Samantha Johnston – Johnston Farms
What is your farm title?
Farmer’s Wife (noun):
Definition– Wife of a farmer, most generally the number one “hired-hand”, without pay. Not afraid to get dirty, always has snacks, drinks and toilet paper in the back of her truck. Someone who mends fences as well as jeans.
See also: equipment mover, bean wagon driver, window washer, parts runner, secretary
Synonyms: Rancher’s Wife, Harvester’s Wife
OK are y’all caught up on the definition of a Farmer’s wife? It could go on for days. Typically, most farm wives maintain an off-the-farm career; but, in her spare time she is the helper of the farm.
As for myself, I am a full-time USDA Food Safety Inspector, I have a photography gig on the side, the Secretary of Grady County CattleWomen, in Oklahoma, and a mother to one human daughter, four dogs, a bottle calf (or two on occasion), one friendly tom cat and any stray animal that makes our farm its home. I am a FarmHER, RancHER, and HarvestHER
This life truly is the best life, I get to see our hard work pay off, sometimes it takes a good while but it is so worth it. Working up ground to sow the seeds, pray for rain, and have a crop to harvest. Some years are better than others, but in the end, we must remember that we are farming to feed the world. Not a much greater cause than that.
What do HarvestHER’s do in the off-season you ask? Well, there is SO much to do. Mine typically starts with a cleaning of the cab of the combine and wheat truck. It will need a good scrubbing, because you always end up with kernels of wheat, pieces of straw, a few empty water-bottles or Dr. Pepper cans and dust on everything. SO. MUCH. DUST. (Many thanks to the creator of Shop-Vac )
Next, I better get to organizing those scale tickets. The glovebox of the wheat truck or the semi is known as the “filing cabinet” during harvest. Scale tickets and elevator receipts are so important to maintain. After all, you need to know what that bottom line reads when all the fields are completed. I often find a few parts-house and local diner receipts in the mix as well.
Upon the completion of wheat harvest, it quickly becomes ground working season. If farmer doesn’t cut grass, hay or bale the wheat straw, it can begin as soon as the combine is cleaned, serviced and rolled into the barn. Out comes the four-wheel drive tractor, backing up to, hook onto the disc, chisel, or spring-tooth and the long nights of taking the tractor another round, commences.
Ground working season goes on forever it seems, sometimes it has to be worked two or three times to get all the big clods of dirt knocked down to a smooth finish. This is when I miss my farmer the most.
I look out the kitchen window at 2:30 a.m. and see the cloud of dust and a few light bars still shining. I send farmer a sweet text, “How’s it working up? Time for a rest?” He responds with a simple, “Good — just two more terraces.” 
Three a.m. and it is a combination of relief and excitement to hear the jingle of the keys landing on the kitchen table, the shower turning on and that sweet smell of Old Spice barrowing through the house. Farmer climbs into bed and is fast asleep telling me how tired he truly is from today’s chores.
“Can’t waste any daylight!”, he exclaims, and out the door Farmer goes, with a request to pick him up from the (insert homestead name here) Place in a few hours, once he gets tractor and disk moved to that field.
I’ve got just enough time to fold a few loads of laundry, play a puzzle or two with the mini HarvestHER and make some sandwiches to toss in the cooler, and off I go to the requested pick-up location.
Farmer sees me pull across the cattle guard, offers a friendly wave of acknowledgement, finishes the terrace he’s working under and drives over to let the tractor cool down. We pull down under the shade tree to enjoy a quick picnic and move on to the next task. These are some of my favorite moments.
It’s often said by cattlewomen and HarvestHER’s that some of the best dates are in the cab of a tractor. It holds true. Enjoy the time spent together. Sure we all like to be wined and dined every now and again, but the quality conversation you share while pulling that plow across the ground is all worthwhile.
So in conclusion, we all have multiple titles, wear many hats, and are just as busy when harvest comes to an end. Thanks for reading!
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".
