To be a rice farmer you understand the Principle of Being Proactive. Years ago, Stephen Covey used this phrase to describe getting in front of a situation rather than reacting to the situation. Such it is with controlling the water in a rice field. A farmer controls the water in the rice field so the …
Category: Lessons From The Farm
What’s In the Hopper
Harvest is the final exam on the farm. It is when the farmer gets the results for… the investment of money + over 10 months of hard work + knowledge & experience +/- the weather - pests/weeds/disease = the Harvest. With every crop my dad faced unknowns & conditions that would push his ability to …
The Farm: The Essential Role of the Seed
This part of the series “The Farm: The Essential Role of the Sun, Air, Water & Soil takes us to the purpose, the mysterious star of the show, The Seed. Looking back 60+ years, when I was growing up on my dad’s rice/soybean farm I got a glimpse of the joy my dad had being …
The Farm: The Essential Role of the Soil.
The soil, or dirt as we call it, is where the “raw” nutrients are found that become food for the plant. The soil also provides a structure to support the roots and the plant. But dirt (soil), is not just dirt. “Soil types are categorized by the size and percentage of particles they contain. The …
The Farm: The Essential Role of Water.
Plants are about 80-95% water and need water for multiple reasons.” Carleton College Water provides: “A common trigger for seed germination. Transport nutrients from the soil into and throughout the plant. Photosynthesis, how plants make their own food. Structure, plant cells expand, which contributes to the plant's form and function, including helping the plant stand …
Lesson From The Farm: The Essential Role of Air
One of the unique ways God designed His creation was through His unique relationships & balances. Plants must have carbon dioxide to live while animals must have oxygen to live. Only God would design a system that required co-dependence. Plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen and animals take in oxygen and give …
Continue reading Lesson From The Farm: The Essential Role of Air
The Farm: The Essential Role of the Sun.
On the surface the “Lessons from The Farm” reveal a simple application to life, we will always harvest what we plant. But underneath, it’s a very complex system of details, balances & synchronization. Over the next few TGN’s I will attempt to highlight each of the 5 Essentials of the Farm: The Sun, Air, Water, …
Basic Facts of the Farm
God's orchestrating ability never ceases to amaze me. One Sunday morning in August before Covid, I was greeting at church with a man I only knew as Bob. I knew Bob was a farmer, so I said, “Bob, I guess you are getting your combines in the shop preparing them for harvest…replacing the beater bars …
Puppies & People
It dawned on me as I stood in the rain with our new dachshund puppy, Lizzy-Farrar, how much I have in common with her. In short week we have had her, she is still learning to mess (pee & poop) in the yard & not in the house, that gnawing on the electrical cord cannot …
New Ground…The Process
Much of the beautiful farmland in Arkansas was once forest. When it was cleared, we called it “New Ground”. I remember the process. The first stage, the huge D8 Caterpillar bulldozers, came to cut & pile the trees to burn. That took a few weeks. It may have looked like the field was cleared but …
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