Farmers have tractors and tillers, shovels and hoes. But their most important tools are their hands.

No matter what the season is, their hands are what they need and use most. Their feet may carry them from barn to field, their backs may bend them to the earth or hold them upright in the sun. But it’s their hands that do the work and get the job done.

Year in, year out, hands grip tools, tie knots, sort seeds. Hands push tiny new plants into the soil, prune vines, harvest fruit. Hands connect their farmers to the soil.

When age dims sight and scars lips, hands are still there to shade eyes and bring water. Hands are the best of all tools, and the most loyal of all friends.