A farmer friend from Missouri taunted me last week with pictures of freshly worked fields ready to plant. A day later we were pummeled by blizzard conditions, leaving 6-8” of snow across our farms. There can only be one explanation for this weather discrepancy. Spring '25 has arrived in North Iowa.

The storm upended operations for a day. More significantly, the moisture was helpful and hints of a change in the dry pattern. The ten-day forecast predicts increasing chances of rain.

Spring field work preparation is nearly complete. Deon has been working on planters continuously since December and is almost finished with his last one. He has become our planter maintenance expert. A person who is equally skilled at operating and fixing knows where to look and what to replace. Deon is that man. At Pinicon, planters have an unlimited life expectancy.

Another project winding down includes rebuilding one of the spray tenders. Mitch and Caleb are replacing deck boards with oak planks procured from a local Amish sawmill. The freshly sawed boards still have that pungent, burnt oak sap aroma. I reminded M and C that if properly maintained, this is another unit with an unlimited life.

Organizational enhancement, aka “spring cleaning”, is the initiative where I take the lead. Alex, Brett, and Matt assist. We start with removing low priority and obsolete items, identify, label, and establish min/max quantities for stock items, determine space requirements, then arrange based on categorical similarities. Our goal is that someone who doesn't know the difference between a cultivator sweep and a brake chamber can look it up and find it stored in the designated location. We are close to making this a reality.

We expect to be putting seed in the ground in the next four weeks. Every day until then we are focused on preparation.

Our mission is to make the '25 growing season the safest and most productive ever. It may not be this year, but someday we'll set a new benchmark.

Hope springs eternal.

Jim

Return of the Spring