You ever get the feeling things are a little too quiet? Too calm? Like something’s not quite right… then you realize, oh yeah - it’s the calm before the storm.
From the outside it might look calm around here, sheep grazing, tractors parked, dogs napping in the sun. But truth is, Anne and I have been doubled-down busy in the office, keeping the lamb side of the farm rolling. Sales, shipping, planning… it’s a different kind of work, but no less tiring.
The funny part is, even with that behind-the-scenes busyness, the farm itself has felt almost suspiciously calm. Calm enough that a neighbour leaned on my tailgate the other morning and said, “Everything alright over there, Rod? Looks a little too quiet.” And he was right—the kind of calm where you know something’s about to break loose.
And we don’t need a Farmer’s Almanac to know what it is. It’s September in Ontario. Harvest time is right around the corner.
We’ll kick it off with a batch of lambs due to arrive next week - just to get warmed up. If all goes smoothly, Anne and I are hoping to sneak away for a day at the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock. (Think Disneyland for farmers, only with more tractors and fewer mouse ears.)
After that, the calm is officially over. Corn silage comes first, chopping up whole corn plants into winter feed for the ewes. Then it’s soybeans—starting with the fields that need to be cleared quick so we can plant winter wheat. Then cover crops and tillage. And by the time that’s done, likely into November, the corn will be ready for harvest. Somewhere in there, lamb orders will keep heading out the door every week too.
But you know what? Fall is my favourite season by a long shot. It’s the time we reap the rewards of a year’s worth of effort, and even if it’s chaos, it’s the best kind of chaos.
Your Farmer,
Rod