Jon Sparks, Tim Eischen and Nate Tucker recently enjoyed a free meal delivered to their field during harvest.
Submitted photo
GREENFIELD – Harvest is chaotic for the farmer, but Hancock County families work behind the scenes to make it as smooth as possible through hot meals, warm homes and plenty of emotional support.
For the Conner family of Greenfield, this time of year is both a one of celebration and of juggling hectic schedules.
“It’s chaos,” said Kandice Conner, a mom of two who supports her husband Kyle and his parents every harvest. “My husband works in town during the day and then comes home and farms. I have a feeling the days are going to get even longer when they start doing corn.”
Conner makes a home-cooked meal for her husband and in-laws daily, sometimes bringing it out to the field and other times making it available for pickup at home because it’s hard to tell when they’ll be done harvesting each day.
The crock pot is the best tool for food as she can set up the pork chops, chicken alfredo or soups in the morning and it’s ready whenever the family is. Juggling two preschoolers and a busy day, Conner will also often run errands for the family, such as picking up parts when something breaks down.
“It’s a good time of the year, but it also gets kind of crazy,” she said. “The goal will be done by Thanksgiving, but Mother Nature plays a huge factor into what happens every single day.”
Kash and Kinley Conner visited dad Kyle and grandpa Mike during a meal delivery to the field.
Submitted photos
Kandice Conner often makes a hot meal for her husband Kyle and his family during the harvest. The couple is pictured here in a photo from last year’s harvest with children Kash and Kinley.
Submitted photos
Chris Muegge, president of the Hancock County Farm Bureau, left, recently delivered meals to local farmers including Hans Cooley and Todd Fair.
Submitted photo
Bruce Beeker, Evan Divine, Gary Sparks and Rhonda Beeker were the recipients of a free meal recently in an effort to support farmers during harvest.
Submitted photo
People like Conner are vital to the farming community, said Lais McCartney, agriculture and natural resources educator for Purdue Extension – Hancock County. Those who work behind the scenes to support their family operations help reduce farm stress – a very real thing that comes from factors farmers can’t control, such as weather or supply chain issues for parts, she said.
“We have to support our farmers because they’re dealing with a lot of stress that’s out of their control, and it’s so important to have the community support them,” McCartney said. “They’re out there as long as the weather will allow them. They don’t get a water break or a lunch break, they’re out there trying to harvest that food for us while they can.”
While October was a great month for harvest – mostly dry – Chris Muegge said a lot of farmers would run 15 to 16 hours a day without a break.
“It’s nice to get harvest done and be done by Thanksgiving, which is the goal, but that’s a lot of physical stress, mental stress, family stress,” said Muegge, president of the Hancock County Farm Bureau. “At the end of the day, it is great because a lot of our farmers aren’t going to be stretched out ‘til Christmas getting harvest in, but it is stressful going day after day.”
That’s why Muegge and his peers at the Hancock County Farm Bureau wanted to show their support this year with meals delivered directly to the fields. They partnered with Leo’s Market and Maxwell Meats to deliver free food.
Muegge said he was grateful for the business support. Hancock County is traditionally an agricultural community, and while the county’s new comprehensive plan shows fewer acres for farm land in the future, Muegge said businesses are still happy to “go back to rural roots they have and let the farmers know they appreciate what they do and the long hours in the harvest.”
McCartney said it’s important for the community to remember how much the farmers are feeding the community: soybean oil is used in french fries, for example; corn is a great carbohydrate used in a lot of foods.
Community support and families that help out behind the scenes are important at the harvest and in the spring planting season as well.
“I’m just thankful that our community does surround farmers, and I want farmers to know just how much we appreciate all they do – farmers and their families,” she said.
