At The Farm Gate

By Joanie Stiers

September 2010



A courtship with ‘power’ trips



Our minivan turned into the parking lot, slowed to a crawl and crept the length before turning around.

“Mom, why are we going slow?” our 4-year-old daughter asked.

“Because Grandpa and Dad are looking at tractors, honey,” I replied. I spoke above the chanting of our 2-year-old son. He rehearsed his verbal versions of “tractor” and “backhoe” as we plodded the length of the lot that displayed farm and construction equipment for sale. He pled, “More tractor!” as we neared the exit, so my husband turned around for another “power” trip.

Farmers love to look at equipment. The instinct keeps them in the know on price, available equipment and the inventory of particular dealers for the time when browsing leads to a purchase. Yet, you could call the browsing alone a hobby for some, one that includes magazines, catalogs, web-surfing and driving through lots at equipment dealerships on evenings and weekends to avoid salesmen. The desire to browse the tractor lot exemplifies how farming is as much a lifestyle as a business. Farm families commonly are so entrenched in the occupation that they talk about tractors, cattle and corn prices at family gatherings and on road trips away from the farm.

As a kid, I remember our occasional trips to town were marked by a chocolate-vanilla twist ice cream cone or windshield shopping. In other words, we detoured for a leisurely drive through a parking lot that contained tractors, combines, skid steers, utility vehicles or pickup trucks – anything with a potential application on the farm. Dad often stopped to step out for a better look. He returned, reviewed the specs and challenged my mom, brother and me to guess the price, if he found it listed on the window.

By adulthood, I already tolerated this behavior. My husband knew he found his potential wife when on dates he announced “romantic drives” through tractor lots, and I participated. The browsing occurs often in marriage, especially with the proximity to the row of pickup trucks at the local, small-town Chevrolet dealership. If only this enthusiasm carried into shopping at department and discount stores.

The equipment browsing continues at will in farmers’ homes at kitchen tables, office desks or next to recliners. Wireless laptops can provide unlimited browsing from those spaces, too. Yet, most farmers still subscribe to the traditional farm magazines and used equipment catalogs that contain pictures of tractors, combines and implements. The equipment images line the pages in equal-sized squares, yet the monotony even interests our toddler boy. In fact, we took an equipment catalog to church one day to reduce our 2-year-old son’s squirms. It inadvertently distracted the farmer in the neighboring pew.