Move over, MacGyver. The farmers have arrived and could teach you a thing or two about duct tape and baler twine.
This was my exact thought when I looked at all the random stuff on the dash of our pickup and thought, “Why do we have all this stuff?” A lot of it is random, but then again our careers are, too. From aiding an animal and fixing machinery to getting a cut or needing a light bulb, you never know what helpful treasures you will find in a farm pickup. Duct tape and screwdrivers. Can’t go wrong.
Ask any farmer and they’ll tell you their pickup trucks become a part of them. I always joke, I am my boyfriend’s second-favorite girl, right after his old white pickup truck! There’s always something special about these trucks too — maybe the door handle doesn’t sit quite right, maybe the rearview mirror is hanging on with duct tape, the door probably doesn’t match, you gotta start it with a screwdriver, there are special kinds of manure smells, a mouse chewed through the seat, the list goes on. (Not that I would know … ahem … Haha!)
To have a little fun with this, I reached out to some other farmers to get the scoop on all the random funny things we can find in our trucks. Here are a few of my favorites:
Peterson Farm Brothers
The Kansas wheat and beef guys Peterson Farm Brothers show off their dusty dash with pliers, paper for notes, and a pencil. A hat, duct tape, tire plugs, a fence tester, phone charger, and various nuts and bolts are also there.
Minnesota Farm Living
One of my favorite pig farmers can fix anything with these tools! From waterers to fans to feeders in the hog barns to anything else that comes their way. Even hand cleaner and rags to tidy themselves up when finished.
Maker’s Long Acres
Well, the Johnson family definitely had me laughing the hardest! They told me a story of how they had to go pick up Grandma one day and had to decide which rig would be easier to “de-farm.” They finally chose Robert the red Ford dually. Hay hooks, three (maybe four) identifiable species of manure smells, fencing pliers, drink bottles, goat baby bottles, toddler toys, lots of junk mail, last season’s 4-H books (Hey, finally found them!), .22 long rifle, a crescent wrench to whack the solenoid because it doesn’t shut off after the key is off, vice grips for when the door handle falls off, duct tape, a bottle of wine, a broom, a newspaper, secret stash candy bars, syringes, hay string, roll of wire, lots of boots (very few matching pairs), lipstick (farmHER), rubberbands, gloves (latex, leather, winter — again very few actual matching pairs), a light bulb, a few hats, and a dog were just a few of the things that were tossed over the seat to the back to make room for Grammie. They thought about taking their other truck, but the wiring is shot, random windows open, seats move on their own, and it has to be started with a push button hidden under the dash. Ole Robert isn’t without faults though. Two windows and one door don’t open, the afore mentioned solenoid problem, and occasionally the steering wheel has to be shaken rather violently while turning the key to get that ignition to engage. Folks wonder why we don’t fix these things. Aside from all that glorious extra time on a farmer’s hands, we rather like our “anti-theft ” farmer style devices!
Oh man, that totally cracked me up. It appears as though farmers keep everything but the kitchen sink in their trucks!
Oh, wait.
The kitchen sink belongs to Farmer Tim. Seriously, Farmer Tim has a kitchen sink in the back of his truck!
“My father always said you can tell a good livestock farmer by how messy their truck and shed are. They spend all their time looking after their animals instead of cleaning up.” — Farmer Tim
The Canadian Dairyman travels between two farms and has to be prepared. He shared his truck dash here:
A pitchfork, random dirty sock, mail and bills he hasn’t had time to sort, coffee, wrenches, an air freshener/decoration since the truck cab is beyond freshening, spark plugs, oil, and egg cartons.
So there you have it. The most random things you can find in a pickup usually belong to a farmer! Do you have a messy farm pickup that tells a story?
Michelle Miller, the “Farm Babe,” is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, writer, and social media influencer and travels full time to advocate for agriculture. She comes from an Iowa-based row crop and livestock farming background and now resides on a timber farm in North Central Florida.
