Winter Farm Chores - Day 19 Blog 365

 Winter time on the farm is a time that many think that you simply stay inside, stay warm, and rest. That is totally not the case. Winter time is work time on the farm the same as spring and summer. Chores never stop and work never is not there. 

Farmers, even hobby farmers like ourselves, have plenty of chores to do in the winter.  Feeding and caring for the animals never stops. As with us, our rabbits need more hay to make them warmer in the winter and taking care of their water is a task as well. The chickens require more care as well. Other animals also need more grain, hay, etc in the winter in order to make them warmer in the cold.

Equipment care is another area that you have the time to do in the winter. Making sure tractors and other farm equipment is in good mechanical order is important. You certainly do not want planting time to arrive and equipment be broke down. Many farmers have very limited time in getting crops in the fields due to weather and the time needs to be productive, not doing mechanical work on equipment. On our hobby farm, the tractor is an important tool for us and so winter time is a great time for a good overall check of the condition of the tractor. 

I prefer to look over water containers, food containers, hoses, cages, etc in the winter time as time is a little more relaxed. Many times we find rabbit hutches that need repaired or chicken boxes that need fixed and it is a good time to fix these items. 

Planning for the spring is a job as well. We plan what we are going to plant and we plan on what animals we need to add to our farm. Since we mainly raise animals now for food, our planning has changed a bit. Ordering seed is another important task in the planning as well. Many seeds have been purchased for this spring already. 

Financials are always a job in the winter as well. Taxes, planning for increases in seed, water, gas, diesel, and other expenses are best done during the cold months. As many farmers are well aware of, the inflation that many are seeing at the grocery affects them quite a bit more than just the price increase at the store. Our costs raise on most everything we need. The cost to operate a farm can be a huge issue for many farmers these days. Family farms are being sold because the cost to operate is just too much. It is sad to see generations of farmers ending their farms because of cost and the property is worth much more to a developer. 

As you can see, farm chores never stop and winter certainly is not the time to prop our feet and relax. Spring will be here shortly and our work needs to be planned and ready to go. So if you see a farmer, thank them for the work that they do. Humans need food and we need farmers. 

Several years ago, Paul Harvey produced the following story that was made into a Super Bowl commercial and I would like to share it with you. So God Created A Farmer