If you’ve ever talked to a farmer for more than five minutes, it’s likely the subject of weather has come up. For most folks, “nice day out” is just a filler. For a farmer, weather is everything. I alluded to this the other day when talking about wanting rain for the corn.
At the same time I needed it to stay dry until the hay was baled.
Well, my hay is in thanks to my son,
my nephew
my other nephew
and the custom baling of Eden Ridge Farms.
They had two tractors and rakes out there working hard to get it ready to be baled.
We got about 200 square bales, and I still have to go count the round bales. We’ll finish making my square bales with the next cutting. It’s already more round bales than I will need for the winter, so they will get sold.
I’m a happy camper, and I might go do a rain dance tonight. With cooperative weather, we’ll get one or two more cuttings. It’s no wonder farmers are always talking about the weather.
Beyond rain for crops to grow and dry weather for hay, I bet the weather impacts farming more than many people know. Our really warm (almost non-existent) winter will impact us all summer. My seed distributor has already sent out information on how much more likely we are to have pests in our corn and beans.
I’ve mentioned in a previous post about the negative impact its had on the fruit industry. With such warm temperatures, the trees all started blossoming early, and we had a normal freeze that destroyed much of the fruit. I’m lucky. I think only my plums were impacted. I know of one winery/vineyard that said they lost nearly 70% of their grape crop.
Finally, the strange weather impacts the animals. We typically have a long stretch of cold weather that kills bacteria and parasites. We didn’t have that this year. I had to start putting flea and tick meds on the cats and dogs in February. I’ve never had to do that before.
I’ve already had a conversation with a vet about the impact on animals. It’s likely to be a bad year for worms and bacteria. We could see a lot more infections and illnesses.
Along with parasites, it can impact the size of babies and the condition of the mother. An easy warm winter can cause a bigger baby. If the mother is overweight or under weight because of weather conditions, it will impact their ability to give birth and care for their baby.
There are many aspects of farming that the weather impacts. Next time you see a farmer and they start talking about the weather, it’s because the weather dictates their life. Look to the sky and what do you see?
Today I saw an angel sent to me by a wonderful friend. Thank you for your blessings and good wishes, Maryann.
Linking to Homestead Barn Hop.
Teresa
Eden Hills 