Inside Farming Life: Where Business and Family Meet
If you’ve spent any time on a farm in August, you know it’s a season of anticipation and intensity. The crops are ripening, the weather is watched like a hawk, and harvest prep kicks into high gear.
And while there’s no such thing as “time off” on a working farm this time of year, there is something that sets farm life apart: family isn’t separate from the work, it’s part of it.
Many Hands Make Light Work
On farms across the country, August means combines are being tuned, concaves are being replaced, bins are being checked, and parts are being ordered. But it’s not just the adults who should shoulder the load. Kids are in the shop, passing wrenches or sweeping floors. They’re in the truck, learning to haul grain or help scout fields. Some are heading to 4-H achievement days after doing chores, or checking cattle before jumping into school prep.
On family farms, the work is shared, and the lessons are lifelong. There’s no better classroom for grit, responsibility, and resilience than a harvest-ready yard. And there’s no substitute for the pride that comes from being part of something bigger than yourself, even at a young age.
For me, it was no different. I remember growing up on our family farm, where the line between chores and life was so blurry you didn’t really think about it; it was just what we did. Feeding the horses before or after school. Summers spent helping Grandpa build our new shop, driving a packer around in circles for days on end. Summers spent painting miles of fencing or splitting and stacking wood for the stove that heated our home all winter.
We picked rocks. We weeded the garden, which, to me, felt like it spanned an entire acre. We didn’t get out of the work, and truthfully, at the time, some of it I really disliked. But looking back, I wouldn’t trade any of it. Those jobs, the hard, repetitive, thankless ones, instilled a work ethic I carry with me every day. They taught me to show up, to follow through, to keep going even when you’d rather be doing anything else.
And now, as I raise my own family and build a business around supporting the ag community, I see how those values continue to show up in me, in our team, and in the customers we serve.
Work-Life Balance Looks Different Here
When we talk about work-life balance in agriculture, we’re not talking about logging off at 5 p.m. or heading to a beach for two weeks in the summer. Instead, it’s about finding the moments in between, a shared lunch on the tailgate, a sunset ride through the field, or a laugh over a grease-smeared t-shirt. It’s about making space for connection, even in the busiest seasons, and knowing that raising a family on the farm means they grow up learning not just how to work hard, but how to work together.
How Sunnybrook Supports You Through the Season
At Sunnybrook Combine Parts, we know this month is crunch time. You’re watching the calendar, checking the forecast, and doing everything you can to make sure your equipment and your people are ready. That’s why we’re stocked up on the parts that matter most, and we’re ready to support you if the unexpected happens.
And if your Sunnybrook components aren’t performing the way you hoped, we’re here to help troubleshoot your combine settings so you can hit the field with confidence. Because we believe that support means more than just selling parts, it means standing beside the people who rely on them.
Celebrate the Season and the People Behind It
As harvest approaches, we want to recognize the farm families who do it all… those who raise crops and raise kids in the same space, who take pride in their work and pass that pride down through generations.
You are what keeps this industry strong.
So if you’ve got a story to share, about a harvest first, a family tradition, or the way your crew works together, we’d love to hear it. The most important part of this work isn’t just the yield, it’s the people.
Wishing you a safe and successful start to harvest. We’re proud to stand with you.
