It seems like pretty simple living to acknowledge that we live by the seasons on the farm. Like most things though, the complications are in the details. It's true, our life revolves around the seasonality of production systems. Each system relies on a scheduled interaction with the natural world. Things get complicated when you start to realize just how many different systems are working together whether in unison or in parallel. For example, the ryegrass that will be harvested in a few weeks was planted in the fall. The spring oats that were planted in mid-February will be harvested just after the ryegrass. Both will be followed by different summer annual grasses that require their own season and natural cycle. All of that will be used to feed our dairy cows and beef cattle over the coming months. Dairy is the farming venture that seems to have the least seasonality... it's just 24-7-365. However, within the greater organism that is dairy, each individual cow has a distinct system that is completely governed by the natural world and the individual physiology of that individual animal. Meat chickens are another completely different type of system. They have a shorter natural cycle than most farm endeavors, but it's a cycle that can only take place in 3 out of 4 seasons when attempted on pasture the way we raise chickens. Egg-laying hens (one of our main enterprises) have a natural cycle that is based in large part on the age of the flock of hens. However, even the young hens do not escape the influence of the natural world in a very interesting way. Egg production is influenced by the length of daylight each day. As days get longer, chickens lay more eggs, and in the Fall/Winter when days get shorter egg production goes down. In the photo, you can see garlic that was planted in the fall, right next to freshly made beds that will grow summer veggies. It's entirely possible that some of those beds may produce a harvest before the garlic, as it will not be ready to harvest until June. Even every vegetable has its own natural cycle. Yes, obviously keeping up with all these different cycles can be complicated. Remember though, that each system has its set of rules. Those rules provide a level of comfort. Producing things within the proper season and within their natural capacity is how we, as farmers, choreograph this ecological dance to produce a bounty of nutrient-dense food. As the music starts to play for this growing season, I just want to say that I hope you enjoy the performance.
