The Annual Plow Day…

For the past few years my Uncle has hosted a plow day at his farm in central Iowa, and this year was no different. Everyone readily admits that they aren’t plowing because they have to, but rather because they want to. While I realize the mold board plow isn’t really the greatest tool to be using anymore it does have it’s place, and doing these plow days are almost like doing an reenactment.

The fields where we plow are the fields that my Grandfather farmed (and plowed) and the tractors that my family uses at the plow day are Minneapolis Moline … just like my Grandfather used and sold. So, it is really about slowing down and appreciating our history … which is a very important thing to do. It is great to spend time with my family and the neighbors that have also farmed in the area for years. In fact the farming knowledge at these gatherings is almost intimidating.

We had a great day for plowing. It was cool, but there wasn’t any snow like last year so the plowing was easier and the crowd was bigger. There were plenty of Minneapolis Moline tractors there (most owned by my Uncle), a few John Deere, a few Farmall, a Cockshutt, and various other colors. I enjoyed hearing the sound of the tractors working under load and the men standing around eating and enjoying the fellowship of farmers. Last year I spent a lot of time taking pictures and shooting video for a little movie I made for my Uncle, but this year I spent most of the time plowing and didn’t take any pictures. Because of this I had to wait until my Uncle had a chance to send some pictures!

It was an enjoyable day and I encourage everyone to check out a local plow day around them. It is like experiencing a piece of history and celebrating the hard work of those that came before us. In case you are wondering I spent most of the day driving a Minneapolis Moline M5 with a three-bottom plow and a Minneapolis Moline M670 Super with a three-bottom flip over plow. The flip over plow is mounted on the three-point hitch and you just flip it over at the end of the pass and turn around so you don’t leave dead furrows or have to go in a big pattern. It was pretty fun!