Now that it is January, you would think it would be time for farmers to relax. It’s the start of a new year. The crops are out and nobody is busy in the fields. Most would think farmers would spend their days in the house relaxing, watching tv, scrolling through tractorhouse, or even taking a nap. This however, is completely false. Farmers rarely ever take a break even when they are given the perfect opportunity. Farmers always find something to do to keep themselves busy.
January is a perfect time to catch up on shop activities. This can range from a lot of things like overhauling equipment to smaller projects like simple maintenance. Farmers feel like they have to keep busy. I personally think they will go mad if they don’t. This January is one for the books as many are still able to do a little chiseling as the ground hasn’t completely frozen just yet.
January is also an expensive month for farmers. From the end of the year payments to finish out the farm books to the prepayment of new crop expenses to ensure the cheapest rates for input costs, the last week in December till the middle of January farmers tend to write a lot of checks! With the dreaded March 1st not far away, which means cash rent payments and taxes, along with most larger equipment payments, this time of year is very expensive for a farmer. Most farm kids like myself have probably heard their dad say this time of year that “the checkbook is closed” especially when we are asking for money or something silly.
My older brothers, the college boys, have returned to Ames after a long Christmas break. My younger brother Luke and I are back to feeding/checking their cows and holding down things at home for them while they are off getting smart. They are the young farmers and haven’t realized “the checkbook is closed” theory about this time of year as they both recently purchased additional cows, more than doubling their herd. Do those boys seriously believe they will all calve during their 10-day spring break in March? I’m thinking Luke and I will be really busy doing their chores during the spring calving season! The college boys will be screaming that their checkbooks are closed when Luke and I turn in our hours expecting to be compensated for our time and efforts assisting their cows with calving!
Enjoy your relaxing January as we prepare the new crop and calving year!
~ Kesley Holdgrafer
January is a perfect time to catch up on shop activities. This can range from a lot of things like overhauling equipment to smaller projects like simple maintenance. Farmers feel like they have to keep busy. I personally think they will go mad if they don’t. This January is one for the books as many are still able to do a little chiseling as the ground hasn’t completely frozen just yet.
January is also an expensive month for farmers. From the end of the year payments to finish out the farm books to the prepayment of new crop expenses to ensure the cheapest rates for input costs, the last week in December till the middle of January farmers tend to write a lot of checks! With the dreaded March 1st not far away, which means cash rent payments and taxes, along with most larger equipment payments, this time of year is very expensive for a farmer. Most farm kids like myself have probably heard their dad say this time of year that “the checkbook is closed” especially when we are asking for money or something silly.
My older brothers, the college boys, have returned to Ames after a long Christmas break. My younger brother Luke and I are back to feeding/checking their cows and holding down things at home for them while they are off getting smart. They are the young farmers and haven’t realized “the checkbook is closed” theory about this time of year as they both recently purchased additional cows, more than doubling their herd. Do those boys seriously believe they will all calve during their 10-day spring break in March? I’m thinking Luke and I will be really busy doing their chores during the spring calving season! The college boys will be screaming that their checkbooks are closed when Luke and I turn in our hours expecting to be compensated for our time and efforts assisting their cows with calving!
Enjoy your relaxing January as we prepare the new crop and calving year!
~ Kesley Holdgrafer
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