What once was a chore for little Ava Pettlon has become a passion.

Junior Ava Pettlon has been helping on her family farm for the past eight years and has learned many valuable lessons along the way.

“I started my experience when I was five or six,” Pettlon said. “I mainly did the little things like closing the gates or carrying buckets across the yard.”

Since then, Pettlon has taken on many more responsibilities at the farm. 

“During harvest season right now I am driving tractors and loading and unloading earlage,” Pettlon said. “During year-round cattle work, we make sure the cows are healthy. If they need to be bedded down, we bed them down. [We] scrape and clean them and clean their waters out to make sure all cattle are drinking sanitary water. Making sure the waters are clean is very important for us and our cattle.”

Pettlon hasn’t been perfect throughout her eight years working, but she learns from her mistakes.

“When I was 14 years old, I was bringing bales back from the waterway, and I hit a big bump,” Pettlon said. “The bail flew all the way up in the air, and I flipped the skid loader.” 

 Pettlon has learned to stay more aware of her surroundings. 

“I know where all the big bumps are,” Pettlon said. “So, I try to avoid those.”

During harvest, Pettlon and her twin sister, Ella Pettlon (11), have been in charge of running wagons on the highways. Although running wagons is a simple task for her now, Pettlon originally struggled.

“My first year was kind of scary,” Pettlon said. “I was going into the driveway too fast, and the whole tractor turned, but I learned from that.”

Harvest season keeps Pettlon busy working from after school until nine at night. However, working with her family makes it easier. 

“Right now we have my dad, my mom, my sister, and then my three younger siblings who kind of just run around and learn,” Pettlon said. “My grandpa and grandma help a lot too. We have a reliable crew.”

With all of her experience on the farm, Pettlon isn’t positive she wants to be a farmer, but she sees herself having a future in agriculture. 

Pettlon plans on studying ag technology and helping others with modern technology. 

“I would work with Ag Leader devices that help guide where you’re going and what you’re doing with a tractor,” Pettlon said. “I can’t wait to return to the farm and educate my dad on the technology advancements I’ve learned!”