Unhinged Thoughts about going into the busy spring season!

Well spring has definitely arrived whether we are ready or not. For most farmers this time of year is one of the most anticipated. We prepare all winter for the upcoming season ahead. For example, shop projects that will prepare our equipment and cattle pregnancy testing and vaccinations. With all this anticipation, we thought we would share some of our unhinged thoughts rolling around in our brains!

1. Autonomous tractors. Yes you heard me. Agriculture companies are now rolling out self driving tractors. This is absolutely wild! There are so many questions about how this technology can possibly work for farmers, but a few of our skepticisms are:

   1. What size fields will this work on?

   2. How do you change fields? Can the tractor drive on the road? 

   3. Cost!!!!!

   4. In our opinion this is one of the least likely options to solve problems for farms. It just seems cool and will make us spend more money. 

2. We are over the war for land. In order to stay in business these days farms have to grow in land mass (renting or owning). Therefore, farms have to go into silent bidding wars with other farms in order to gain more ground to farm. We understand why this has happened in our industry, but it isn’t working anymore. All of our small farms are leaving and if they remain they require more land to produce enough money to sustain the farm. Incorporating the next generation in the farm has required farms to increase in size as well because the young farmer can’t just go out and purchase their own farm due to no ground available and the money it requires to start. This is definitely a problem our industry needs to tackle.

3. What a blessing cover crops have been to our farm. Being able to utilize these plant species has allowed our farm to graze more cattle in different seasons and they are working with us to increase our soil health. We love experimenting with different types and learning what each does for the soil and which ones the cattle like best!! We dug up some hairy vetch in our spring cover crop mix and the root system that was through the soil allowed us to easily break it apart with our hands into crumbs! 

4. April is for Anxiety, at least for farmers! The days are getting longer and warmer. We know the upcoming season is near. Basically most of April (this year) has been anticipate and wait. That is the hardest part of the job. We are really good at putting in the long hours and getting the work done, but the planning and preparation is a mental task to work through. For example, we are preparing our equipment for the hay silage chopping season. Here we are rushing to get our other tasks accomplished with the animals during winter months that we don’t always get the equipment out soon enough to know that it is ready. This stress causes us to rush getting equipment ready and then we wait for the weather to be fit to go. This messes with your mind and causes anxiety. We have found that the best way to keep the stress at bay is to communicate through it. When everyone is on the same page, we don’t have to wonder what is going on. We have also found that preparing you house and plans for upcoming meals is very helpful when entering the busy season. Taking the everyday task off your hands helps tremendously. For example, I premake breakfast sandwiches and freeze them for the busy mornings! 

5. Comparison is the thief of joy! This is especially true for all farmers around this time of year. If we see our neighbors out in the field we instantly feel the silent pressure to be doing the same thing. I think this aspect of farming brings a lot more anxiety to farmers than we would like to admit. For us, we are generally not out in the fields planting the corn and soybeans until our chopping work is done. We cannot compare our farms to others because we are not the same. Still, however, that does not remove any of the anxiety that comes with watching other farmers completing their work. 

6. Maintaining a close adult relationship with your siblings is hard! When we all have our own lives going on it is hard to make intentional times to hang out with your siblings. Before long, you might only see each other on holidays. This is one of the things we love about getting to work together on our meat business. It requires us to talk and communicate. It gives us all a common goal! It is definitely hard at times, but we think it is worth it. Our goal this year is to spend more quality time with our siblings and their families!! 

7. Finally, there is nothing better than watching an animal chew their cud! For them it is a sign of calmness and peace. When cattle are stressed, one of the first things that happens is they don’t chew their cud as much. We enjoy watching them feel that relaxed they are just chewing away! The sound is so peaceful when you hear the ground chewing together! I hope to maintain that piece most of the time during this growing season! 

May everyone have a blessed growing season and good luck!