The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
2-23-2021 column
Weather has always been a driving force in the daily life on a farm. Our farm is no exception. We seem to live by the old adage..”make hay while the sun shines.” That’s great when the fields are green and growing, but what do you do when the sun shines in the winter? You haul manure! Our January thaw waited until mid-February to make its long anticipated arrival. The heifer lots and sheds were at maximum capacity. If we added any more bedding, the heifers would be able to walk among the rafters. (Ok, not that bad, but almost over the feed rail.) As soon as the sun’s warm rays penetrated the frozen pack in the young stock shed, the bobcat and spreader were in a constant state of motion.
Standing on the snow pack up at the bunk area, the heifers appear so tall and spectacular. Everyone starts to get excited with show prospects and dreams of Madison material as we watch the heifers grow right before our eyes. One by one, Al cleans out the six bays in our heifer shed. By the end of the day, our dreams of Madison are whittled away with the snowpack as the heifers return to a normal size.
We weren’t the only ones in the area cleaning sheds. The road to the fields became a well decorated parade route between us and the adjoining neighbors as we spread our loads across the barren fields. It almost felt like we were in the middle of a tight race with time. How long would the thaw last? How long would the frost hold us up? Would we be done before the next snow storm? In the end, we finished just in the nick of time. The frost held and the brunt of the snow storm missed us.
The latest storm dumped only 10 inches, but wild, swirling winds left drifts much higher around the yard. Luckily the snow was dry and fluffy and couldn’t support the weight of a calf. Some of the drifts were above the feed rail this time. Snow had to be pushed, shoveled and blown before we could even begin to think of feeding or outside chores. Luckily the kids were off from school for President’s Day. Many hands make light a heavy work load. Big tractors with snow blowers don’t hurt either.
When the kids were younger, snow days were their favorite school day. It meant no school and a race out the door to the bobcat to push snow around the yard. They always felt sad for their friends in town who had nothing to do on snow days except sit in their houses playing video games. They had no snow piles to build. No snow tunnels to dig. No king of the hill to play. As our kids have gotten older the thrill of driving the bobcat has lost some of its luster, but I think there is still a snowball fight or two left in them! Now snow days mean fewer days of summer vacation and extra chores.
The weather also dictates our social calendar. After working outside in the elements, it feels so good just to be toasty warm again but we need to get off the farm and mingle with other farmers and friends at meetings and banquets before we head out to the fields for another growing season.
Once the driveway was dug out, it was time to head south. The winter meeting/event season kicks off for us in central Minnesota with the St. Cloud Farm Show. We have been going to this show for way too many years. We can “remember the day” when different exhibitors were still in business. It amazes me how much things have changed and yet stay the same. Many of the exhibitors have their “spot”. Steve is still at the back wall, just with a different colored tractor. Lefty and Kevin are across the aisle from him. I think these two have been there since the beginning.
The feel of the show is not so much about making a sale, but in connecting with one another. I don’t know how many times I wrote my name, address and phone number on a piece of paper for a chance to win a special prize. Of course this means that many of the businesses will be reaching out to connect with me long after the show.
It was great to reconnect with some old friends. Leon and Diane cornered me at the cheese booth. Did I remember them? Of course! A June Dairy Month broadcast from their farm was my first experience in a dairy barn. They remembered me because I kept running into their pipeline. Leon told Mark they had to hang a towel over the pipeline as a warning sign for me to duck. He thought I would have a permanent mark across my forehead by the end of the broadcast.
Now that the social season is officially underway, it is time to connect with other friends and neighbors at coop dinners, semen meetings and breed conventions. It feels good to connect with other people who share similar experiences. Connecting reminds us that we’re not on this journey alone and that can keep us toasty warm inside on these cold winter days.
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As their 4 children pursue dairy careers off the farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their Minnesota farm. Natalie grew up in Stronghurst, the daughter of Becky and the late Larry Dowell.
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