[AT] A farmer's 24 hours....

[Grant Brians]

4PM the workers leave for home
4:53PM finishes the phone calls and bill paying needed to keep business
going
5:08PM determine lister won't hook up to tractor because workers have taken
pins to ranch 50 miles away
5:11PM determine only parts store still open says they have pins needed
5:16PM get pickup back from mechanics who were using it and put it in wrong
place
5:29PM and 58 seconds - pull into lot at parts store as they are putting up
chain
5:33PM determine they have wrong pins
5:37PM find the right pins in a different area of the store and explain to
YOUNG employees the differences and remark on how they cost twice the amount
at the tractor dealer 35 miles away
5:58PM connect implement and travel to back field
6PM the delivery truck comes back from delivering produce to a dock 40 miles
away
7PM the farmers market truck gets back
7:03PM finish adjusting the markers that mechanics did not
7:11PM finish helping her unload farmers market truck
7:35PM break marker on one side of lister and determine it was not correctly
installed
7:37PM continue listing using eyes and angle of tractor tire only
8:12PM lose third link bolt and break lister bottom!
8:20PM limp back to packing shed with tractor
8:30PM determine items mom has are not correct for application and start for
home
9:05PM finish making dinner out of leftovers and farm grown produce
9:32PM finish eating dinner (yum) breaking fast since 10:45AM
9:43PM bathe son, make beds that wife can't because of her back injuries
9:46PM start more accounting that could not finish earlier
10:03PM put son to bed because he needs daddy not mommy
10:15PM fall asleep from exhaustion
12:40AM clean up kitchen and put away accounting that could not get done
1:05AM go back to bed
3:30AM get up and dressed
3:48AM start work loading truck at packing shed after driving to ranch
5:40AM get forklift and start process of disconnecting broken lister
6AM workers show up
6:20AM everyone working and potato seed loaded in truck for planting in
field I listed in evening
6:45AM phone calls start from items that production foreman identified we
need
7:24AM finished seed inventory, determined we need to order seed from 4
vendors
7:26AM next piece of machinery breaks - diagnose what we can and cannot fix
and decide to continue using until it gets worse
8:10AM other lister (different bed sizes) breaks
8:15AM diagnose exact path to fix including purchase of new metal later in
morning
8:35AM mechanics show up, explain what to do and how, I already ordered
first metal we will need
9:20AM sales calls interrupted by potato planter breaking again
9:45AM get mechanic to remove the correct parts on planter
10:02AM determine broken part is an unavailable casting, call and order
remainder of new metal for lister #2 repair
10:10AM start working on CSA box paperwork that should have been done on
Monday because office person can't get to work - broken truck
10:13AM disc harrow has a problem employees tell me
10:17AM determine what parts are needed, decide to finish working in
expensive fertilizer anyway, make note to order parts in head
10:32AM tire store finally calls back and front tractor radials are
$1821-2137 for two! two phone calls later decide to purchase the $1821 ones
10:44AM call from customer asking for more produce and several calls with
their AP person to determine where the unpaid invoice status really is at
11:02AM irrigation supply house didn't call back with proper info, call them
again
11:08AM return to paperwork, deal with deliveries finally finish CSA
paperwork and deal with multiple phone calls at 11:47AM
11:49AM order disc parts
11:55AM third seed order of day
11:58AM deliver CSA boxes that were due at 11:30AM (complete stickers etc at
12:09PM)
12:21PM meet another seed salesman, consult on varieties and machinery
settings, handle three calls from wife and two customers, six phone calls
from employees, deliver to another customer, handle permit problem, go to
bank to take care of payroll money
2:57PM return to ranch 1, deal with porta-potty company problem
3:08PM show mechanics how to solve three issues, correct the not -picked up
piece of steel that supplier and employee did not call me on while I was
driving to first CSA delivery
3:14PM handle parts sales/delivery person and cut check to pay tractor
company bill
3:18PM solve 2 family problems
3:23PM handle two unpacked orders
3:28PM set schedule for tomorrow for production and picking foreman
3:35PM start payroll activities with 6 other activities
3:58PM complete payroll activity, W-2 for new employee
4PM realize restaurant orders for 7AM have not been received yet!


Condensed version.... I left out at least 10 activities. And this is APRIL.
There are moments I do think about when I farmed Hay or worked for a
technology company, oh but wait my days were pretty similar in
Technology....... Maybe I am just driven to solve problems.

          Grant Brians
          Hollister,California farmers of Vegetbles, Fruit, Nuts