At the age of nine I drove my first tractor. It was the 4440 Quad Range John Deere. At two wheel drive and about one hundred and thirty-five horsepower, it was our most complicated tractor to drive. Two brakes, one clutch, two gear shifters, and an idler; it sounds complicated just to imagine it. My twelve year old brother, Tanner, was very good at driving because of his many experiences with the tractors. He was my mentor and he taught me many important things about driving the tractor. My dads’ goals for us that summer was to have us both running and operating tractors in our cow lots and the fields; this is also where I had learned how to drive it. With the ability to drive a tractor, I could help him out on the farm not only with the cows, but also with the fields. That summer changed my farming experiences forever and I could not have been happier.

The tractors were one thing, but the bobcats I was very skilled with and I could do almost anything with them. We hooked our manure spreader up: first was the hitch, then the PTO or power turn on, and finally hydraulic hoses. I walked while Tanner drove the tractor to the cow lot. We had our manure bucket already on the bobcat so I hopped in and fired it up. We had our fields full of crops that summer so we had to pile up the old cow manure onto piles so the cows wouldn't be bothered with it. Bucket after bucket, I had loaded the manure into the spreader like I had done previous summers. I would fill the spreader, pack it done, and add more manure until the spreader was plump full. Using this method we could maximize our time by limiting the amount of loads that we had to spread throughout the field Finally I was done and it was time for me to sit behind the wheel of the big green tractor.
I crawled into the tractor where my brother sat off to the side. I shuffled into the main man seat and boy did that feel good! Tanner started to explain how to run the tractor. I was brand new to driving and his directions sounded jumbled and rushed. I asked him to slow down and repeat the directions.

“Push the brakes in. No not one, Both! Now push the clutch all the way in. Put the right shifter in B because A is too slow” he said with a grin.

I looked at him puzzled and asked him “What about this left shifter; why is there two numbers on the bottom, a N in the middle, and two numbers on top?”
“The N means neutral and the two numbers on the bottom are lower speeds and the two on top are faster” he replied.
I said “ ohh ok! How do you shift into them?”

He replied “The first speed to the second you just push the shifter. The second one to the third one on top you have to push the clutch in to shift to. For the higher gears, the third to the fourth you just push the lever to like in the beginning, but remember keep the idle up, the little push lever to make the engine turn faster, or else the tractor will shut off one you and you have start over.”

My head was spinning on the inside trying to understand all this stuff. I just replied with “Ok.” I started moving the levers, first take it out of park and into B. Take the other lever out of neutral and into fourth. I told Tanner I was starting out a little faster than he told me to. I let the brakes and clutch out, and I completely forgetting about the idler that was as low as it could go. The tractor grunted and leaped forward before immediately cutting off the roaring engine.

I slammed the brakes and clutch down screaming “ What happened?!”

Tanner replied with a hysterical tone “ You forgot about the idler! The engine cut off because there was too much movement and not enough throttle!”

After Tanner said that I felt embarrassed, learning to drive the big green tractor was much harder than I thought it would be. I was determined to learn how to make the machine work so I sat tall in my chair and I was ready to try again 

I glared at the tractor in anger and confusion. I put it back into park and proceeded to fire up the tractor. I then did as Tanner told me to do and put the tractor into B2 and idled the tractor up. I then let off the brakes and clutch and she moved forward with pride; I was ecstatic! I was driving the tractor! I thought to myself “Clutch; B3” was the new gear I was in. Pushing the left lever into fourth gear; the same gear that troubled me just minutes ago, B4. We moved down the field road and into the field where we had to spread the manure. Pushing on the hydraulic hose lever the back door of the spreader opened. I slowed the idle and turned the PTO on. The manure started flying! I was thinking to myself how much of a pro I am at this even tho it was my first load. Watching the tractor operate under my own command was a dream come true! When I had gotten back, I ran to my mom and told her all about it and that same smile I had when the tractor started moving, never left my face for the rest of the day.
You can do anything you want with courage and dedication like I had when I learned to drive my very first tractor. I killed the tractor immediately, but I did not give up and learned to drive it that day. Now to this day, I am the main manure hauler on our farm; especially in the spring and fall when it gets busy. All because of courage and dedication eight years ago I accomplished a big goal of mine which was to drive a tractor.