Fall Harvest and Family: Meet the Mahans

By Sarah Mahan of This Farm Family's Life and Real Farmwives of America and Friends

Harvest is in full swing in southeastern Indiana.  The wet weather we experienced this spring resulted in a late planting season.   Harvest is a little behind schedule compared to the last three years in which we have managed to finish by Halloween.  However, I vividly remember several years when it was Thanksgiving or after before we finished.  We can’t control Mother Nature!

We farm roughly 900 acres of beans and 1000 acres of corn.  We are finished with bean harvest and are about halfway finished with corn.  My husband is the fifth generation to live and work on our family farm.  The family farm makes up about 350 of the 1900 acres. The corn is fairly wet this year so we have to dry it before we can take it to the grain elevator.

 Farmers put in long days around harvest season. My husband works about 16 hour days which means we don’t see him very much.  Sometimes that is hard when the kids are little, but we make it work.  I deliver lunch to the field every day.  Our youngest is always up for a little field work.

She likes to help Daddy as much as she can…

Our oldest daughter is now in school.  When she gets home sometimes we head out to the field once again and visit everyone.

She even gets to sneak in a combine ride with Grandma…

while her sister gets to ride in the tractor with Papaw…

and I get to go home and fold laundry in peace!!!

I hope you all are having a great harvest season!