2021 Planting Is Complete

 It's been done for a few weeks. We breathe a sigh of relief. Planting season is always a lesson in stress management and optimism. A time to hope the weather cooperates and the machinery keeps all of its parts working. It's a time when a farmer remains optimistic that no matter when planting is complete, that those tiny seeds will germinate and grow into the feed that we need to nourish our cattle. It's a time to place total faith in God that the rain will come at the right time, and the sun will provide the warmth needed to make our crops grow.

This Spring made for a dry, dusty planting season. Even TV host, Mike Rowe, would consider this a "dirty job". I had the easy job. I was in charge of bringing the seed to the field when the planter was running on empty. You see, some of our cropland is five or more miles from our farm, so before John leaves to begin planting, he loads several bags of the seed corn into our van, and when my phone rings, I tear over to the field. 

I pop open the back hatch, Farmer John backs up to the van with the planter, opens the seed hoppers, rips open a bag, dumps it in the planter, closes the covers, and he's off and running again. All this in short order so he can get right back to planting.

Just as all of the seeds were nearly in the soil, the rain came. And I mean it came! But a week later, when the mud was nearly manageable, it was time to finish putting those little gold nuggets in the ground. 

Now all that's left is to stand back, watch it grow, and be optimistic that it's a great crop. Oh, and one more thing, pray.

Corny Cornpicker FInds A Home

I am revisiting John's book stash from when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. Corny Cornpicker Finds A Home is a book he received as a Christmas gift when he was a little boy. It tells the story of  a very sad cornpicker who wasn't treated very nicely, but finds happiness at the end.

After the reading, Farmer Sara takes us to see how corn is planted. Before we know it, fall harvest will be here and we can show you how it is harvested. But that's a story for another day!

#Plant18

Three weeks behind. If it were a typical spring, there would be more empty corn seed bags than full ones by now.

Farmers in our area of Minnesota are about three weeks behind where we normally are with planting. Our last big snowfall came much later than usual, delaying the beginning of planting season. So now we are playing catch-up.

The oats, peas, and barley have been planted and are starting to pop their heads through the soil. Today Farmer John was preparing the soil for corn planting in one field while...

Grandpa Roy was planting corn in another field. I am writing this blog post at 10:49 p.m. and Farmer John is still in the field. It's a crazy planting season!

2016, Gone But Not Forgotten

2016 Top Ten Most Viewed Blog Posts

My Barnyard View

If you haven't read them, click on the post title and you'll be there.

10. P Is For Planting I planted corn for the first time in our nearly 33 years of marriage. Here is how planting is done, from a rookies point of view.

9. G Is For Greek Yogurt What's the difference between Greek yogurt and traditional yogurt? Also find out why I almost named this blog, "G is for Good Gosh, Why Do We Farm?"

8. T Is For Teeth and Trivia Do cows bite? I get this question a lot. I also share other cow trivia in this blog post.

7. F Is For Farmer John There is a familiar saying, "If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life." I believe this is Farmer John's motto.

6. X, Y, Z, All Done After blogging every day during June Dairy Month, and as June Dairy Month draws to a close, I hope you have come to realize how passionate my family and I are about the farming lifestyle we live. I also included the top ten reasons I love dairy.

5. L Is For Local Did you know that milk travels from my farm to a grocery store within 48 hours? Also, I share how you can find out where the milk you buy comes from.

4. D Is For Dairy3ForMe A letter to Fair Oaks Elementary where I shared my story of life on a dairy farm to 437 students and their teachers. What is Dairy3ForMe and what did the students pledge to do?

3. I Is For Ice Cream (With Topping and History) I share a bit of family history about Farmer John's grandparents who farmed, and also Grandma Schaar's Butter Pecan Sauce recipe. Yummy!

2. Miss America, The Farm Girl I was invited to attend a gathering to meet Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell as she visited a local dairy farm. She's a farm girl too who shared her passion of "Healthy Children, Strong America."

1. Saying Goodbye To Mom I still cry each time I read this post. This was a tough year, as my Mom passed away just one week before I spent the next 14 days at the Minnesota State Fair fulfilling my duties as the State Dairy Princess Coordinator. Through the love and care from all of you, I  moved forward just as Mom would have wanted, as she also shared my dairy passion as a fellow farmer. It makes my heart smile to know that so many of you read my tribute to her, therefore putting this post as the most read of 2016. I am thankful to each of you!

Thank you for continuing to follow me and my family on our journey as we go through life as passionate and proud dairy farmers. 

PS- Have you checked out my other social media sites?