As the end of February draws near there is a change in the wind in terms of farming.
       In general terms farmers tend to go into a somewhat dormant state from about the time Christmas decorations go up, until the calendar flips to March.
       Sure there are chores to do if you raise livestock, and at times grain to be delivered for grain farmers, but it is a time far enough removed from last season’s harvest, and spring seeding still far enough ahead they can exhale a little.
       In the days of my youth that meant curling in a lot of bonspiels in small towns in the area, those two sheet natural ice arena which made curling fun. Those same foundation building rinks in terms of the sport are sadly now generally lost. Cable television has given the game new life today, but something has been lost when rinks in places like Eldersley, McKague, and Crooked River are gone.
       But, I digress, not that somehow curling always seemed tied to rural communities in my mind.
       Given the pressures of weather, markets, cash-flow and finding time to sleep in the busy seasons, farmers need a chance to get into a period of cruise control.
       Then March nears, and things change, and if you are associated with farming at all, you can feel it in the air.
       March is the time of bull sales for cattle producers, a chance to head out and meet fellow cattlemen for a coffee and in some cases bid on new genetics.Â
       It is a time of farm meetings, in particular those crystal balling what lies ahead in terms of prices.
       Such intelligence gathering is important. While most farmers work longer term crop rotations, they have to maintain a level of flexibility within the planned framework to be able to adjust to opportunities. If indications are that lentils will go up significantly, some producers will pull acres earmarked for other crops to plant lentils.
       Farmers also head to their shops in March to ready equipment for seeding.
       The actual trip to the field is weeks away still, but as days lengthen the longer hours of sunshine seem to pull producers into action.
       Maybe it’s the effects of cabin fever, or just the antsy feeling which comes after months of routine, but farmers watch the calendar and wish for the snowmelt and spring’s arrival.
       I suppose we all feel the lure of spring. Golfers, whether fans of disc golf or ball golf, are out on the course before the last snow melts from the tree edges given a chance.
       Fishermen dream of opening day, and begin to clean gear and buy the latest hooks as thaw nears.
       Still, having grown up on a farm, and still in a position where I too head to farm meeting and bull sales, and even occasional farm auctions, I can say the urgency of wanting spring is more keenly felt by farmers sitting at the kitchen table watching the sun rise on a March morn, or lamenting the blowing snow of a March storm.
       Yes spring, how we all long for it as we deal with the last weeks of weather, it’s farmers whose desires seem keenest for it.
