Sometimes the most valuable memories from conferences come from time spent in hallways and lobbies between sessions. If you can spend time with one of the foremost leaders in Indiana agriculture in the past 50 years, that will certainly be true.

I happened upon Harry Pearson, Blackford County, in the lobby of the Grand Wayne Center during the Indiana Farm Bureau Convention in Fort Wayne in December. Pearson was president of Indiana Farm Bureau from 1987 through 2001. Now 86, he still lives on the farm and assists his son as much as possible.

Here’s a portion of the conversation I had with Pearson:

Harry, I still remember when you retired as Farm Bureau president. Can you guess how I remember? Probably because the staff went together and presented me with a restored Oliver tractor. They brought it right into the ballroom at the convention center in Indianapolis.

That’ s right. I am an old-tractor buff. Do you still have it? We sure do. It’s an Oliver 66. I wanted to drive it out of the convention center, but they would not let me. It was something about not being allowed to run an engine inside.

You were just talking farming with Nick and Julie Wenning of Greensburg, Ind., a few minutes ago. They no-till and use cover crops. What stands out to you about agriculture and farming today versus in earlier days? No-till and cover crops are two of the most important changes that occurred during my time in farming. We’ve been utilizing no-till since back in the ’80s.

Do you use cover crops? We do, but not all the time. We’re still learning about how to use them. As we go forward, I believe we will get better about knowing which cover crops to use in specific situations for certain benefits.

It seems like caring for the land has always been important to you. Dad instilled in me that your goal should be leaving the land in better shape than you found it. That’s what we’ve tried to do. In our part of the world, that means installing as much tile as you can to improve soil drainage.

I like old tractors, but they’re very important to you. Do you have a favorite old tractor story? My dad bought a couple Oliver tractors right after World War II. I learned to drive on one of them. He sold it in 1950 because he needed a tractor with live PTO for baling. Years later, in 1993, Dad and I were looking for older Oliver tractors. We saw one advertised for sale and went to look at it. As soon as I saw it, I whispered to Dad, “That’s your old tractor!” We brought it back home.

How did you know it was your dad’s old tractor? We had extended one of the control levels by adding on an extension, and sure enough, it was there. Plus, wooden cabs were a thing in our area after World War II. Someone made wooden cabs for that model. I quickly found the four holes that were drilled to mount the wooden cab. And it still had original tires — still has them today! They were made of synthetic rubber and were very hard.