I don't think we're "getting away" with anything. I was born on a dairy farm and continue to farm today. The concerns expressed by Kay Dimick's letter on Oct. 25 are not new. As a child riding with my parents and later when I received a drivers license, it was viewed as common courtesy to pull over into a driveway or wide spot of the shoulder ands wait until the farm equipment (that we saw coming from a distance) had passed. At the point of pass there was always a smile and wave from both parties. Now, when meeting most vehicles while in a combine or tractor, few slow down and even fewer pull over as a courtesy. Many times I am met with a wave, usually a one-fingered wave.
As the number of farmers dwindles, the size of the farm equipment gets bigger. Farmers must use county and state road systems to get from field to field. As for escorts we're easily visible at up to 15 feet wide and 13 feet tall. Lights, flashers, luminescent slow-moving vehicles signs (speeds of about 20mph). We can't sneak up on anyone or appear from out of nowhere. This alone gives ample time for common courtesies. We use the space given us to pull over at the time given us.
All of Ms. Dimick's concerns are things that those of us who have lived our entire lives in the country consider to be part of, and accepted as, "country life". The smell, dust, seasonal noise, large machines and poor visibility at some corners is the "country," and is what it takes to produce the cheapest, safest and most bountiful food supply in the entire world.
I don't believe your life is in our hands, but your lifestyle may very well be.
