The Woman Who Follows...

Why Does A Deere Have To Be Green?

Recently, while traveling north on Delaware SR 1, my attention was riveted to a passing flatbed trailer. Its cargo contained a tractor with a front loader; but it was unlike any tractor I have ever seen. It was blue! And not just any shade of blue; periwinkle blue! I wanted one. I had to have one! The idea of a pretty tractor made my mind run wild.

Suddenly, I thought of all the rural scenes I had observed all my life with nothing but green farm equipment. Green! Ugly, garish, bright John Deere green. And I found myself wondering, why? Why do all tractors in America have to be green?

What if a farmer had a periwinkle tractor and with it he pulled a disker in a beautiful complementary shade of red/orange? Or a baler in an analogous color, say celadon green? Or a magenta manure spreader??? Suddenly my vision of the countryside was changing rapidly.

And maybe, just maybe, what if these wonderfully colored pieces of farm equipment actually attracted women to this occupation? If you ask me, there are far too few women farmers. It seems to me that women have a natural instinct for animal husbandry and growing things. I’m sure there are so few in the field because their color choices are just down right sparse and ugly.

Look, I’ve prepared visual aids:

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

And is this the worst kind of stereotyping or what?

Come on! Put the woman behind the wheel and in colors that she likes! 

I mean, really?

Haha!