The rent for leased land is paid up by now; and now we know how many acres of owned and leased land we are using and what we need for seeds, fertilizer, lime, chemicals and fuel for the coming year.

All equipment has been serviced over the winter with additional wear parts — the parts that touch the ground or soil — on hand before they are needed during a break-down.

All of these inputs, if financially able, are prepaid when ordered for better prices and discounts.

The typical crops we grow here in Central New York for commercial use are corn, soybeans, spring wheat, oats and rye. Farming is heavily dependent on the weather. For example, heavy rain can make planting season a total wash if the fields become so wet it is impossible to complete tillage and planting.

Or, a lack of rain could make the fields so dry the seed doesn’t germinate or worse germinates then dies to drought.

Soils vary from sandy light, rocky or heavy clay and the rain and sun affect them each differently. Area farmers often try to combat these issues by buying hybrid seeds with the traits that fit our soils and growing conditions. Some such traits are for bug or drought or mold resistance, to help producers make the most out of their yields.

Along with this we can also choose herbicide programs that help us with weed control. We also call upon the fuel oil companies to get prices and availability on diesel fuel and lock in the price. Sometimes the availability isn’t always there, especially during this economy ­— the price is only good during the phone call making it hard to budget for fuel.

Today, we called the local fuel company and wanted our three tractors fueled up. It took 250 gallons to fill them at $4 per gallon, so $1,000 and this amount of fuel is enough to run these tractors for 12 hours or one full working day. Last year we used 4000 gallons of
fuel to complete tillage, spread lime and fertilizer, plant spray for weed control and harvest.

Last year, herbicide was on backorder and came in just in the knick of time, the weeds were able to be knocked back/killed and the crop wasn’t stunted. Most farm crop chemicals are made outside of the United States. Parts for equipment and tractors are also few and hard to find.

COVID-19 really disrupted the agricultural world and the lives of local farmers.

Tractor tire prices have gone up three to four times what they were two years ago, and the supply is limited. Baling twine for us hay farmers is up 100% from two years ago. As you can see this is a very expensive time of the year, and it is definitely not for the faint of heart.

We do all of this to feed all of you and the world.