I spend my week building a platform for farmers. This weekend I did something simpler. I took the family to a farm.
We went to Wightman Farms in Morristown, New Jersey. Red barn. Long rows of pumpkins out front. And a board on the wall that asks the only question that matters this time of year: How tall this fall?
The whole fall lineup
Wightman’s does fall the right way. Hayrides to the left. Corn maze to the right. Picnic area past the gate. The kids stood in front of that barn surrounded by more pumpkins than anybody needs, and everybody took a turn against the measuring board.
There was a pumpkin slingshot. I will not report the scores. There was roasted corn on the cob, eaten standing up, the way it should be. There were giant pumpkins and crates to sit on between them, and we sat.
Why it matters to me
Farms like Wightman’s are somebody’s whole operation. The pumpkins, the maze, the hayrides — that is a business, run by a family, on real land, with real work behind every bit of it.
That is easy to forget from behind a screen. It is not easy to forget standing in front of that barn.
FarmOps360 is being built for operations like this one, and bigger ones across the country. Days like this are the reminder of who the work is for.
Home before dark
We ended the day back home. The moon came up over the trees in the backyard. We lit the fire pit under the string lights and sat beneath the maples while the leaves came down.
No agenda. No screen. Just a good day, start to finish.
Get on the list
FarmOps360 isn’t live yet. We are building it in the open, and days like this one keep us honest about who it is for. Join the signup list to be first to know when we launch.