This Week In Ag #159
A lot can happen in a week.
That’s an inspiring lesson from this Holy Week. Sitting in church yesterday got me thinking: the same can be said for life on the farm. In just one week:
Seeds of corn, wheat and soybeans sprout and emerge above the soil surface (given adequate soil conditions).
Apple trees effectively pollinate.
Roots of corn seedlings grow a foot deep.
Pigs put on 15 pounds.
Migrating butterflies can travel 700 miles, that includes stops to pollinate crops along the way.
Farmers will plant their entire corn crop (that’s their plan and what they set up to do).
A hen will lay a half-dozen eggs.
Corn will add two full leaves (during vegetative growth stages).
Determinate bean varieties can ripen all of their fruit.
Calves can be successfully weaned, using a fence line method where mothers can see their calves (that’s how we did it).
A single honeybee will pollinate over 35,000 flowers (now you know where the saying “busy as a bee” comes from!)
Faith, like farming, reminds us that so much can happen in just a week. Let’s remind ourselves this week to take the time to rejoice.
Related Posts
This Week in Ag #73
Growing up on the farm, we’d often eat our mid-day meal (what we referred to as dinner, but most of the world now calls lunch) at my grandparents’ house, which was the farm’s home base. It was a planned break from planting, harvesting, chore work, mowing, baling hay or one of dozens of other never-ending
Corn Records Without Rewards
Corn Records Without Rewards U.S. corn growers are smashing records in acreage and yield, but instead of golden returns, many are facing low prices and soaring input costs. Record bushels don’t always mean record profits.
“Trust but Verify”: China’s New Soybean Deal
China’s renewed commitment to purchase millions of tons of U.S. soybeans has farm country buzzing with optimism. But as past trade deals have shown, promises from Beijing don’t always sprout into reality.
