Have you ever wondered what exactly farmers do all winter when they can’t be in the fields?
There is always work to be done on a farm. Always.
In our area, very few are just farmers. Most everybody is diversified. Meaning we have multiple enterprises on our farm. Examples: corn, soybeans, cover crops, hay, pasture, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, etc. Few have all of these, but many have several of these.
This list is just a few of the things that farmers/ranchers do during the winter.
1. Make seed decisions for next spring planting.
2. Spread fertilizer on pasture, hay ground and crop fields to ensure the plants have the nutrients next spring.
3. Repair problem areas in the fields. For example, ditches that were created during the growing season. When there is a crop growing, we don’t want to tear it up fixing problems so we wait until the crops come out.
4. Trimming/cutting unwanted trees around crop ground and in pastures.
5. Hauling grain that was stored on farm during harvest to the elevator.
6. Shop work. Fixing, repair, maintaining everything that got neglected during the busy seasons. Preparing equipment to be ready to go when needed. Creating and building new things.
7. Feeding and checking cattle. Winter often means extra protein needed for the cows to stay healthy. It also means frozen water. Daly trips to the cattle becomes a thing.
8. Calving normally happens or at least starts before being able to get back in the fields.
9. Working the fall calves.
10. Some ranchers finish their calves completely out ready to go to the harvest facility. That means grinding corn, mixing feeds, scraping pens and putting bedding down continually.
11. Meetings and appointments. Most organizations farmers are a part of have their annual meetings in the winter time. All the appointments: tax, financial, seed, fertilizer, insurance, etc.
12. Doing their wife’s to do list that didn’t get accomplished during busy seasons. I’m just kidding. That’s a lie. At least at our house. That never gets done.
13. And my favorite, with the time change there is more time in the evenings to simply be together to dream, cook and rest.
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~Matt & Kelsey