Farmers all around the country are in harvest mode. Harvesting our dryland corn was quick and smooth. Moving to the first field of sorghum, which was beautiful and looked ready to go, the moisture tested too high by a few percentage points.
The wait was frustrating. The days dragged on with a sprinkle of rain one day and others that weren’t hot or windy enough to dry the crop. Going back and forth in a combine can feel like time is dragging on, but cutting a load or two and then having to stop and try tomorrow, day after day, can feel excruciatingly slow.
Fall harvest often feels like a marathon lasting for months in comparison to the dozen or so days we spend sprinting through wheat harvest. In the fall, most farmers are harvesting several crops. Some crops are planted early, and others are double cropped behind a winter crop.
Dryland and irrigated versions of the same crops vary in yield potential, meaning different genetics, length of growing time and inputs. Shorter days and lower temperatures can cause crops to take longer to dry down. Some crops are better at waiting to be harvested than others. Switching equipment and coordinating help for all the different crops can be a logistical nightmare.
However, farmers are not always completely rational about the timing of field work. You really don’t see a lot of “keeping up with the Joneses” in equipment purchases and other materialistic items.
Farmers might get an idea or inspiration from a neighbor, but most are practical, independent thinkers, landing along the spectrum from brand loyalists to value seekers and from always having the newest equipment to getting all of the good possible out of a piece of equipment.
Farmers are not completely immune to needing to match what the neighbors are doing, though. Seeing a neighbor moving equipment to a field to plant sets off a mental sense of urgency to “keep up” with the actions of the neighborhood. One farmer can set off a domino effect that has every farmer in the area testing moisture and calling in harvest help.
They don’t want to get left behind, which is funny because the decision of when to harvest or plant is actually fairly important. Without the right soil temperature, forecast and moisture, a crop can fail to get established, and without the weather conditions and moisture levels you often sacrifice earning potential or even risk an elevator rejecting your crop.
There is great frustration in knowing you have a big job to do, getting all your preparations done and then not being able to do the work—yet. Getting the timing right is a lot of hurrying up to wait. Hurry up and wait is an accurate oxymoron, capturing the feeling of struggle when we temper our desire to move forward with knowledge that conditions aren’t quite right for you to succeed.
Harvest is a time when patience is needed in abundance. Farmers don’t mind long days, exposure to the elements and repetitive tasks. The real test of skill is shown through the ability to wait for the right moment to take action.
That’s the virtue—learning to wait, to find the right timing. In a world driven by productivity and instant gratification, patience is difficult but incredibly valuable. The next time you find yourself in a hurry up and wait moment, lean into the discomfort and take a moment to appreciate the pain and patience required for getting it right.
Jackie Mundt is a farmer and rancher from Pratt, Kansas.
