After a wet weekend, we couldn’t have ordered a nicer week this week weather-wise.  Temps in the mid 20’s and brisk SW winds worked to dry the ground very well this week. However a trek across the field at home to take some debris to the rock pile proved that we still need some drying to occur, but it will come.

Today off to gather some seed that was purchased from fellow farmers.  But in true accountant like style I am doing it as a back haul while taking a load of oats in that we grew last year to our local elevator – gotta make every trip count.  Our decision to grow 8 different crop/varieties has got me questioning it now.  It is going to mean a lot of clean outs this spring and a lot more juggling of supplies to the field.  Our cropping strategy though is to try and find a crop that not many others will grow and therefor might be more valuable and in higher demand.  We are still growing the traditional hard red wheat, 2 row malt barley, peas and canola but this year we have added soft white wheat (used for ethanol and some milling), 6 row barley (used for a Japanese tea market), some non GMO canola (I know I said it but their is a premium to grow it so we thought we try a bit) and of course,  good old itchy canary seed (it’s for the birds).

Our hope is to start doing some field prepping this week end, maybe harrow a field we are growing peas on and pick some rocks/stumps from a couple line fences we cleared over the last couple years.  With any luck we will be starting to seed sometime early to next week.  Our family has a bet on when we will start.  My guess is May 3, but Logan’s is not far behind at May 4.  Landon took the gamble and said it was going to be wet for a while and took the 15th.  I sure hope he is wrong, but with the weather and mother nature, you just never know!