Worthington, Minnesota: It is great to be back sharing with you. I’m hoping everyone has had a great winter, and ready to ride along with us on our journey this year.
This year is starting a little bit differently than years past. Every year is always different, but this year we have different challenges to meet. Texas doesn’t look too good. I don’t believe we’ll be taking off as early as we normally do because a lot of acres for our first stop have been adjusted out. It’s a challenge that we’ll have to deal with and carry forward with the hopes that our next stops will be better. We are still sending a crew to Texas for a few acres and for USCHI’s Safety Day. More to come on that next time.
On a brighter note, we did complete our new living quarters, adjacent to our wash bay. It was completed enough to be lived in the night before we picked up our first batch of crew. I think it turned out great, and Paul worked incredibly hard to make it happen. As we were waiting for the epoxy floor on the main level to dry, we put a tractor and loader to the window on the second floor so we could build bunks and get it done. It was a lot of work looking back, but a lot fun, too, and I’m glad we accomplished everything on time.
We have a few more gals on the crew this year, and a few returning crew from last year. Everyone has been working diligently on getting their Commercial Driver License, and so far three people have completed their license. We’ll have more completing the driving portion of the CDL test in the next two weeks, and I’m hoping we have most licensed before we take off. It’s important to us to reach these goals. It’s also great to be able to give our crew the ability to take something with them in the future that will help further what they can accomplish.
Things around the yard are looking good. We’ve gotten all our machines, and headers have been set up. Lettering has been placed, and now it’s mainly getting campers ready to go.
Around home, the weather has been fantastic for getting fields planted. I think most are done, some still have a bit to do. Paul has completed planting our fields, with the help of our crew. He and Zoey finished the last little acre and a half by our bins, and crops are already coming up. We just need that rain. Not too much- we had a little excess last summer, so hopefully this year we’ll get the right rains.
At the moment, we are working to get everything ready to go. We are consistently running out of jobs for all the crew we have here. And that means only one thing – that it’s time to hit the road. Word from our harvesting friends who have already taken loads down, is that there are quite a few construction obstacles on the route. It’s good to be able to share these obstacles so that we can all manage accordingly.
I will tell you I am a bit concerned for the start. It’s always a gamble when it comes to farming. Yet, I know it will work out in the end. We have faith, and luckily a pretty cool crew to start the season. Hope everyone has had a great start for the season, and we’ll keep you updated with what we see when we get started.
