirs is you are never alone. Even though the seasonal singlehood makes it seem like it, you are not.
On to the whole reason for this blog in the first place. Six lessons I’ve learned from going through six seasons.
Space. Give them space. I know it is a hard time for both you and your farmer but they have a lot on their plate right now and space is one thing they need. I’m not saying completely ignore and leave them to fend for themselves. What I mean is be there for them when they need you, don’t take it personal if they don’t notice you.
Limit your questions. Highly do not recommend asking them question after question because a lot of the time they don’t know the answer either. One question I suggest you NEVER ask is “What time will you be home?” because even if they give you an answer, most likely something will break or needs to be moved and that time will pass by.
Have a hobby. You will drive yourself crazy if you sit alone at home and feel sorry for yourself because your significant other is out farming. Find something to occupy yourself with.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I cannot stress this enough. You do not have to go through this season alone. Find other farm wives or girlfriends. Go out with friends, go shopping with your mom or sister, video chat with long distance friends, help with making supper or packing lunches for the guys, doesn’t matter what it is, don’t isolate yourself. You don’t need to do this alone.
Appreciate each moment. Rain days and heat shutdowns will happen. Sometimes we forget Mother Nature is the real one in control. Appreciate all those extra moments you get with your farmer at home with you. Don’t expect them to want to go out somewhere out and about. Be fine with chilling at home and soak up those moments with them, even if it is just sitting on the couch watching tv or making supper for them.
Have a positive attitude. Like I said before Mother Nature is the real one in charge. That being said sometimes we don’t agree with her but having a crappy attitude won’t make her change it. Sometimes things break down, sometimes the stress gets to you. Keep that positive attitude, because having a crappy one won’t get you very far.
Fall and harvest are by far my favorite time year. It is definitely the longest season but after a long season of putting in the work and praying the crops make it through, it is so rewarding to watch all that hard work pay off. Weather cools down FINALLY (ps I LOVE WINTER) and it is a season. There will be starts and stops but all in all once the ground freezes it’s all over with for as long as Mother Nature decides. Embrace it.
If you have known me for a while, I don’t think you would question this at all. You’d probably say, “she’s just always had a passion for it.” Which is 100% true, but sometimes I do ponder why it became such a passion of mine. I remember from a young age always being outside and soaking up the bright sunshine and vibrant colors of growing seasons. When I was younger, my love for animals, specifically cattle, was strong. I started 4-H from the young age of 5 and when I got to 3rd grade (how old is that? 8-9?) my mom finally let me get into showing my first bottle calf. For me, showing was always a fun outlet. I know I didn’t have the best-looking show stock, but those calves all had special places in my heart. It wasn’t until 8th grade when I decided, cattle involved too much science and you had to keep their heart beating 365 days of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I still love cattle and I continued to show through my senior year of high school, but since 8th grade I made up my mind to move into agronomy and learn more about crops, weeds, and soils. Once in college I knew I was in the right program. Never once questioned if it was what I wanted to do.
Now my senior year of high school, I earned a scholarship through a local dairy. To receive this scholarship, I had to become and advocate for agriculture. An Agvocate. I spent the summer months before school started to prepare and learn about hot topics in agriculture. You know, GMO’s, sustainability, antibiotics in livestock, and the safety of our food. Throughout the school year, I was to give 9 elementary classroom presentations or projects, 1 high school classroom presentation, and 1 adult meeting presentation. I grew so much my senior year learning how to speak and present in front of a crowd and I think what made it so easy was it was topics I held close to my heart and found important. In any speech classes I had throughout my high school years, I always found a way to include agriculture and talk about it. Growing up in what I would consider a farming community, I still felt there was a lack of connection to agriculture. It was like no one wanted to talk about its importance and people just wanted to believe what some celebrity had to say (even when what they were say wasn’t true).
My biggest goal with my blog is to hopefully share my side of the agricultural world. I work first hand with it everyday at my job. I also have a front row seat for it because of my boyfriend’s family farm. I have had years of exposure from my own family’s hobby farm. My great-grandparents made a living off of farming (the farm that is still operating today by my mom’s uncle and cousin!) Farming and agriculture is all around me, and it’s all around you too! No matter what role you have or even if you don’t have any relation to the direct farm, you still depend on agriculture. One of my favorite sayings, “Remember, without farmers, you would be hungry, naked and sober!” Welcome to my story.
Farming, Fitness, and Food with Victoria 