10/11/2026
Through My Pickle Jar Water Glass
An Autumn Look from Your Rural Farm Insurance Agent
There’s a certain time of year when summer starts packing its bags, fall begins moving into the neighborhood, and farmers start looking at the sky just a little differently.
The mornings get a little crisper, the evenings come a little sooner, and somewhere between the last green tomato and the first yellow leaf, you realize the seasons are changing whether you’re ready or not.
Around here, fall doesn’t just mean pumpkins on porches, flannel shirts, and a second cup of coffee. It means harvest is underway, combines are rolling, grain bins are filling, and farmers are watching the weather forecast like it’s the evening news, the stock market, and the preacher’s Sunday sermon all rolled into one.
And me? Well, I’m watching it all through my pickle jar water glass.
Now, before you go thinking I’ve lost my marbles, let me explain. There’s something comforting about an old pickle jar filled with ice water. It’s sturdy, dependable, and has probably seen more farm kitchen tables than some of us have seen family reunions. It doesn’t need to be fancy to do its job. It just needs to hold water.
Come to think of it, that’s not a bad philosophy for farming—or insurance, for that matter.
Summer has a way of keeping everybody busy. There are crops to tend, hay to put up, livestock to care for, fences to fix, and equipment that always seems to need attention right when you need it most. Farmers spend the summer working with the land, hoping for a little sunshine when they need it and a little rain when they don't.
Of course, the weather rarely asks our opinion.
Too much rain, and we're worrying about delayed planting or soggy fields. Too little, and we're wondering how long those crops can hold on. A windstorm rolls through, and suddenly we're checking barns, grain bins, roofs, and equipment.
Agriculture has always required a healthy dose of faith, a strong work ethic, and the ability to make a plan while knowing Mother Nature may have other ideas.
Then comes fall.
The fields begin to change color, the days grow shorter, and all that hard work starts coming together. There is something special about seeing a field ready for harvest. It represents months of early mornings, long days, expensive inputs, careful decisions, and plenty of prayers for good weather.
But harvest season also reminds us how much a farmer has riding on those fields.
A breakdown at the wrong time can throw off an entire schedule. A fire can turn a year's hard work into a devastating loss. A storm can damage buildings, equipment, or crops in a matter of minutes. And with machinery moving from field to field and down rural roads, there are plenty of opportunities for an ordinary day to become an extraordinary headache.
That's where a little planning can go a long way.
As a rural farm insurance agent, I know insurance isn't usually the first thing on anybody's mind when the corn is coming out of the field. Most folks are thinking about yields, grain prices, fuel bills, and whether the neighbor's hired hand is going to get that wagon out of the way before dark.
Still, fall is a good time to take a fresh look at the things that keep a farm running. Are the buildings and equipment insured for what they're worth today? Have there been changes to the operation? Is that new piece of machinery covered properly? Are the farm, home, and liability policies keeping up with the way life has changed?
A quick conversation today might prevent a much bigger headache tomorrow.
And while we're checking things off the list, let's remember that not every important thing on a farm comes with a policy number.
There's the family gathered around the kitchen table after a long day. There's the satisfaction of a job well done. There's the neighbor who shows up with a tractor when yours decides to quit. There's the quiet pride of carrying on a family tradition and the hope that the next generation will find just as much meaning in the land as the last one did.
Those things are worth protecting, too.
As summer gives way to fall, I think it's a good reminder that life on the farm is always changing. Prices rise and fall. Weather patterns surprise us. Equipment gets newer, buildings get older, and the kids who once rode along in the combine eventually get behind the wheel themselves.
We can't control every change, but we can prepare for some of them. We can look after what we've worked so hard to build, lend a hand when our neighbors need one, and remember to appreciate the good days while we're living them.
So, as I sit here looking out at the changing countryside, with my trusty pickle jar water glass close at hand, I say here's to the farmers bringing in the harvest, the families holding things together, and the rural communities that keep showing up for one another.
May your yields be strong, your machinery keep running, your grain stay dry, and your insurance agent never have to deliver bad news.
And if the wind blows the leaves into your yard, the pumpkins refuse to turn orange, or your favorite flannel shirt mysteriously shrinks over the summer, well, some things just aren't covered.
At least not by my policy.
Here's to a beautiful fall, a safe harvest, and a little country common sense.
And remember, around here, we don't need rose-colored glasses to appreciate the view.
Sometimes, all we need is a pickle jar full of ice water and a good look at the world we've been blessed to call home.
