Of students and seedlings

By Becky Nelson
Bramblings
The first rain showers of April have hit the fields and forests at the farm. It’s difficult to believe that spring is really here, though, as there is still snow in the maple orchard and still ice on the farm pond. You can see hints of spring if you look hard. A few of my tulips have braved the cold and are peeking through on the lawn. Some of the lawn grass is actually green, the pussy willows are popping open, the maple buds are turning red and swelling and I think I heard a rumble of thunder, so I know spring is really coming. We have a stretch of cold weather forecast for the next week, so I am hoping to stretch a bit of winter back into the picture and extend our maple syrup production. It is clear, however, that spring is coming. I have seen robins, I have seen more animal activity with deer in the fields, raccoons and porcupines at the bird feeders and tom turkeys displaying for the females, and mud all over the farm. And the looming spring chores are beckoning.

But the rain showers began as snow squalls on Tuesday as I was working in the apple orchard, pruning trees. I struggled through the snowflakes for a while but it got really wet and cold so I wimped out, heading to the hoop houses to help Ben prepare for planting tomatoes.

We peeled up the plastic mulch that we laid over the rows where the tomatoes are planted and hauled away some dried-up tomato plant remains, ready to check the drip irrigation and make sure everything was set for the new plants.

I was surprised to find a very active colony of crickets, a few ant holes and plenty of green and thriving weeds. A few sprigs of quack grass and a number of dandelions were enjoying the heat of the house. A single dandelion blossom cheered me out of the winter doldrums for a minute and sent me into panic as I wondered how we were going to get all of our spring work and planting done in just a few weeks of time.

I ordered my tomato, pepper, cabbage and broccoli seed several weeks ago and actually planted them two Mondays ago. As a community adviser to the agricultural program at the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center, I took the opportunity to help with instruction with a couple of horticulture classes while I seeded.

It was wonderful to work with the young adults with their enthusiastic instructor, Deb Stevens. She carefully instructed the students in how to handle the soil, how to fill the seeding trays, how to place and cover the seed and then we headed to the school greenhouse. There, she instructed the students how to water the seed with which sprinkler head and we set the seed trays in the light and headed on our merry way … me home to the farm to work in the maple sugarhouse boiling sap and they to their next classes as the seeds began their journey to planthood.

I got to chat with a couple of the students as we seeded and learned of their future hopes and dreams. One student hoped to go on to school in Vermont to study therapeutic horseback riding.

An avid horsewoman, she has her heart set in sharing her passions for horses and the associated agricultural endeavors of animal care, management and animal food production agriculture. One of the other students is a state officer in the Future Farmers of America, a huge accomplishment and commitment in this national organization of students.

He will be running for office again, and if successful, will attend community college for a year as he dedicates time to agriculture serving his fellow students and builds his goals and career path in some sort of agriculture related endeavor. Yet another student hopes to attend college with the goal of working in agricultural engineering.

This interaction with young people interested in the science and advancement of agriculture boosted my confidence in the future of farming. It was rejuvenating to work with these young people who are looking toward the future of a career that is in my blood and in my soul. It is hard to struggle through the challenges thrown in the way of business and farming but working with these kids rekindled the feelings that led me back to the farm in the first place.

Agriculture will change, methods are constantly changing and improving, food production, animal production and the methods of planting, growing, harvesting and marketing will certainly continue to evolve and improve, and it will be these kids and others like them that lead the charge and keep our industry thriving and evolving.

It is springtime for these kids in their learning process and their life’s work. I wish them the best and look forward to sticking around to learn of their successes. In the meantime, I will continue to plant and harvest and enjoy the first signs of spring here at the farm. Those little seeds are now seedlings crowded in with other little seedlings. They will very soon be transplanted to be able to better grow and thrive and later to produce … a lot like those students.

Follow the progress of these plants, students and programs on Facebook at Newport Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center.

Becky can be reached at [email protected].