Better Farming - October 2016

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Better Farming

October 2016

worked on the farm for more than 40

years.

If there’s a downside to farming,

she says, it would be the dismissive

attitude she often experiences because

of her gender, such as people arriving

at the farm and asking to speak to the

man of the business.

“Gender inequality is so ingrained,

both men and women maybe aren’t

even aware or realize they are con-

tributing to the problem,” she says.

“It is there in many tiny ways,

especially in language. Sometimes I

think if people are made aware, that

can go a long way to making things

better.”

Describe your role on your farm operation?

This is the first year that my dad did

not do any planting at all. We have

one full-time employee (Ken) and

then we have another fellow that we

employ as well as needed. I’ll operate;

I’ll run equipment. I don’t handle

that. Dad and I discuss things when

we’re making decisions, but I’m

taking on more of that too.

Hours you work per week?

When I worked in the pig barn, that

would have been much easier to

answer, but now, just because when

it’s cropping you’re so intense for part

of a year and then it’s not so busy.

Hours a day on a cell phone?

I don’t talk on the phone very much,

actually. Ken and I would text one

another when we’re trying to coordi-

nate when I’m in the field in the

combine and he’s in the truck. We

would probably text more than we

would talk on the phone.

What about your smartphone?

If I am out in the field having an

issue, I can pull up my operator’s

manual for the piece of equipment

I’m driving and download it into the

phone. I have a handy level on my

phone for trying to get the equipment

working properly. I can look up the

weather; I can look up the markets; I

can make trades when I need to. Yes,

it’s quite, I would say it’s a necessary

piece of equipment now.

Sometimes I take pictures. I take a

lot of pictures – if there are weeds I

don’t know or insect damage, things

like that. I’ll take pictures of the

variety labels when I’m planting so

I’m making sure that I have the right

variety when I’m entering (the

information).

I enter it actually in the computer

on the planter then transfer it to the

desktop after planting. We can then

generate planting maps that include

dates, planting rates, etc. Before

harvest I transfer the data to the

combine. Then when I'm combining, I

can see how the varieties are yielding.

This year was especially interesting

because we were trying different seed

treatments – I’m looking forward to

seeing how they turned out.

But we also keep paper copies. I

just want to be extra sure when I enter

it in the computer on the planter that

heights very well. I’m not climbing to

the top of the silo.

I do quite a bit of record keeping. I

try to keep really detailed records as

far as what we’re spraying. I work on

the cost of production; I do all that. I

do all the data entry on the financial

side. (Until she retired a few years

ago, Procter’s mother, Elizabeth, did

all the books). As well as analysis of

the accounts; Dad and I go over it all

together.

Any kind of hiring/firing, I do

‘Gender inequality is so

ingrained, both men and

women maybe aren’t

even aware or realize

they are contributing to

the problem.’

Thank You, Barbara! For years the pages of this magazine have been laid out with care by Barbara Sushycki . After an admirable career in graphic design, Barbara is retiring with this edition of Better Farming. Barbara is a rare talent in magazine design, but what also sets her apart is her serenity in the face of deadline challenges, and her composed, positive approach to everyone with whom she worked. Our team will truly miss you, Barb. Here’s wishing you and your husband Paul, a retirement filled with good times, great health, and enjoyable travels.