The 2018 farming season was another challenging one.
A prolonged harvest wears workers out. Even though it was a productive season, it was quite tiring and more stressful than usual. Farmers tend to live in next year country and we are already looking forward to a better growing season in 2019.
In the Nick of Time
We got off to cool start in the spring and once it decided to warm up, it sure did! Throughout the spring and summer there were prolonged periods of drought-like conditions, followed by just enough rain in just the nick of time. Because it was decided that we needed a few upgrades in our grain handling system and main workshop, we weren’t quite set up and ready for harvest. A few details got derailed such as the later than promised arrival of our new bins, which caused a delay in completing the proper set up of our grain dryer. But, like most business owners in a bind, interim solutions were found.
Would we Finish?
The nasty weather in September allowed Devin and Shane some time to get the grain dryer operating well enough to get through the season. That was something to be thankful for. But at times it looked and felt like we would never finish combining and have to get what was left of the crop off the field in the spring. This happens to many farmers, but so far, has not happened to us. Knock on wood…. We seriously wondered if this year would be the first!
A Further Prolonged Harvest
There were lots of late hours and lots of time off due to rain and buckets of snow and winter-like cold that just did not want to loosen its grip. Shane was finally able to get the canola finished on October 24 which is two to three weeks later than most years.
Even after all of that, we still did not know if the harvest was complete. There were still 130 acres of fava beans left in the field. They were just not ready to combine even after a hard frost, which usually does the trick. Now in December, they are still in the field and will remain there until spring. One of our neighbors may be able to use them for feed, but it is more likely that they will be worked into the soil.
Even though we did not get all of the crop off of the field, we are beginning to recover and have since moved on to other things. We are sure hoping that next year we will not have to face another prolonged harvest!
What would people do if it wasn’t for hard-working, dedicated farmers like yourselves?
Well done! Thank you for sharing.
And thanks for all you do for society.
Awww! Thanks so much, Donna! Hopefully we will get better at providing healthier foods as we learn more.
I sure enjoy reading your updates and hearing how things go from year to year. I can’t wait to hear how you are implementing all the things you are learning and the improvements it makes to your ability to grow and harvest amazing foods!
Thank y ou so much for your great comments, Claudine! I sure hope it all works out and gets us away from chemical farming, which is the goal. Hope you and your family are doing great!