I’m convinced that every farm grandpa out there has a “thing.” Something that when you see it, it instantly reminds you of them. My grandpa’s “thing” was Werther’s Original hard candies. As a kid, I’d anxiously wait for my grandpa to come up the farm driveway in his old pickup truck because I knew that when he saw me, he’d stop and give me a Werther’s Original. It was the perfect reward after spending a long, hard day out in the cottonseed pile and occasionally feeding a calf or two.
These Werther’s Originals were something so small that made a bad day a good one or a good day a great one. Granted, it didn’t take much to make 8-year-old me feel like I was on top of the world, but a caramel-flavored candy sure did the trick.
Farm grandpas seem to have that effect, though. Whatever looming problem exists is somehow magically fixed when they come driving up, or if it’s not, they at least make it seem that way. Farm grandpas are the best for that reason and for so many more.
As our dairy developed and my grandpa got older, he decided on a few tasks that were only his to complete. The two most notable ones were driving around his old yellow tractor and pushing in feed every day.
Since 1982 when my grandpa started Oliveira Dairy in Hilmar, Calif., he’s had this old yellow tractor. It’s seen decades of hard farm work, weathered several storms, and made it through a hay fire or two. Anytime my siblings, my cousins, or I wanted a ride in the scoop, we could always count on our grandpa to come driving up and take us a whole 10 feet from the silage pile to the cottonseed.
The old yellow tractor was occasionally traded out for the green one because of the attachment used to push in the feed. Every early morning and late afternoon, my grandpa was found where he loved to be, which was right next to the cows. It’s true that farmers don’t stop working, but farm grandpas never quit. Rain or shine, my farm grandpa could always be found outside doing what he loved.
Farm grandpas are truly the best. They’re never in a rush, always make things better, and are there for the improvement of the people and animals around them. You might have a farm grandpa you know that fits this description. I know mine is the best in my book, and I’m not just saying that because of the Werther’s Originals.
Morgan Oliveira is the 2024 Hoard’s Dairyman editorial intern. She grew up working on her family’s dairy farm near Hilmar, Calif. As a student at Cal Poly University, Oliveira is majoring in agriculture communications.
