Talk to anyone who thinks about such things and you will probably hear that the autumn of 2024 has been unprecedented. The sun just never stopped shining. Instead of fighting mud, frost, and engines that need to be plugged in for the night, we were combining corn in shorts and t-shirts. 

As farmers, we LOVE this kind of harvest weather. Everything goes so much smoother when the sun shines and things don’t freeze overnight. We all go like mad, hoping to finish before the weather “turns” and we are fighting the elements again. When it doesn’t rain, that means lots of long days with no breaks in between.

Hopefully the only breaks that happen are mechanical failures and all the humans are able to catch enough rest to stay happy and healthy. I notice in myself… after about day 10, I have to focus a bit more to not miss that one little step that throws everything out of whack. When corn moves at a rate of 5000 bushels an hour through your system, keeping your head in the game is essential. 

In spite of our best efforts to maintain our equipment properly, things break, older equipment that may just be a little tired fails, and the unexpected happens. This year, Little Blue, my favourite truck that we use for hauling corn from the field, developed a leaky hydraulic seal on the hoist cylinder. This could be worked around, but is not ideal and we still had a lot of corn to hoist when it happened. 

I was in the combine thinking about Plan B. Knowing everyone is running like mad at this time of year to keep going, I felt a bit silly sending a few texts out to farmer friends on the off chance that someone might have a loaner so we could get a repair. It warmed my heart to see that within about half an hour, I had offers of three trucks, and someone to take a look at repairing Little Blue.  Farmers tend to be independent types – but when it comes down to it – nothing feels better than knowing there are people who have your back and are happy to help. 

We operate a GSI Top Dry drier, which I love, if you can apply that word to an inanimate object. One of the things I love about it is the service technician it comes with. It usually just runs the way it is supposed to. But one morning, just as we were hitting the halfway mark, the drier shut down with an unfamiliar error code. I texted the technician at 6:30 a.m. and by 8:00 a.m. the sensor was replaced and the technician was driving out the lane, with no down time. 

We also had a saggy hydro line that was a bit too saggy for our combine to pass under. I called Hydro One, and within three hours, the line was repaired and the poles extended so the lines were higher to prevent a similar episode next year. 

Contrast that with some of the other institutions that we also have to deal with. Over the past year, I have had the role of estate executor. Everyone who has had this job will tell you it is tiring, frustrating, and can seem never ending. Especially if you are dealing with grief over the loss of your loved one and carrying out your normal life duties. 

Yes – the government is slow and we wonder why things have to take so long with them, but my beef is with the bank. They make the government look like masters of efficiency.  I have had my frustrations with them over the years, so much so that we terminated a 50-year relationship and took our business down the street to the credit union. So yes, there is some history there. 

I sit in the combine thinking about the millions of bushels of crops that farmers move from fields across Ontario into bins - dried, conditioned, and stored – sometimes within the space of just a few weeks. There are a lot of wheels turning, a lot of humans involved, a lot of mechanical parts that can (and do) fail. Yet with a couple of texts we keep the whole thing going and proceeding, always trying to keep one step ahead of the weather. 

The bank? Not so much. I have been battling for over a year to access one account. Luckily I had paper statements and knew of its existence – or who knows what would have happened. We had to redo the probate paperwork because everyone on the bank’s end missed it. Unlike everyone else I deal with in my business life, I physically have to go to the local branch – talking over the phone is not an option, and calls are not returned. Being patient, as suggested, resulted in the whole thing “falling through the cracks”, as it was explained nonchalantly to me. I had to become the person who calls every day, and then just shows up with intentions to stay until the issue is resolved.

You may be thinking, “Oh Kate, come on … you’ve just had too many short nights and are feeling a little cranky.” I wondered that myself until I looked up the bank’s rating with the Better Business Bureau and read some online reviews. As one lawyer told me, banks are notorious for this stuff. I guess estate lawyers exist for good reason. 

Today, I am thankful for my neighbours, the skilled technicians who get us up and running again, all the people who keep the wheels turning behind the scenes, and everyone who understands the urgency we all feel to bring our crops home. 

So forgive me if I’m a bit cranky now knowing that Ontario farmers can harvest over 13 million metric tonnes of grain faster than a bank can upload one crucial document correctly. ◊