The Most Hopeful Time of Year

There’s something almost sacred about spring planting. After months of planning, equipment maintenance, and watching the weather, we finally get to put seeds in the ground. Each one carries our hopes for the year ahead.

Soil Conditions: Finally Ready

We’ve been waiting for the soil to dry out enough for planting, and this week it finally happened. The old-timers have a saying: “When you can make a good mud ball that crumbles when you drop it, the soil’s ready.” Grandpa Bill still does this test every spring, even though we have fancy moisture meters now.

The soil temperature hit 55 degrees consistently this week - perfect for corn. The forecast shows a good planting window for the next 10 days, so we’re moving fast.

This Year’s Plan

Corn Fields (45 acres):

• North field: 40 acres of field corn for feed
• Home field: 5 acres of sweet corn for the family and local sales

Soybean Fields (35 acres):

• South field: 25 acres rotating from last year’s corn
• West field: 10 acres (the experimental field where we try new varieties)

Cover Crops:

• Winter rye on 15 acres to improve soil health
• Crimson clover on 8 acres for nitrogen fixation

The Ritual of Planting

Dad fires up the John Deere 4440 at first light. It’s the same tractor Great-Grandpa Joe bought in 1978, and it still runs like a dream. The planter behind it is newer - a 6-row unit that can plant corn or soybeans with just a few adjustments.

I follow behind in the pickup, carrying extra seed, tools, and the thermos of coffee that keeps us going. Mom drives out at lunch with sandwiches and updates on the weather forecast.

There’s a rhythm to planting that gets in your blood. The steady sound of the tractor, the precision of the rows, the satisfaction of watching the field transform from brown stubble to neat lines of possibility.

What We’re Planting This Year

Corn Varieties:

• Pioneer 1151AM for the main crop (proven performer in our soil)
• Silver Queen sweet corn for the family plot
• A test plot of drought-resistant variety (climate change preparation)

Soybean Varieties:

• Asgrow AG2035 for most acres (great yields last year)
• A new variety from the university extension for the test plot

The Science and the Art

Modern farming is a blend of high-tech precision and old-fashioned intuition. Our planter has GPS guidance and variable rate seeding, but we still stop to dig up seeds and check planting depth by hand.

The GPS ensures our rows are perfectly straight and properly spaced. The variable rate technology plants more seeds in the good spots and fewer in the problem areas. But experience tells us when the soil feels right, when the moisture is perfect, when it’s time to plant.

Weather Watching

Every farmer becomes a meteorologist during planting season. We check three different weather apps, listen to the farm radio reports, and still step outside to “feel” the weather ourselves.

This week’s forecast looks good:

• Temperatures in the 60s and 70s
• Light rain on Thursday (perfect for germination)
• No frost warnings for the next two weeks

Hope in Every Row

By the end of this week, we’ll have 80 acres planted. That’s roughly 200,000 corn seeds and 150,000 soybean seeds in the ground. Each one represents hope - hope for good weather, hope for fair prices, hope for a successful harvest.

Farming is fundamentally an act of faith. You plant in spring with no guarantee of what fall will bring. But that’s also what makes it beautiful. Every year is a new chance, a fresh start, a clean slate.

Family Traditions

Little Emma (she’s 8 now) rode with Grandpa for the first few rounds, just like her dad did 30 years ago. She’s already asking when she can drive the tractor herself. “When you can reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel,” Grandpa tells her, same thing he told her dad.

These moments matter. They’re how farming knowledge passes from one generation to the next, how love for the land gets planted in young hearts.

Looking Forward

In about 10 days, if everything goes right, we’ll see the first green shoots breaking through the soil. There’s no feeling quite like it - the confirmation that life is stirring, that our work is paying off, that another growing season has begun.

For now, we plant. Row by row, field by field, seed by seed. Building this year’s harvest one kernel at a time.

Next week: Getting the garden ready and why we grow our own vegetables even though we’re grain farmers.