Snow Plow Substitution: Fall Week #6 – Dec. 3, 2025
Should a farmer miss the tractor in the winter, running a snow plow can be a nice substitute.
I quite like snow plowing, at least once I’ve suited myself up for the cold. (The transition can be difficult sometimes).
Similar to how crops need cultivation multiple times through their growing period (unless one wants to deal with challenging, tall weeds), a good snow requires multiple plowing events (unless one wants to deal with challenging, heavy snow banks). This last weekend’s snow required 3 plows…. once after the 2nd inch fell, once before it was too dark for me to see (around 3.5 inches), and once again in the morning after the bulk of it had fallen.
Just like tractor work, a careful spatial strategy is important both for efficiency and making sure no tires get stuck in places that are hard to get out of. I nerd out on this sort of thing. I’m much better at tractoring! I would stay I’m still working on perfecting my slippery plowing skills. (After all, not every winter presents opportunities to hone this skill.)
The sheer power of a snow plow mounted on a truck is a thing that inspires gratitude in me. I can spend upwards of 30 minutes hand-shoveling my sidewalk, porch steps, front of garage, in front of barn door, and the shed entrance. In the same amount of time, I can plow out my farm, Michael’s farm, and the neighbor’s quarter-mile driveway… often plowing myself to Michael’s house on his little used road. This equation of time, power and the gratitude I feel around it, is similar to how I feel about tractors. A potato harvester is a thing of magic compared to harvesting with a digging fork. The literal sweat on my brow when I have to hand dig the hoophouse for fall spinach – the hours and labor it takes – makes for immense gratitude as I watch Michael drive a single 500-foot tillage pass in the fields in under 3 minutes. Machines that move heavy things so humans don’t have to…. gratitude.
Sitting right next to my gratitude for these big powerful machines is my healthy fear for them. Metal always wins against anything softer…. flesh, plant matter, siding. Any person that works here knows that as a Cassie-ism. Metal always wins. The roar of power that accompanies these machines is a constant reminder to be careful. So much damage can happen so quickly.
When done safely and well, the plow is so satisfying. The diesel truck hums, the hand controls the hydraulics, and then there’s the boom and skid of a plow hitting the ground and pushing so much frozen water to the side. Satisfying. Like seeing the tractor spit out potatoes from under the ground, corn stalks turned to green mulch, or making the weeds around the broccoli disappear so easily… running these big machines is kind of awesome.
Ask me in February how I feel about plowing, and I’m likely to wax less poetic. But right now, I’m excited to be on this part of the cycle of farm life and seasonality… snow and all it brings with it!
May you enjoy the snow in your own way,
Farmer Cassie
