Fresh Picked: Farm Life in the Winter

Pencil meets paper during this slower time on the farm

By Amy Nelson | Photos by Joseph L. Murphy

You’ve probably heard the phrase “where the rubber meets the road.” When I think of winter on the farm, I think of a similar analogy – it’s where the pencil meets the paper.

Winter is the slowest time of year on the farm, where most things are tucked in and resting for the upcoming growing season.

While these winter days may not seem like farmers are doing much outside, these can be some of the most productive and important days of the year inside the office. It’s the time to do some serious budgeting. To be successful, farmers need to be master budgeters, which takes time to sit down and figure out a detailed, interwoven plan.

I go through a series of questions to formulate a budget forecast for the next growing season. What was planted in a field last year? What do I plan to plant next year? What will it cost to plant the seed, fertilize the field, and control insects and weeds? Next, I must determine where I plan to store my grain or if I will need to sell it straight out of the field. Then, there is estimating the cost of production time – what are my break-even costs for each bushel of corn and soybeans?

With these questions answered and data in hand, I have a target to begin looking at my marketing plan. For farmers, “marketing” means selling the grain – this lingo drives my husband who is a marketing major crazy.

I always love it when my kids ask, “Why do we need to do this math work anyway?” I’m never at a loss for farming examples to provide!

Winter is also meeting season. This year, I’ll be gathering virtually with other farmers to hear reports from agronomists and state extension members about the last growing season and predictions for the next one. I will also learn about new techniques and technologies others used, which might help me be more productive or efficient on my farm.

When it comes to winter weather, I love stepping out into the crisp morning air and seeing the frost on the trees with a pretty dusting of snow. However, I don’t love winter storms, which make driving conditions difficult, cause activities to be canceled and result in digging out vehicles.

For farmers, storms also make for long days of cleaning out barns and caring for livestock, which is always a top priority regardless of the weather conditions. My biggest fear is losing power and having the cattle’s water supply freeze up. Our outdoor waterers are heated by a small electric heater coil inside each unit. When each cow drinks approximately 20 gallons of water per day, and there are 35 cows, it can make for a long day of hauling water or trying to fix a problem in freezing-cold weather.

Some of my favorite childhood memories of snow days on the farm were going back to school and hearing my friends talk about how they slept in and what TV shows they watched. Those days were a different story for me. If there was enough snow that the buses couldn’t run, it also meant there was enough snow that pigs couldn’t get the feed out of their feeders. I got up with my parents, and while dad used the tractor to move snowdrifts and mom used the hand shovel, my assignment was to sit on the ground and scrape out the feeders for the pigs.

While the winter days may be short, my family still stays busy. My son practices his offseason sports, mostly football and baseball, and my daughter goes strong with her dance competitions.

Winter is also the best time for our family vacation. We realize this isn’t the traditional summer vacation; however, when I was growing up, my family didn’t even take vacations. Dad never was comfortable leaving the farm even during the slower winter season.

My husband and I have decided to make family vacations a priority, at least while our kids are still home. We try to go every other year by saving and planning for a year then going the next one. With the uncertainty of the pandemic, time will tell if our plans hold this year. We have a savings and a wish list of places, and I’m dreaming of a white sandy beach instead of a white snowdrift!

Amy Nelson is a fifth-generation farmer who grows soybeans and corn and raises cattle. She is an active member of CommonGround Iowa, the Scott County Farm Bureau Board and the Iowa Soybean Association. She lives near Davenport with her husband Randy and children Jakob and Courtney.

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