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N.E. MO | Grew up on a farm in IL. Started driving pickup by myself at 6. Worked quite a bit of ground with a 4440 with saddle tanks putting down Treflan the spring I was 8. Hoed about 2500 acres of beans by myself with a 4440 and 30' rotary hoe that same summer and spent a little time on a 12 row cultivator. Started running the Versatiles that fall. Shelled quite a bit of corn with a 7720 when I was 11. Ran the 12 row planter quite a bit the next spring and then the 24 row a year or two later, no autosteer in those days, of course. One of the last times I got to see my grandpa before he died was when he came to visit and I was running the old D8 14A direct drive cable dozer when I was 12. I think that's about all he talked about till he passed away soon after. Spent more hours than I care to count on the Cat excavator from about 14 on. One thing Dad always taught me was safety first, and one of the few jobs he wouldn't let me do for a long time was putting on ammonia. After reading the other posts, I guess I was lucky. My Dad was the first one to jump all over me when I did something wrong, but was also the first on to praise me for a job well done. I'm trying to carry this on to my 4 year old son. It saddens me that he won't get to grow up on a farm and learn all the things I did at an early age. I'm not directly involved with farming much any more, but I do help an older gentleman out here who just won't giv'er up. I end up doing most of his field work (all of about 200 acres). My boy spent about 14 hours in the cab ripping with me one day last fall in an 8030 AC, and did real good and helped steer quite a bit. I just want him to grow up having respect for what farmers do. | |
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How old were you when your dad started you driving?
