A FAMILY FARMING TRADITION
Three generations of Dunns helping with potato harvest
Three generations of Dunns helping with potato harvest
As Cody Dunn climbs back into the tractor, his grandfather gives a quick assessment of the job he’s doing operating a potato windrower for WP Griffin Inc.
“Not too bad,” says Charlie Dunn. “He’s picking along. He’ll learn as he goes.”
At 69 years of age, Charlie has done just about all the jobs there are to do at this West Prince potato growing and packing operation. He’s driven a tractor for a harvester in the past and still helps with cultivating and trucking during the summer months. “Whatever comes,” he says. This fall, Charlie, a veteran of 55 harvests at Griffins, is driving a potato truck, delivering loads from the field to the warehouse.
He estimates this year’s harvest is about half-done.
“It’s getting better now,” he says, suggesting conditions were too dry starting out.
Timely rains have helped, but he said it would suit him fine if the rain stopped now, until the harvest is compete.
His son, Cory, Cody’s father, is on the farm, too, making for three generations of Dunns currently working for WP Griffin Inc.
“I never thought we’d ever see that day,” Charlie admits.
His brother, Wayne, is also driving a truck for the company, and their father, Merrill, had worked for the company’s founder, the late Wilfred P. Griffin.
This is Cory’s fourth year of fulltime work on the farm, but he’s been working “off and on” for the company since he was 19, and his familiarity with the company goes back 10 years before that. This year he’s driving a maintenance truck during the harvest, helping to make sure equipment remains operational
“I was here since I was nine years old,” he said. “I spent a lot of days sleeping in the truck. Dad would be driving and I’d be with him.”
His son, Cody, has had a similar start.
“I used to always just tag along and now, I guess, I just got into it,” he says.
The 19-year-old started working with Griffins in January. He helped with the spring planting but wasn’t driving any machinery then. This fall he is at the wheel of a tractor pulling a six-row windrower.
“I just tagged along with (father and grandfather), hauling potatoes in the fall. I used to sit in the passenger seat a lot.”
He said he had been looking forward to joining the farming operation for several years.
With a harvester picking up four rows plus the potatoes from a pair of six-row windrowers, a potato truck is only under the harvester’s boom for about four minutes.
“He would have seen a lot of equipment changes,” acknowledges Cory as he watches from his maintenance vehicle while Charlie pulls his potato truck up to the harvester.