As I working on the farm this week, I came up with these few reasons why it’s hard being a woman on the farm. I told dad and he just rolled his eyes. When will he learn that I can be pretty, have feelings, be a girl, and still farm! 🙂
1.) Not only do we have chores to do outside, but we have chores to do inside. Sometimes after a long hard day on the farm you just want to crash, but you can’t. You have to make supper, finish some laundry, and pick up the house a little bit.
2.) Riding in the tractor is sometimes painful. When it gets to be bumpy, we need a little more extra support.
3.) We’re emotional. We have feelings. Sometimes men seem to get annoyed that we care for our animals so much and hate to see us cry. Well tough nuggies. We have feelings and sometimes we need to cry.
4.) Sometimes we literally have a pain in our side. (and it’s not our man) We don’t feel like planting corn, making hay, or grinding feed, but we have to. And boy is that a BIG have to when you’ve got a pain in your side.
5.) Our hair. Oh my gosh, our hair. It’s SUCH a pain. Even when we put it up, it’s still in our face or sticking to our neck. We’re not going to cut it like men’s hair, EVER, but sometimes we wish it was that short. We look like goofballs with a big blob of hair on the top our heads, but it’s for safety and temperature control.
6.) Tan lines. We can’t take our shirts off (and don’t you dare tell us that we can!!) like men can. We can either have AWESOME tanned arms or some great farmer’s tans. Not our stomachs or back though. And most of the time we have a great short line or no tan on our legs at all. Darn it.
7.) We have to decide which clothes can eventually go in the ‘chore clothes’ pile and which ones we want to stay in our ‘good clothes’ pile.
….These are just a few of my struggles on the farm. What are some of your struggles? Let me know!
Comments (29)
On the top of my list: sometimes you just have to ask for help. Not all things can be done alone, even though we wish they could! Love the list!
Oh don’t I know it! I try to do things on my own sometimes and then I didn’t do it up to standards! and thank you! It’s amazing what I can come up with in a tractor! 🙂
I so agree. The house is always the last on the list. Sometimes I call my mom but this year I’m getting in some professionals to help me go through one end to the other as soon as seeding is done.
It’s so much easier to be outside on nice days than inside cleaning the house! I wait for it to rain! 🙂
Oh my goodness can I relate to everyone of these!! Great job putting it all into words!
Thank you!
You forgot the outdoor bathroom issues! This could almost be it’s own post. 1. squatting in tall stubble or weeds is a pain. Seriously. 2. four legged lickers helping you… 3. the logistics of doing this in coveralls when it’s freezing outside… 4. Father in law driving his tractor over to see why your tractor isn’t moving…
This made me laugh, because they are all true. And then laughed again because the bathroom issue is big for me! Making sure no one can see, making sure you are fully hidden behind machinery, grass, hedgerow, and then making a swift recovery of clothing when you are hot and sweaty… not so easy!
And to add to the bathroom issue at least in my area is “How many hunters are lerking in the woods as I try to find a place out of site
Ok this made me laugh—especially with the follow up comments! It’s possibly the worst game of ‘hide and seek’ I’ve ever had to play. It’s not as bad in the summer I guess for me, but in the winter, UHHH, I scream if I hear someone. No way is anyone going to see that. …. and the time of the month—what a disaster. My dad found a tampon in the tractor the other day and told me to get it out of there ASAP and that isn’t an appropriate place to keep those and he doesn’t appreciate seeing them. Never met a man more afraid of a tampon than him. hahahaha
You don’t have to squat in the weeds.
http://www.wikihow.com/Pee-Standing-up-Without-a-Device
http://www.wikihow.com/Urinate-Standing-Up-as-a-Female
http://www.stand2pee.com
http://peezee.weebly.com/
That’s just plain wrong! hahah
All so true!! Sometimes just the mentality some people have that “a girl” farmer cant do things a male farmer can makes me mad. A few days ago we were chopping and I had a chain getting worn. The equipment dealer was on the way to the next field so i stopped in for a new chain. I told the guy behind the counter what chain I needed, and the first thing he asks me if my DAD was with to get it. I kindly told him I am driving the chopper, its outside, AND I am going to put that chain on MYSELF as soon as you give it to me! He could not believe it LOL!
That would have ticked me off. That has happened to me on occasion though. You stand your ground though girl–someday they’ll realize that ‘dad’ didn’t send us and we’re actually the one giving orders now! 😉
For me it’s being dumped on. Newset one – “Hey, why don’t you learn the new farm bill and take over the FSS sign ups and reporting”, on top of all the other responsibilities on and off the farm.
Sometimes being the woman is hard because you get stuck doing everything they don’t want to do. Take it as a compliment though—they trust you to do that stuff! That’s better than I can say!
Good list, Kelly! I can relate to all of them, but 1,2 and 5 top my list. I have to agree with the bathroom issue too. Honest issues that bring humor (sometimes after the fact) to farm/ranch wives that have experienced similar situations.
haha you bet!
I love these Kelly!!! They are so true! My downfall is not having the upper body strength to keep up with the boys, whether it’s carrying wood, throwing hay bales all day or wrestling calves to the ground to ear tag, makes it tough 🙂
haha well you just keep going girl! …. I always need help, but I try try try until I ALMOST get it! 🙂
I love the list its all so true
Thanks!
My biggest one is simply not being able to do things alone, and sometimes not at all. There are times when we just need a man’s strength, and I will admit to that!
Oh I understand completely! I always need that extra ‘push’!
I really enjoyed your list. I have an addition that may not be as much of an issue to some of you girls: the loneliness! We raise wheat (dryland) in the Oklahoma panhandle, & we are so remote. There aren’t many neighbors at all, & when its 40 miles to town, meeting a friend for lunch gets hard to accomplish. ( I’m sure I don’t have to add this, but) don’t get me wrong! I love being with my kids & I’m grateful to be farming, but it does get tough.
I can relate to this list. So many times I just need an extra person to help. But, if I’m not at the farm it takes several people to do something’s that I do all by myself.
I love this list. I read it when you first posted it and agreed completely with everything. Then it hit me yesterday while at work that I had something to add to your list! I spend my days showering in and out of hog wean to market facilities…and 9 times out of 10 there are no women’s clothing at finishing barns. I get it. Men mostly work at finishing barns because women have a hard time dragging out 300 pound dead pigs. But men also don’t have to wander around and work without a bra and underwear on! Talk about uncomfortable!
Love the post. I can relate. at the end of the day when I’m winding down and getting ready for bed, I always have hay and dust in my bra, that’s what I hate.
but I love having a big variety of boots, working gloves, safety glasses, and my pocket knives.
I LOVE my boots! I’m obsessed with them! 🙂
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