Spring!

Looking out the window this morning, while there may not be snow, the green seems slow to come.

Besides daylight saving time (ugh!) spring here also means the return of irrigation water. Spring calving is about 1/2 over and Jeff has started delivering bulls.

Molly and a fair steer. 

 

 

 

One of my favorite parts about farming is that no two operations are the same. We are located in a fairly large irrigation project. Thanks to the mighty Columbia River a desert is transformed into an oasis.   Washington is second only to California in the variety of crops we grow. Our county fights for the top position in the state for total farm gate value. Yep, Ag is a big deal around here!

Over the years I've been blessed to meet and visit farmers from across the nation (& even a few around the world)! What sticks out the most? Everyone's passion for what they do. We feed the world! Each farm works with their set of conditions (climate, topography, soil, etc., etc., etc.) to make their farm work. Is a single operation perfect? Doubt it. Are we always striving to make it better? Absolutely! In our immediate area we are relatively small farmers. In other areas of this country we are huge. 

So? Well rather you milk 120 cows in the upper Midwest or 2000 in California we are all in this together! There aren't many of us left feeding the rest of America. Yes, it may look greener on the other side; the big guy or the little guy may not have the exact same concerns you do. But today we all need to take the time to tell our non-ag friends & family about what we do & why. Tell YOUR story, answer questions you are familiar with, introduce your non-farm circle to your (different) ag friends. 

Guess what? This coming week is National Ag Week! Commit to writing a quick story, posting a blog, sharing some pictures about what you do on your farm. See a fellow farmer's post/picture that is right on - share it! We are all in this together!