On a sunny, fall day junior Cade Grant and his family are out in their farm fields, breaking a sweat as they harvest corn and soybean.

“Every day, we’re starting about seven, six in the morning and we’re going till night,” Grant said. “Sometimes it could take all day. It just depends on what field we’re harvesting and where and when we’re harvesting.”

The long days out in the fields can be a challenge for Grant and his family, but the element of little rain during the year can make it even tougher.

“It’s definitely harder,” Grant said. “We do have special chemicals and stuff like that to help us if there’s not a lot of rain, but it definitely makes it a lot harder.”

These techniques are used to combat the lack of rain and keep the crops from dying, but when it comes to harvesting the crops, there are also tools used to make the job go faster.

“We use our combines,” Grant said. “There are different heads, obviously, for different types of crops. But for corn, you know, we use a certain type of head; for sorghum, we use a different type of head.”

The family history of farming has been a big thing for Grant, and he said loves getting to spend time with his family in the field.

“What I like about harvesting is definitely family,” Grant said. “My family’s been in agriculture for multiple generations, so being able to go out to the field and being able to be with my family, it’s a big part of the harvest.”

Grant hopes to carry on the family tradition, which has dated back generations.

“My family’s been [in agriculture] since about 1940 when my grandpa started, and my family’s been doing it ever since,” Grant said. “I want to continue that tradition.”