Our Rural Roots

Jennifer Campbell, Progressive Farmer Contributor

Nothing evokes my emotions as much as a smell, and I love the smell of farming.

Those big candle companies have been missing out for years. Apple, pumpkin, evergreen and sugar cookie scents are so predictable. Ocean Blossom, Farmers Market and Lemon Lavender only transport the consumer to make-believe bliss.

I have my own "real" agricultural scents in mind. Introducing ... "Seasons on the Farm Candle Collection."

"My collection" would include some untraditional scents appreciated by those of us who know what "fresh-from-the-farm" means.

The winter collection would waft from the livestock barn with the smell of a freshly bedded barn. Baby pigs on shavings or fresh feed from the bin with molasses will definitely be in my selections. Perhaps the oddest will be the aroma of a frozen cattle lot because I do love the smell of a cattle lot in the middle of the winter.

The spring assortment would obviously include freshly turned soil -- that smell will forever make my heart smile. I love wheat as a crop, and the smell of it maturing is like taking a breath of golden hope.

The summer collection would include the smell of newly mown hay and chopped silage. Is there anything sweeter than the fragrance of corn pollinating or the perfume of a much-needed rain coming in?

Still, I know the fall collection will contain my very favorites. Corn drying at the bin will glow at the centerpiece of offerings as it speaks right to my soul. There's the whiff of diesel exhaust on the first frosty morning. Surely, we can capture that indiscernible something that fills the air when you finally realize the weather has changed from summer to fall.

In my collection, these amazing candles will be made of soy and throw the aromas that make me love agriculture -- and leave out a few we won't mention.

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Editor's Note: Blogger Jennifer (Jent) Campbell can be found sniffing around her Indiana farm, where she writes a blog called Farm Wife Feeds (farmwifefeeds.com). Follow her on Twitter @plowwife and on the podcast @girlstalkag.

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