soybeans
It's that time of year again. After spending the winter cleaning, repairing, organizing, doing preventive maintenance, ordering seeds, planning, reviewing sales (and costs), and preparing for a new crop season, it is almost time to change gears.
As Henry likes to remind us, "If a farmer is truly blessed, there will still only be about 50-60 seasons to see the results.”
So, how do you prepare for your seasons?
Happy New Year to all of our customers, vendors, friends, family, acquaintances and new relationships yet to be! May 2018 be a blessed year!
Chores include taking soil samples to decide how much fertilizer to apply to the fields, preventive maintenance on equipment, organizing, cleaning, ordering supplies and budgeting. Whew! Some of these chores are similar to other industries, and some are very different. The colder days make us want to take cover in the shop, and the warmer days encourage us to enjoy the sunshine.
Now that the calendar says that Spring has arrived and we have had more than two days with temperatures in the 70s and 80s, the farm work will transition from upkeep, maintenance, repair, and cost estimating (not to mention taxes) to scouting the land, planning crops, fertilizing, and planting.
Yesterday my daughter and I took the dogs for a beautiful walk and enjoyed a visit to Sherando Lake. After quite a drive over what I can only describe as a crooked route over Campbell's Mountain, we were rewarded with what the locals have been enjoying all summer. The lake was beautiful, the temperature was perfect, and the atmosphere was wonderful. The smell of charcoal prepping for burgers drifted over the area, and the campground had quite a few smiling faces. My daughter noticed a red leaf on the trail that had recently fallen, and with these cool temperatures a little earlier than usual, I plan to squeeze as much into the rest of my summer as I can while the pumpkins are growing, the corn is getting taller, and the sod is taking root and staying green with the warm days, cool nights, and rain that has been coming down.
We really enjoyed this clean, friendly, beautiful facility on a cool early August afternoon in the mountains!