Meetings, School, and Harvest, Oh My!

With autumn’s arrival, the glow of Friday night lights is heating up the hometown crowd, but our evening temperatures are fading with each passing week. It is a busy time of year with kids back in school, nightly studies, practice, fall meetings and other activities. At the same time, family farms across the Show Me State are rolling into harvest. Corn and soybean harvest is underway, and rice harvest is on the downhill slide.

Amid our busy schedules, it is easy to lose track of what should be at the top of our minds. September once again featured National Farm Safety and Health Week, a timely reminder during harvest that farm work can be dangerous. Accidents can happen anytime in agriculture, ranging from minor incidents to life-changing.

I think of my own families’ history, dating back to my grandparents on the farm in Texas County. The accident tally list, just off the top of my head, includes a torn tendon, dislocated elbow, a few rounds of stitches, an injured knee that required surgery, a rock to the noggin, a rattlesnake bite, and the most tragic, a severed limb.

Anyone who’s experienced or witnessed a farm accident knows it only takes a moment, but you can help lessen the risk by staying engaged. Have conversations with family and neighbors. Let someone know where you are and remember a rushed job can end in tragedy, including a simple drive on the highway. Farmers and ranchers share the roads with people who often have no idea why large farm equipment is delaying their arrival somewhere. That impatience is not just frustrating, it’s potentially dangerous. When people don’t know what they don’t know, they can easily make poor decisions that could impact more lives than their own. Instead of getting frustrated, I hope everyone can remember to have a little grace and understanding.

We are all guilty of being shortsighted when it comes to getting where we want to be. We want to see the kickoff, catch the opening bell, or arrive at our meeting on time. The fact is, we share the road with others who have their own priorities, not the least of which is getting home, safe, to their own family.  So, I close with a final hope we can find patience in those moments that try us and remember the safety of you and those around you is the most important goal.