The buddy seat

The buddy seat — the smaller, secondary seat within a tractor cab — is a simple yet fantastic addition to modern tractors. Farm kids these days have no idea how good they have it, with actual seats built into the cab of the tractor.

Buddy seats — or additional seats that can be installed in agricultural equipment — are perfect for date nights, daddy daycare and hauling extra workers to or from the field.

During the spring and fall, farmers put in a lot of hours. For those of us who have dated a farmer, this greatly limits date night options. When Jason and I were dating, we fixed that by taking advantage of the buddy seat. Many times, I rode in the combine or tractor with him simply because that is what worked. Neither of us was opinionated about what we should do; we just liked spending time together. And since I was living an hour away at the time, this just made sense.

I continued to ride in the combine now and then until we had our third child. While I could hold one or two little kids on my lap while Jason drove, three kids is far harder. Now, the kids keep their dad company in the tractor cab without me.

I recently was talking with another farm wife and mom, and she said she still rides in the cab with her husband because it is a quick and easy date night.

When I drive the tractor, I usually have at least one of the kids in the cab with me, too. Quite often, I bring one of the kids out to ride in the tractor when they do not want to go down for a nap and really do, in fact, need a nap. I do not know if it is the quiet hum of the engine or the slow and steady pace of the tractor, but just like riding in the car, it generally takes just 10-15 minutes, and the kids have fallen asleep.

I will also bring one of the kids out to ride in the tractor with their dad if I really need to get a project done around the house. Allison and Carson are old enough now that they can be useful and will do a task like coloring or watching a movie if I need to work on something for a while, but Madison is young enough that she still clings pretty closely to me. We keep a pillow or a spare jacket in a couple of the tractors in case the kids fall asleep and need a place to rest their heads so they don’t get bumped by the uneven ground. It is a win-win-win; the kids get a nap, Jason gets field work done and I get something accomplished.

When we were young, we had a car seat strapped inside the cab of one of our tractors. I personally do not remember sitting in that seat, but I can remember seeing it in the cab years later. I am sure there is photographic evidence that my brothers and I each had our turn riding in that seat. Otherwise, I can remember riding alongside Dad, squished between his seat and the fender, standing up. Farm kids these days have no idea how good they have it, with actual seats built into the cab of the tractor.

Buddy seats are not just for kids. I have been to a couple of demonstration days where you can test drive a tractor just like you would a car. A salesman or technician can sit in the buddy seat and talk about the features and benefits of driving the tractor while the potential customer drives the tractor.

Also, extra side-by-sides, skid loaders or tractors sometimes get left in the field. It is convenient when someone is already heading to the field to bring another person along so they can bring the last wagon back or drop something off. An additional person is also helpful when hooking up to wagons.

The buddy seat certainly is simple yet effective.