Gravelbourg & District Tribune

Spring seeding got a slow start this year. The late snow put them behind the eight ball but not to worry.

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I grew up on a mixed farm and remember all to well the ritual of spring seeding. It was exciting and equally brutal. I'll explain.

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When I grew up grain producers didn't have cabs on the tractors. You will notice this year how windy conditions are. No try sitting on an open-air tractor while pulling a 12 or 16 ft. disker as you seed. You start the day with a winter parka and because it was the years of summer fallow the wind whips up enough dust to blind you. The cold is what I remember. It started so cold then got very hot and windy then back to the winter parka.

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Equipment back then was pretty good all things considered. You had the seed loader in the truck box and you managed to fill the disker fairly well. The wind was always whipping around and you would often loose some of the seed. There was little you could do.

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And a good day didn't seem to get much done. Today the rigs grain producers use can put away a section of land. It doesn't take much time. And good for them because the size of the farms demands big equipment.

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Let's hope all goes well and once the seed is in the ground we get a nice rain.

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