Our Rural Roots

Jennifer Campbell, Contributor

I have been the main grain cart operator for 29 harvests. I love the cart, the challenge of filling the trucks just right and keeping the combine moving. But, how I've longed to be in the seat of that combine.

I just wanted to give it a shot, to know what it felt like to run the machine. And, I wanted to be the one who planted the crop and the one to harvest it.

Season 30 offered me the chance. I climbed up the ladder and settled into the combine seat -- the throne of the field. I watched as the crop went into the combine head and as it filled the hopper in the window behind me. Then, I pushed the all-powerful button that simultaneously swung out the auger to unload the bounty and beckoned the grain cart.

I felt in control of the world, or the show ... even if it was just one 35-acre field. It was a feeling of pure accomplishment. Then, I noticed the cart operator had spilled some grain, and suddenly, I wanted my spot back in that tractor.

I've taken too many pictures to count from the seat of that cart tractor. I've always wondered what those pictures would look like from the perspective of the combine seat.

I got that picture this year. It's beautiful, and I framed it. It hangs right next to one I took from the cart tractor.

When I gaze upon those photos, I am reminded that the grass may look greener on the other side of the fence, but it's probably just the perspective of the view. That's a lesson I'm determined to carry into this new year.

Every view through a dusty windshield is priceless, no matter the piece of equipment. Perspective is everything.

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-- Jennifer (Jent) Campbell finds her perspective and writes about it from an Indiana family farm. She also writes a blog called Farm Wife Feeds (https://farmwifefeeds.com/…). Follow her on Twitter @plowwife and on the podcast @girlstalkag

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