The Off Season

As I sit at home enjoying yet another snow day, I find myself thinking about the "off season" of farming.  You know, the time after harvest and before planting or the time that the farm sleeps and has quiet time as I like to explain to my children.  Hinkle Heritage Farms does not have an indoor facility where they can work on equipment over the winter which is what a lot of farmers will do.  Because of that, we are at the mercy of the weather.  As many of you are experiencing or reading about, this has been one heck of a winter.  So for us, farming life has been quiet.  Most of the farming that Tony has done this off season has been behind the scenes like planning orders for seed, fertilizer, nitrogen, etc. for upcoming season.  The guys have quite a bit of soybeans and corn in grain bins so they are constantly playing the game of "when do I haul my crop to the grain elevator to get the best price?"  The goal is to get top price and if you wait until the winter, you can usually get a better price than in the fall because supply is down and demand is up.  It has been interesting to watch them come up with a strategy and neat to see them planning for the future of the farm.

This off season, Tony has been working with Tower Bridge Technologies who provide corporate level IT services for small and middle size businesses (which is basically all of Vincennes and the surrounding area). What a great opportunity it has been for Tony to get out and work in the community plus make some additional income for our family.  I wish that farming could be our sole income but farming grain just doesn't cut it at this point.

I have been busy working with my brother-in-law, Troy, on our grassfed beef business, Hinkle Farms.  I never realized how much joy I would get from providing healthy, sustainable beef to friends and family.  Who knew I could get so excited over a cow!?  I am not going to lie, it is so nice to find something that I am passionate about again and that I can really get behind.  Our herd is small so we will build our business slowly but I am grateful for what we can and are able to do with our beef.

So we were out at the farm this past weekend and the kids and I enjoyed a day of firsts.  All 4 of us made our first summit of the new grain bin.  I wish I had a picture to share but it was amazing to climb up top and to look out over the land.  Even in the dead of winter, God's land looked beautiful.  I can't wait to start building our home and be apart of the farm permanently.

I am trying to enjoy and embrace this off season while we have it.  I love having Tony home by 5:30 everyday and on the weekends. Having lunch together has become a regular event.  I know that in just a few months all of that will change so we are trying to get in as many "family" meals and time with each other as possible.  I think that I might be one of the only people who are grateful for this weather because it has allowed our family to truly slow down and hibernate together.  Now don't get me wrong, any day that is above 45 degrees we are outside. But... it has been nice to just slow down and live in the day and the moment.