WESTERN PRODUCER — Some farmers hum while they’re operating the combine.
Others listen to the hum of the machinery — and any unsettling sounds that shouldn’t be there.
Others listen to chatter on talk radio.
If it’s a ho-hum day on the fields, some bring up a podcast or audiobook to keep their thinking muscles flexing.
When it comes to what farmers listen to in the combine cab, there are all sorts of listening options. There are also all sorts of producers.
Some like the Zen simplicity of a cab filled with nothing but machine noise.
“I mostly just live in my head. Thinking about whatever. And it’s nice to hear the equipment,” farmer and analyst Brian Perillat replied when I asked a “what do you listen to?” question on Twitter.
Several farmers admitted to a similar love of just immersing themselves in the sounds of machinery.
A few highlighted the value of listening carefully to the equipment, to catch problems before the moving parts stop moving. Any other sounds could distract from that.
“I listen to the combine for problems and performance. It’s an integral part of being a responsible operator,” said Joe Widdup.
“Combines shouldn’t even have radios.”
Jerome Tetreault eschews radio as well.
“I never have a radio on when running these types of equipment. You become one with the machine and can sense any issues long before things stop,” said Tetreault.
A challenge some farmers brought up is the great soundproofing of the modern cab. Even if you’re trying to hear deep into the machine like you used to do, today you can’t hear much of what’s going inside the bowels of the machine. Perhaps the big iron companies like it that way: you aren’t tempted to monkey with the equipment they’ve made so hard to fix by yourself.
Radio is a popular listening choice with many farmers. It was the most picked in the little poll I ran. Farm radio stations are popular, as well as the mega stations out of the big cities.
Talk radio proved to be the favourite of many. The voice of John Gormley, of CKOM radio in Saskatoon, apparently accompanies many farmers as they drive up and down the fields.
Music on radio animates the day for many farmers, with some listening to contemporary hits and others the hits of the days before their backs hurt. Nobody admitted to dancing despite the general use of auto-steer.
I was pleased to hear that some farmers find they concentrate better when there’s some quiet background music. Those sounds occupy the parts of the brain that get distracted or frustrated with silence and allow the farmer to focus the other parts of his mind upon the workings of the massive machine he’s piloting across the fields.
That’s how I work, although I’m not piloting any equipment bigger than my laptop computer. I’ve always got Bloomberg radio or the BBC World Service playing in my office, unless I’m doing the tap-tap-tap of writing, in which case I switch to ambient music like that composed by Brian Eno, Gavin Bryars or streaming on the Bandcamp app. I concentrate better when the dusty corners of my mind are filled with pleasant sounds, rather than left quiet to be self-filled with nagging thoughts of all the other things I should or could be doing.
What do farmers listen to in their farm office? What fills their ears when hauling grain, cattle, feed or other products and inputs? In the kitchen, is the radio or streaming music playing?
Is the TV always on in the living room, providing ambient noise for the house? (My father did that, so he could concentrate while reading.) Are there the roars and sighs of sports coverage? Is there the angry self-righteousness of cable news? Do farmers put on the cable TV fire log channel? Does the weather channel provide endless reasons for farmers to fear for their crops?
Alas, I didn’t ask any follow-ups to my question about listening choices in the combine. Those mysteries about real farm life will remain mysteries to me for now.
