Old school buses get a new life on the farm

School buses: I think they get a bad rap. If you ever road the big, orange bus than you can probably share a story about your experience riding it to school, to a ball game or to some after-school activity.

Over the years, I've noticed repurposed school buses on farms and I've been surprised how many different ways they are used. I probably shouldn't be. Farmers are some of the most industrious people I've ever met in taking one piece of equipment and adapting it for another purpose. I think it's pretty cool that farmers find uses for things many people would send to the junkyard or scrap pile.

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One day I was talking to a local farmer about his use of school buses and he told me they worked great because anyone could drive them. I always thought you needed a special license, like a CDL (Commercial Drivers License — what the 18-wheeler drivers need) for school buses. Nope. I always thought school buses were 5-speed so you had to change gears. Nope. Turns out I could probably drive one. Not that I'm getting any ideas.

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Here are some photos I've snapped of school buses in agriculture action:

Carrying watermelons from the field to the packing house.

Carrying strawberries from the field to the storage building.

With a tank on the back to carry water to the field (not drinking water).

Going back to the field after carrying tobacco to be put in the barn.

I caught this one carrying a load of tobacco to be barned. I heard it coming, grabbed my camera and ran to my front yard, snapping the picture as I was running. That's why it's blurry. Or, it could be my photography skills.

Taking sweet potatoes from the field to the curing facility.

Taking workers to the field or to town for groceries. The front bus is for that. The back bus has a water tank on it. As a side note, many farms in our area use H2A workers, and as a part of that program are required to take them to the grocery store at least once per week so the workers can purchase groceries and other necessities.