Spring has sprung, but will it last?

Happy National Agriculture Week! As the old saying goes, spring has sprung. The question on the tip of the tongue of many people I’ve spoken with recently is: Do you think we are going to get any more wintry weather?

Thoughts about “fool’s spring,” the common alternative term used to describe the deceptive warmth of a false spring, are being bandied about. Another term associated with winter’s end is “blackberry winter,” referring to a period of cold weather that occurs after a brief period of warmth.

In my six decades on the planet, I can remember a few Easter mornings when winter coats were necessary and even a few of those with snow on the ground and ice in the air. I also remember many when we wore short sleeves all day.

During an Ag Day celebration this week, I asked the experts. Two more experienced gentlemen, one who is 91 years old and another just five years his junior, shared their views.

They were seated on the bed of a gooseneck trailer that would later be used as a stage for speakers, of which I was one. I asked them both if the wintry weather is behind us.

Two heads shook in unison. The elder of the two was first to speak in a soft and serious tone.

“On April 4, in 1944, we moved. I drove a team of mules pulling a wagon with iron wheels through deep snow,” he said. “We moved five miles down the road. That was a long five miles.”

He looked up at me and smiled, eyes twinkling. The younger gentleman, whose face was weathered from years outdoors, continued to shake his head as he spoke, “You just can’t trust it — Mother Nature, that is. I lived in Kansas. They will tell you the Dust Bowl was over in ‘36, but we still had ‘em years after that. The dust storms, I mean.”

It sure feels like spring is here in my neck of the woods. I am all in. In recent days, farmers have been spreading anhydrous, chisel plowing, field cultivating and harrowing the land, getting the seedbed ready for the next crop.

Farmers, ranchers and those with a role in the food, fiber and fuel-from-the-farm sector face uncertainty as the crop year begins.

Weather, policy, market dynamics, technology and a host of other variables are in play. I don’t care which side of the political aisle you are on; trade wars are scary.

As we wrap up these final days of National Agriculture Week, I offer this gentle reminder that what you do, as farmers and ranchers, matters. It matters a lot.

There are 1.9 million farms in this country, 95% of which are operated by families. On average, each of those farms feeds 169 people.

Your work is incredibly important and often overlooked. You are at the heart of food production, ensuring that we have the resources we need to live. The choices you make have a lasting impact on the environment, economy and society.