As farmers, we take a lot of pride in the notion of feeding the world — it’s an enormous responsibility that we know someone has to do. However, while farmers are busy this time of year harvesting food for animals and human consumers alike, it cannot go unnoticed that someone needs to feed the farmers, too, in order to keep them fueled during the early mornings, long days and late nights working out in the fields.
Consumers are often reminded this time of year to thank the farmers, but they should also be thanking the people who take the time every day to make sure that the farmers themselves are fed. No matter who that person is on each farm, the fact remains that there is someone working behind the scenes on every farm to grocery shop and prepare meals. When it comes to harvest, that often includes feeding extra help and offering additional travel-friendly and grab-n-go options.
My mom is this person for our farm. Although she doesn’t even like cooking, she is still our saving grace when it comes to having full bellies of delicious meals, easy snacks at the ready and often a sweet treat to fulfill those specific cravings. You can regularly stop in the house to smell mouthwatering pumpkin bars, apple crisp, chocolate chip cookies and the like fresh out of the oven during the busy months of harvest. She also pays attention to everyone’s likes and dislikes and ensures that her grandkids always have extra kid-friendly snacks at the ready while hanging out during busy times of fieldwork.
While our family almost always shuts down fieldwork to sit down and eat at the table for meals, I still have fond memories as a little girl of running meals out to my dad in the combine and catching others as they passed through the farm with loads of different commodities. I even delivered a few meals by horseback in my day, which added a little extra fun to the task.
No matter if meals are being delivered in the field, picked up from the local diner on the way through town, or served up family style around the dinner table, there is someone very special in every farmer’s corner who put love and care into making sure they aren’t hungry as they go about the day’s daunting task of feeding the rest of the world. Thank you to all our fellow farmers and to those who support them in many ways this harvest season!
The author dairy farms with her parents and brother near Hawkeye, Iowa. The family milks approximately 300 head of grade Holstein cows at Windsor Valley Dairy LLC — split half and half between a double-eight parallel milking parlor and four robotic milking units. In the spring of 2020, Molly decided to take a leap and fully embrace her love for the industry by returning full time to her family’s dairy.
