Hard to work off the farm

The "slow" pace of winter months has been keeping me exceedingly busy lately. Between getting paper work in order for tax time, learning and repairing my new to me grain header, general repairs and maintenance I must find time to work a full time job. With todays warm weather it was like torture to read the odd tweet about other farmers using the good weather to get equipment ready. To make maters worse, the plant lost its computer network today, so it was a bit slow at times, those times I could have repaired the fuel leak on the tractor, but couldn't.

So this is when I scale back my grand plans to something more realistic under the heavy constraint of lost hours to another job. I need only concentrate on what must get done, a few weeks of work that must be done before I start to word the ground for spring planting.

I still have some room for a few more varieties of corn and soybeans, which will undoubtedly be very last minute, but my plans are in good shape otherwise. The late fall and warm weather has made a few things easier, but waiting for a good frost to get the driveway solid for trucking out grain has resulted in half last years crop still on the farm. The plus side, prices are making it worth my wait, at least until the next farm report comes out and makes some unrealistic claim to help all those funds who shorted grain and stand to loss big $$$.

But to ease my troubles, I booked a day off. So will I get all that maintenance done tomorrow? No. I will be off to the London Farm Show. Its easy to get caught up or overwhelmed, but you still need to dream, and what better place than a big show with lots of overpriced - oversized equipment.

My tweets with social media have made me a few...well friends, over the past months, and I expect to finally shake a few of their hands at the show. One way or another I am going to have a good time.

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Comment by Joe Dales on March 21, 2012 at 1:10pm: Hi Gus, Everyone seems to have to juggle different responsibilities, especially during the spring and fall..nice article. It was nice to meet you at the London Farm Show.

Have a safe spring planting season.

Take care,

Joe Dales

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