The farming game

By Cat Flack

Farming is a game. 

The first part of the game is waiting for the land to dry up enough so that you can get on it and get it ready for planting. There is manure to till in so it doesn’t burn your young plants, and trying to do this when the ground is soft is simply asking for disaster in the form of burying your tractor to the hubs… never goes over well with the head honcho – take it from me, I know. 

I didn’t bury a tractor but I did manage to get the chore truck tangled in hay windrows to the point that drive shaft would turn no more. I thought this was a common occurrence, but apparently it is not. Once the land has been planted, the second half of the game is hoping for rain so the ground is soft enough for the seeds to germinate and push their shoots through the earth. The rain that comes has to be just right, not too hard, but consistent enough to be of good measure.

The third part of the game is hoping that there is not a cold snap that will kill the young shoots off and be only worthy of plowing down as green fertilizer. On a small scale it is not such a big deal, but when you are dealing with a few hundred acres, the loss (not only crop wise, but monetarily) can be devastating. 

Oh yes, this farming is quite a game – a game of chance. Ask any well-“seasoned” farmer and they will wholeheartedly agree.

Here’s to a perfect season balanced with moisture, sunshine, gentle breezes and heat. After a winter like last year, I am sure that most farmers will want to stockpile to avoid any shortages… but that analogy is for the next article.