The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
The flag has been dropped, the lights have changed from red to green and the race to the fields is on!? In one day the atmosphere in our area became charged with energy, excitement and anxiety as we rushed to the fields to start planting. We were tired of the warm-up laps around the fields with the bobcat and rock wagon digging up boulders in the abandoned hay field. The circles around the fields with the spreader with the winter bedding were becoming monotonous. We were ready to get something done.
With the change in weather from winter to actual spring temps and skies, Al headed out with the planter to seed down a couple of new hay fields. Mark was right behind him the next day with the corn planter. The fields closest to the road were planted first with a steady hand on the wheel to assure straight rows. We have no GPS steering system, so the pressure is on to stay awake while cruising down the fields, through valleys and over hills in a straight line to the end of the field.
Just as we were starting to pick up momentum with the planting, the yellow caution flag came out like a giant umbrella. Late-April-like showers rolled through the area and the planting progress came to a screeching halt. Even with sandier soils, we won’t be back in the fields for a few days.
I think something is out of whack with the timing this year. For the past several years we have started planting by the end of April and done by now. First cutting of hay was done by Memorial Day, regardless of when the date fell on the calendar. We have become so accustomed to getting things done earlier than normal that it has become the new normal.
When we were first married, I remember Mark planting corn in May wearing his winter coveralls, stocking hat and gloves. We didn’t have a cab on the planter tractor back then. The fresh air kept him wide awake and stiff by the end of the night when he would shut down for the day. Because he was outside in the weather, it sure didn’t feel like he was in the fields too early. But as we traded equipment and upgraded to a cab tractor, we seem to have lost that perspective. With the heater on high, it never feels too cold to be planting and hence pushes us to the fields earlier and earlier.
It appears this year the calendar and weather are trying to get back in sync. This isn’t the first time the calendar and weather have been out of whack. In 45 B.C., Roman emperor Julius Caesar developed a standard calendar based on the vernal equinox. Before this time, everyone had their own version of months, days and years. This became the standard calendar throughout the Roman Empire. It worked great until the next revision in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.
The motivation for the change was that the Julian calendar assumed the time between vernal equinoxes was 365.25 days, when in fact is was 11 minutes less. This error created the seasons and calendar to be off by 3 days every 4 centuries. By Pope Gregory’s time, Easter was not falling in the spring on the vernal equinox. He corrected the difference and the Gregorian calendar was accepted as the universal calendar by most of Europe. The last countries to accept the updated calendar were Russia and Greece. They waited until the 20th century and by then they had to drop 13 days from their calendar. Who would have thought that 11 minutes would make that much of a difference?
As the weather and calendar try to get back into sync, it creates a bit of a pressure cooker atmosphere for farmers. While crop farmers chomp at the bit to get back into the fields, once they do they don’t stop until they are done. With dairying, we almost have to find time to get into the fields. The field work has to fit around vet calls for DA’s, cows calving, picking rocks, prepping fields, fixing break downs and of course there are chores twice a day. Sometimes it feels like we barely get started and we have to quit to come home for chores.
If it is any consolation, I haven’t even put a single seed in my garden yet. Mark did get it worked before the rains, but now I’m waiting. I am waiting for it to dry out a bit so I’m not “mudding” in the potatoes and onions. I am also counting days on the calendar. I’m counting backwards from the county fair. I hate having to can beans, beets and other produce around county fair week. Once the weather clears and the green flag sends the race into high gear, remember to be careful out there. We want you to finish the race without any crashes.
-------------------- 5/11/2011
As their 4 children pursue dairy careers off the farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their Minnesota farm. Natalie grew up in Stronghurst, daughter of Becky and the late Larry Dowell.
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