I know, I know, I know. You work your tail off. Underpaid. Overworked. Long hours, lots of uncertainty, watching the market, buying farm equipment, selling or trading used equipment, worrying over the weather. I get it – it’s tough. Plus, getting up early is one of my all-time least favorite situations.

But if I had the opportunity to hop in a tractor or combine in the morning, I wouldn’t have to sit in my office and wonder why my beloved Minnesota Vikings have to let me down, one way or another, every stinkin’ year. I wouldn’t have to worry about meetings and figuring out what I haven’t done yet this week (because my work would be in the field in front of me – wide open spaces full crops ready to harvest or hay needing to be baled or cows needing to be tended to). I wouldn’t strain my eyes staring at my computer screen waiting for blogs to write themselves. There are no office meetings. No cubicle-mates. The light wouldn’t be hideous fluorescent flickering, but the wonderful light that only our sun can cast.

I could have the chickens I want to raise on a farm – I dream of farm fresh eggs every morning. Fargo, ND – where I live – won’t let you raise them within the city limits, which is understandable, but on a farm, you can do (pretty much) whatever you’d like. I’d have an excuse to buy the tractors that I work with every day and actually have a use for them. I could have that little piece of land with the great cover for pheasants and deer, maybe even a duck slough if I’m lucky!

But guess what: that job with the meetings and the cube mates is awfully rewarding. And challenging. And without it, I wouldn’t have the house in the city that I live in. I still get to drive tractors, combines and skid steers, as well as learn more about other equipment (I recently learned that the octopus-like hoses on an air drill feed seeds into the discs to put the seed directly into the ground – who’d have thought?) that helps farmers grow the crops and raise the animals that feed the world. I’ve met and get to interact with some really great farm folks thanks to the Titan Outlet Store’s social media outlets that were established before I came in and took them over.

I have a spot on a team, a winning team, and I feel lucky to be here. Someday, I’ll have a farm. It’ll probably be 20 minutes away from town, and I doubt I’ll have a need for any big machinery – but if I can have a garden and my chickens, I’ll be a happy camper. I’ll never make my living as a farmer, and I’ll always have a job in town, but if I can give back to agriculture what it’s given me (and everyone, actually), I’ll be more than satisfied.

-Al, Titan Outlet Store Team