Maybe time to just sit back and watch the weeds grow around the water holes.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
No Crop In 2011?
Might this be the first year in 40 that I don't plant a crop? No, I'm not quite retiring yet but this flooding situation is almost a forced sabbatical from crop farming. After seeing this aerial photo and others of my farm, taken yesterday,I can see just how much worse the situation is. The little patches of bare ground are the high spots that will likely dry out and be workable in a little while. But the problem will be getting to them with heavy machinery through low, wet land that is just waiting to swallow a tractor and air seeder. Its not too late to plant, in fact I rarely do in April. But I'm normally out there raising a little dust by this time other years. This spring it will be a late start (whenever it happens), trying to catch up on field work that couldn't be finished last fall. Pre-working fields to try and eliminate the combine ruts, piling and burning flax straw, applying anhydrous and maybe then trying to plant something, if its not too late by that time.
Maybe time to just sit back and watch the weeds grow around the water holes.
Maybe time to just sit back and watch the weeds grow around the water holes.
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Well, the Bible talks about giving the land a rest every seven years. Maybe you can just get a job flipping burgers in town and start farming again next year!
ReplyDeleteRalph, you are not the only one. My no-till planting business is dead for this spring. We are approaching the point here where it is cheaper to summer fallow than it is to plant a crop that will fail. We know that first hand as I planted barley late last year and it was absolutely terrible.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we will have to do that bike tour just as some sort of fund raising venture. It beats a hunger strike.
I guess if I was an innovative free thinker I might get into the Seadoo renting business , or maybe sailboarding. Only problem is I can't swim and am deathly afraid of drowning. Good potential for irrigation, if we could find enough ground to irrigate that isn't already under water!
ReplyDeleteThe old timers used to say that we are only ever 3 weeks away from a drought in Sask. I'm starting to think we might have to revise that saying.