A few years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to the chief of the richest, most successful Indigenous tribe in Canada- while speaking at a conference of Canada’s Native leaders. All through the conference leaders had targeted fixing the problems of poverty, living conditions, and despair that plagues many of Canada’s native communities. The very last speaker at the conference was the chief who had figured it out. His words of advice could apply to everyone in the world:
- Get up early in the morning. This is a challenge that I struggle with to this very day. Early in the morning is the most beautiful time of day. The air is fresh. Most of the world is still peaceful. The birds are already singing and the early bird does get the worm! Even the early morning rain has a special smell and feel to it.
- Get a job. Even if it is an entry level job like filling shelves in a store, serving gas, or working on a farm. A job well done is noticed by many and will lead to advancement or a better job. A girl’s parents admire a guy with a steady job and the girls do too.
- Be on time. The first person on the scene gets the first chance to see a problem and correct it or to help a customer, or even to suggest a fix to the manager. It’s the little things that people notice.
Some of the residents from this very successful community had to leave the reservation to get an even better job but many chose to stay and become the new leaders.
On the farm the kids had a little extra help in the morning. The rooster woke you up. The milk cows were bawling, waiting for someone to feed and milk them. In the country, you can hear birds chirping every morning about sunup. After you have already had these warning calls usually dad gave the final call just before leaving. If mom called you, you knew that you were late.
Timeliness was learned at an early age on the farm. When you first walked through the grass in the morning you noticed if the dew was heavy or if there was no dew at all. A heavy dew meant there would be no rain that day unless the morning sky was red, then you were not sure.
If there was no dew on the grass you were pretty sure that rain was coming that day. If it was raining before seven in the morning, it would probably stop raining before 11 and there might be hay in the afternoon if a good breeze came up. All these little early morning signs gave dad signals about how to plan the day. All these signs gave you a warning without a word being spoken that you might have to work late on the farm that night or maybe have the night off.
Timeliness in the spring
Every day after April 15 that the barley is not planted costs the farmer a loss in yield in the fall. If the field is dry enough there is a rush to plant crops in case a week of wet weather comes. This usually means there are several late nights of cropping and short nights for sleeping and no nights off.
Timeliness in the fall
The harvesting of oats has to be done before the grain turns golden. For oats to make the grade for human consumption in cereals it must be white, not golden. When combining grain the farmer listens to the sound of the combine in the early evening. When the grain starts to slug going through the combine it’s a sign that the dew is coming on and he should quit. If there is no dew in the evening, it’s a sign that rain is coming and the combine operator has a long night ahead of him until the rain starts.
Sometimes when combining corn the corn stalks will not feed into the combine properly because of frost. Usually by about four o’clock in the morning, the corn will combine fine again. The farmer is again reminded of strategic timing during harvest.
Timeliness in the summer
The hay is highest in protein and digestibility before there are any flowers or seed heads on it. In two or three days the protein and digestibility can drop which means that when it is fed to dairy cows the milk yield will also drop and the expense of buying more grain supplements will increase and profit will decline.
Watching for rains at haying time is almost a full-time job. When hay is ready there are many long days and nights again to beat the weather. Since hay is usually cut every 28 days if a farmer is delayed a couple days on each cut then the season might only be long enough for three cuts of hay instead of four. This combined with the reduced feed quality will lead to less profit and less money for holidays or any other expenditures.
Weddings involving farmers are also strategically planned to happen after cropping, between cuts of hay and before harvest.
We often see farmers who seem to be goofing off, partying all night or taking a vacation when the weather looks fine. We seldom see those same farmers when they were spending extra long hours working just to beat the weather or produce a crop that would result in higher yield, milk or profit at the end.
Yes most farmers like to play hard but most farmers get up, have a job and are on time!
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com
