No Regrets

Harvest came to a standstill last week. Forecasted flurries over performed. By the time the Monday through Wednesday weather event departed, we had received 3-4 inches of wet snow. Normal highs for this week are around 40. Friday's high was 19.

I find this encouraging. Any sign of the planet resisting our unintended efforts to raise the global thermostat gives me hope we still have time to find a solution.

However, with a handful of fields left to pick and Thanksgiving just a few days away, we will not finish harvest before the holiday.

One of the recurring lectures to my business partners is, "If we have enough machinery to reach our targeted completion date 100% of the time, we are over equipped 85% of the time." 

Another well-worn Jimism, "We live in a world of limited resources."

And of course, there is that old classic, "The most meaningful action we can take to reduce our environmental impact is to reduce our consumption."

Or who could forget, "November is my (Jim's) favorite month for picking corn."   

At Pinicon there exists an ethic of maximizing the utilization, throughput, and life expectancy of our assets. The John Deere service techs who support our fleet will vouch for that. Getting the most with the least is our brand. 

We are aware of the risks and consequences of assuming we will have the entire month of November to complete harvest. I remember well the Halloween ice storm of '91. Mark and I did not finish picking until mid-December that year.

But those years are exceptions and we have learned to manage those situations. Our experience is that the impacts are more emotional than financial.  

So, despite occasionally but infrequently finding ourselves with crop in the field after Turkey Day, there is no soul searching or re-evaluation of our capacity in relation to workload.   

As the saying goes, "Dance with the one that brung ya." (Stay loyal to the principles that have enabled your success)

And despite having work to do, we will take time off to acknowledge our blessings this Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Jim