With the turning of the weather to warmer temps and the calendar page to May it is PLANTING TIME down on the farm.  With a goal of having all acres in before the end of May, headlights in the field at dark-thirty are a common occurrence.  All the Snider Farms Team are are taking their turn doing extra this time of year and we are grateful to each of them and their families as we combine our efforts to plant the seed for Harvest 2016.  Even though it is Planting 2016, in actuality it is all about Harvest 2016.  In 5 short months, the Good Lord willing, we will be heading back out to cover the same acres with different machinery but really with the same goal.  We are planting seed yes, but the ultimate goal is to harvest a great crop come October.  We need the equipment, the help, the seed and the plant food to begin, but mostly we need faith.  Faith that the timely rains and warm enough temperatures will cause the seed to germinate and then start the process of growth to occur which will end with the mature crop to harvest.  We have faith in good farming practices, sound agri-science methods, even new technologies that make planting and harvest go smoother (refrigerators in the equipment!!??!!-a fun and helpful perk). But mostly we have faith that God will superintend over our efforts and cause the seed to increase from one planted to many harvested.

Planting can mean “to set in the ground for growth”.  It can also mean to “establish or introduce ideas or principles”.  So all of us, whether employed in the farming world or the myriad other walks of vocation, can plant seeds.  Here at Snider Farms, of course we are planting corn and soybeans with a side of rye and oats here and there in the true agricultural term of planting.  But as we go through our days here in May -October and watch the seeds go from invisible to fully ripe and ready to harvest, may we plant kindness, love and compassion as we go day to day, good times to hardships.  Perhaps a side seed of encouragement or affirmation would be just what someone might need to raise their head or hopes a little higher.  May we be the sunshine and the timely gentle showers that may cause a growth spurt in a friend stuck in the rut of discouragement.  There is always enough harsh conditions and damaging winds in the storms of life.  Let’s not contribute any more gloom and dark clouds with negative and thoughtless downpours.  I’m not always very good at this, so I’m writing this as a reminder to myself mostly.

Stay tuned for planting progress updates and may what we plant today yield a beautiful and bountiful harvest!

Day Shift!

A lovely end to a spring day….

Sowing the seed….

Psalm 104:14-15