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It seems we're all in a hurry these days. But driving is difficult and dangerous enough these days with people talking on cell phones, texting, listening to GPS voices, and kids watching DVDs or playing video games as they ride along. There is really no reason to take your life-or the lives of your passengers or of those in oncoming vehicles into your hands and try to make a dangerous pass of an SMV.

With harvest season coming upon us, farmers are eager to get out into their fields and start harvesting their corn and soybeans. One aspect of safety around farms applies to both city and rural folk alike - slow moving vehicles (SMVs). Just as with spring planting, farmers will be out driving large, lumbering equipment on rural roads. Sometimes, this can be frustrating to drivers in a hurry to reach their destination. But it's crucial for those driving behind SMVs to remain patient. Sight lines are not often clear on rural roads and passing an SMV can be extremely risky. It's best to just wait for the vehicle to reach its destination and make its turn, rather than attempt a dangerous pass into oncoming traffic.

McHenry County Farm Bureau would like to share these driving tips with motorists in an attempt to avoid accidents.

• Always be on the watch for farm equipment on rural roads.
• When you see machinery ahead, apply the brakes. In five seconds, a car traveling 55 mph will close the length of a football field on a combine traveling 15mph.
• Recognize the Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem, a reflective red and orange triangle mounted near the center of the rear of every piece of equipment designed to travel at low speeds. This is a warning to immediately slow down.
• Pay attention to the farmer's hand signals and flashing lights. Expect them to make wide left turns when they move to the right side of the road near intersections and field entrances.
• After passing, please leave plenty of space between you and machinery before you move back to the right lane.
• Only pass in safe, designated passing zones. Never assume the farmer knows you are behind the machinery or that you want to pass. If you can't see their mirrors they can't see you.
• If you can't pass, just enjoy the ride. Following at 20 mph for six minutes is the equivalent of waiting at two stoplights.
 

Please remember farmers are growing food for you and your family!

Tips for the Farmers
Share the road safely with motorists.

Do everything possible to alert motorists to the presence of your farm equipment and slow travel speed.
• Plan travel to avoid rush hours, bad weather, the busiest roads, and the time before daylight and after dark.
• Be obvious to motorists by proper use of reflective Slow Moving Vehicle emblems on any implement of husbandry operated on public roadways. It's the law!
• Use reflective marking tape and reflectors at the extremities of equipment.
• Turn on hazard lights mounted on farm equipment and turn off field work lights for all roadway travel.
• Install mirrors that are wide enough to see what is following you.
• Always use turn signals to indicate plans to turn in to fields and driveways.
• Be aware of traffic-oncoming, in front of you, and behind you.
• If road and shoulder conditions are safe, pull over temporarily to allow traffic to pass.
• Slow down on turns and curves. Check the traffic behind you.
• Minimize the width of equipment as much as possible. You may not interfere with traffic on an adjoining lane.
• When practical, truck larger equipment to the next location.

On the Thursday afternoon of one of the hottest, if not the hottest week, we’ve had all summer, I ventured out to a wheat field not far from Hebron IL. There I found the McHenry Farm Bureau President and our next McFarmer, Bruce Meier. He greeted me from the cab of a big John Deere combine. I joined him in the cab and we drove across the road and started combining the next field. As we went along, I learned that Bruce has served on the Farm Bureau board for nineteen years and is currently the President. He is married and has three children. 

                He graduated from Crystal Lake High school and attended MCC and Illinois State University. Growing up, his family was vegetable farmers and, in a good year, they had around 300 acres planted for production. As the cities developed, they moved their farm to Northern Illinois, in particular the Hebron area. Bruce’s operation has mainly crops, but they also have two show pigs for the county fair. This year they have planted 900 acres of corn, 200 acres of soybeans, and 113 of wheat. As I watched the wheat run through the combine, I noticed that the combine we were in was very different from the tractors I had seen earlier that week at Tractor Trek. This one was equipped with GPS, yield monitoring, and auto steer. All of these technologies help McFarmer Meier track and produce a better product for consumers.

                After I had learned a little about Bruce’s farm, I wanted to learn more about why Bruce farms.  When I asked him why he was a farmer, he said he enjoys being his own boss, but, most of all, he enjoys using his bare hands to produce something beneficial for so many people. He then told me that the best part of farming is setting your own hours and always doing something new. We talked about some of the things he has learned as a farmer; and the main lesson was a strong work ethic. I asked what he thinks is important for a beginner farmer to know, or advice he would give him or her. His response was that simple computer skills are going to be very important in the future as the use technology in the industry increases.

                As we were finishing up, I wanted to know just a little bit more about what some of the biggest changes he has seen over the last ten years.  He has seen better hybrids and improved technologies (GPS and yield monitors). My last question was what is he doing to prepare his operation for the future. Bruce plans to continue using the Internet, seminars and Farm Bureau tools to continuously learn to help his operation thrive.

                Everything about that Thursday was hot.  Despite the heat, I could tell that McFarmer Meier truly loves and enjoys what he does.  Thank you, McFarmer Meier!

For more pictures click here