It’s Spring Seeding Time

The world of agriculture has changed immensely during the lifetime of most Ontario farmers. The rate of change continues to accelerate. Information comes instantly through the Internet. Field operations occur with guidance provided by a myriad of monitors, and by satellites. Crop varieties and hybrids contain new genes transferred from other species, using biotechnology. Technology for pest control changes rapidly. Government policies have become as important to farming practices and farm income as tractors. And farmers have become a small percentage of the Canadian population – even in rural communities.

But despite all of this, some things in agriculture remain the same, just as they have for centuries – at least eight centuries, in the case of corn farming in Ontario, and at least eighty centuries for all of agriculture. One of these unchanged things is spring seeding.

For despite the whirring of computer drives or high-tech genetics, or communications which can circle the earth in milliseconds, the smell of the soil in springtime is the same as always. So too is its feel, as tens of thousands of Ontario farmers roll it through their fingers – perhaps several times per day – trying to decide if the ground is “ready.” If tillage or planting begins too early, the penalty can be the sight of pathetic-looking crops for the rest of the growing season. But delay can mean lower yields, greater chance of frost damage at the end of the season, and the possibility that the crop won’t even get planted before the next rain storm arrives.

Farmers check the springtime soil and the sky, just as their ancestors did for millennia before.

The problems of the past seasons are gone. It’s a fresh start. There’s no reason not to expect record crop yields in the season to follow.

The respite can be short-lived, perhaps ending in a scant two weeks or less, as the worries begin about plants not emerging as quickly, or as uniformly, or as completely, as they should. And then come the weeds – usually those problems which were there last year – but sometimes, new weed problems as well. Herbicides may fail. “Rescue” operations are needed. Added costs. Blown budgets. And sometimes the rescue measures fail too.

In the weeks to follow, there will likely be more. Perhaps it will be too wet or too windy to get herbicides sprayed at the proper stage. There may be difficulties in getting side-dressed nitrogen applied on time. And then comes the long-summer stretch, when blue skies are watched daily for signs of rain-bearing clouds...or, alternatively, for a break in the rain clouds so that flooded fields can drain.

The weather is never perfect. It’s always too wet or too dry. Weeds, insects and disease take their toll. The crop stand may be too thick or thin. A crop variety may not perform as promised. A lot can go wrong. Yield expectations often decline.

But for a few brief weeks in the spring, none of those restraints yet exist. The crop yield potential is high. And thoughts are focused on one single goal: how to get the crop in the ground on time.

Harvest time can also be a high. But it can also be a downer if crop yields and quality are poor. Springtime is almost always a plus.

The biggest problem with springtime is its brevity. Seasonal problems which follow come too soon.

But as farmers we should be eternally grateful...most professions have no spring at all.