Rainy Days: Farmers' Bane or Opportunity?

October 7, 2010 at 6:31 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: accoutant, paperwork, rain, rain cloud, reflection, soil scientist, vet

Rain and farmers have a weird relationship.

Without rain crops wouldn’t grow; with it we’re stuck inside doing – dum, dum, DUM – paperwork!

Most farmers I know are 1- workaholics and 2- allergic to paperwork. You’d think this would actually mean that papers, forms, invoices, etc. wouldn’t pile up in the office/on the table/on the end of the counter, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.

I personally don’t mind paperwork. I won’t say ‘like’ (and most certainly not ‘love’), but it provides a nice, occasional respite from physical work and I especially like it (almost love!) when it’s -30 outside.

Farmers don’t need paperwork to stretch their brain muscles – not with the 40 different hats and problems they face everyday (accountant, vet, electrician, soil scientist, crop manager, meteorologist, financial analyst, nutritionist, surrogate mom/dad to 80….etc.) so there’s no appeal there. They get antsy because they’re sitting, mutter under their breath that they don’t know what farming has come to, and curse government officials from municipal to federal levels and everyone in between for all the make-work they’ve created for their employees by making more paperwork for us…

On the other hand, it can be a time of necessary reflection.

Looking over financial statements, environmental plans, vet bills, fertilizer and seed bills, cow records, etc. can prompt us to evaluate the current situation and make changes in how we manage things for the better.

We can also use rainy days to do research, checking on-line for the latest information, technology and news.

Although rain means that outside work isn’t getting done, it doesn’t mean that farm work isn’t getting done at all. Look for the silver (dollar!) lining in that rain cloud and use it to your advantage.

 

The purse/bag I use for toting around MY paperwork!

 

About these ads