Eric in ND - 5/6/2013 10:57
ruzijobeans - 5/6/2013 11:12 What are your dealer's hours like this time of year? Is it too much to ask to have them open past noon on Saturdays during planting and harvest? Nobody has a problem taking prepay checks, but it would sure make a difference to me to have them open a little more.
Typical farmer. You are busy and everyone else should operate on your schedule.
(Where is that sarcasm font when you need it?
) Seriously though, I don’t blame people for not wanting to put in the hours you do during planting or harvest. They are at those jobs 5 or 6 days a week all year and have their personal schedules all set up. Sometimes they have to work around a spouses work schedule. It may be that Mrs. works a 3 to 11 shift somewhere and Mr. has to get home a 5:00 so they only need a sitter for a couple hours. You can argue that his overtime would pay the sitter but sometimes, especially in small towns, it is not a matter of money but a matter of not being able to find anyone interested in doing it. Some people also like to be able to plan activities without adding the old “I’ll go if I get done” or “if it rains” to the plan. I farmed for 21 years. When I was single I thought farming was great but after I got married, not so much. My wife worked an 8 to 5 job in town and during spring and fall, I only saw her and my kids on Sundays
(We almost always took Sundays off
). After a several years of that, I was sick of it started wanted to get out. I found a good paying 8 to 5 job also and rented out my land. I have no regrets. It took me a year or two to get used to having to be at work at the same time rain or shine but it didn’t take long for me to start enjoying my evenings free. I realize that breakdowns and surprises happen but pay attention to it for a while and you will probably notice that some of the people wanting seed
(especially seed, you can’t tell me you had no idea you might start seeding until need seed on Sunday afternoon
), fertilizer, etc. after hours are either there our of spite
(I’m working so you should be too
) or they failed to plan ahead. Another thing to remember is that your busy season starts when you start and ends when you finish. Theirs starts when the first person in the area hits the field and doesn’t end until the one that is constantly three weeks behind everyone else finally finishes. And by that time, the early ones are already in their next busy season. I didn’t mean for this to sound like a rant but just my observations. Eric in ND
Equip/fert. dealers
