By LEVI ARNOLD
As agriculturists we do as much as we can to plan everything within our power. Whether Mother Nature lets our plans work out is often times a completely different case.
From artificial insemination in livestock, fixing equipment, and everything else at hand a somewhat thought out plan is a good way to stay on track and get things done.
Playing the weather lottery
This time of year is often quite hectic for agriculturists, trying to play the weather like some may play the lottery.
Making crucial decisions for the remainder of the year of whether to plant today, tomorrow, or maybe yesterday would have been better because of an unintended unaccounted for rain storm that seems to come up at one time or another.
When it comes to agriculture, whether it be growing crops, livestock or even just a garden to provide food for yourself or family, planning is something you need to do. Often, hindsight is 20/20, that’s why it’s important to look at the results of anything in order to produce the best results in the future.
Setting goals and the steps to achieve them probably sounds like something you’ve heard a million times but it is very true.
Soil quality
One of the best starts a person can make is getting soil samples done for target areas on their property those target areas can be hay fields, grazing pastures, crop fields, or even your garden.
The base of your property ultimately lies on the health, quality, and productivity of your soil. Getting to know what’s under you will help you plan on the steps you need to take to have a productive soil for crops, forage for livestock, or whatever it may be.
If you have a livestock operation, having your hay forage tested is a very smart step to see what quality of hay you are feeding them.
Knowing nutrient-rich grass and legume species in your pastures and hay fields and feeding these at an appropriate rate and mixture will make a big difference in the overall heath and productivity of your livestock.
More information on soil testing and forage testing can be found through your local OSU Extension agent.
Plan ahead
Although planting season is upon us, like stated before hindsight is 20/20. Nearly every day, we get calls on somebody wanting to rent equipment to plant or spread lime ASAP. Often there’s nothing we can do about this because of availability, people call and have this equipment reserved months in advance.
As SWCD employees we do the most within our power to accommodate people, but some things are out of our hands. So the earlier you start planning things, the better.
The next time you may have an idea for something you want to do, be sure to take some time to look over what all you need to do and plan it out.
Research your idea a little bit, there are several resources available to anybody who are willing to seek it out. The more you research, plan, and ask questions the better a result you will get for the work and money you put into a project.
