Spring Planting on the Dairy Farm
Spring Planting on our Dairy Farm doesn’t just mean tractors and bags of corn. It means faith, trust and a positive report from the weather man.
Spring has sprung and us dairy farmers now find ourselves in early June which means the middle of growing season. Planting on our farm is by-far the busiest season here. Not only are we planting corn, alfalfa, and beans, but we are also planting a large vegetable garden, vine gardens and our newly expanded cut-flower bed.
Between our dairy cows, chickens, spring crops, raised beds, our fields, and our cut flower section you can say that we have our hands and our soil full!
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are at. That’s all we can actually do.
Mother nature is notoriously unpredictable which affects soil health, soil temperatures, soil nutrients, soil erosion … the list goes on. I love it when we have a nice solid run of days to work from sun up to sun down but weather conditions don’t always allow this steady pace. So, we practice patience and we adapt.
When it comes to spring planting, I don’t know how many times I told myself, ‘do what you can, with what you have, where you are at’- as my weed barrier is whipping up in the air out of control, and my torch won’t stay lit to burn the holes in to the barrier fabric. It has been beyond frustrating as we watch out the window at the torrential down pour that shut down our harvest of our triticale (our winter cover crop). My husband will stand at our kitchen sink, starring out the window watching the driving rain and practically spit with anger. I ask him “can you control this?”, His reply, “no, but it still makes me mad.”
As frustrating as it is to know we have hay cut, laying in the field or my brand new cut flower seeds are probably getting washed away in the flood, we can’t control what the weather does. We only pray that Someone bigger than us, has our backs and knows better than us, what the plan is. Also, it adds another layer of tough skin. Just like the last thing that sent us through a trial, we will get through this thing too.
We have grit and faith and golly we are farmers! We deal with the weathers in’s and out’s each and every year. Our lifestyle is committed to being flexible and hearty, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Now we pray for good weather, appropriate amounts of rain and a whole lot of faith to bring our harvest to full fruition this year.
Day in the life of a Dairy Farmer during Growing Season
What’s in a days work for a farmer? Each day comes with its own set of duties, projects, etc. With spring and summer being by far our busiest seasons on the farm, we divide and conquer as a family.
This video outlines an example of a typical day here on our farm. Though we complete different tasks, my husband and I both work from sunrise to sunset. This video shows him filling and dusting the corn planter and planting corn (this field was rotated from hay to corn). On the other hand, my day consisted of watering, planting, and placing flowers along with the help of the kids!
For an even better picture of life on the farm and what consumes our days, pop on over to my “What Does This Farmers Wife Do All Week, Anyways?”, “Field Meal Recipe Book”, and “Field Meal Essentials” blogs!
Spring Planting | His and Her Version Video:
Check out the products of our work here on the Farm:
Wedding Flowers : Celebrate your special day with our specialty cut wedding flowers, grown in Southeastern Minnesota by our family! We provide fresh bridal and bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, focal flower arrangements, wrist corsages, pinned corsages, and buckets of flowers.
Flower Subscription : Join our flower subscription and enjoy 6 weeks of fresh, seasonal flowers from our farm based in Lewiston (southeastern) Minnesota! This subscription starts when our flowers are blooming at the end of May/early June.
Drip Irrigation for Raised Beds : Drip Irrigation (also called trickle irrigation) is a process of watering plants. In my opinion, it is one of the best practices for home gardeners. We use this drip system in our raised garden beds which, due to them being in a garden frame above the ground, have a tougher time getting and maintaining nutrients and moisture.
Our Dairy Farm Tour : In this blog you can virtually tour our 5th generation dairy farm! Touring a dairy farm is a fun and educational way to see dairy cows up close and identify with the farmers who produce the wholesome dairy products your family enjoys.
Keep up with us through our blogs as we are in the full swing of summer!
HEARTY BUILDS
Building a Flipping Work Bench with FREE PLANS
LIFE ON THE FARM
How We Stay Organized | Living with Less | Purposeful Living
Learn to Sew! Free Simply Sewing Series
Farmhouse Bedroom Makeover | Spring Farm Prep
DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM HEARTY SOL
Making Sourdough | Everything You Need to Get Started
Making Banana Bread and Banana Bars
Our Family’s favorite Hot Cocoa Mix
Honey, Lemon, Ginger Tea and the Benefits
How to make your own Mozzarella Cheese
SEWING PROJECTS
Making your own Favorite Tank Top
Making a Waldorf Doll | Start to Finish instructions with Videos
Making a Flat-Bottom Zipper Pouch
Affiliate Disclosure & Content Disclaimer
This post may contain affiliate links from a paid sponsor, Amazon or other program. When you use these links to make a purchase I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows me to continue creating the content that you love. The content in this article is created for information only and based on my research and/or opinion.
Emily T.
DAILY INSPIRATION ON THE GRAM @hearty.sol
it's hip to be square!
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