What Gives Farmers Heart Attacks...

...is rain clouds when you are harvesting your wheat.
   It is so hot now it is hard to remember it was cooler with a chance of rain last Monday, but it was.
The good news is we got the wheat off without any problems. We also got the first two fields of cotton irrigated even without district water. We are getting a little behind with this heat, but the guys volunteered to run extra water and we will be all caught up by mid week.
   Hull split in the almonds has begun, more or less on time. So, it's hot. But, that is normal, it is summer time. We had a cool June and July will begin with a sizzle.

Below is one of my radio pieces from this past week-

We Can Be Stronger

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright June 2013

               There is an interesting paradox: we have some of the richest agricultural production on the planet and we have severe poverty in some of our communities.

            Part of the explanation is in the uncertainty of farming. Historically farmers have had to fight bugs, weeds and weather. Now we have to arm wrestle the government. A few years ago the Feds restricted water on the west side and 60,000 people lost their jobs. That was not weather related, that was policy related.

            Historically agricultural areas have been on the short end of the economic stick. Last year, Smithsonian magazine reported on famines in 16^th Century France where rural areas staved while the cities had food. How does that work? The farmers produced the food and then went hungry?

            We can be stronger if we have good policy. I am not overstating this. The 1993 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics won because he proved governments cause famines, not the weather.

            We can be stronger, but the road we are heading down will not allow us to spread the wealth because there will be no wealth to spread.

I hope you all have a great week, and find somewhere cool to work.

P

Now that looks pretty! Early cotton blooms.

   This is the second time in thirty years I have had cotton blooms before the 4th of July! It has been a beautiful Spring. Not too hot, just steady warm days. We finished our first irrigation a few weeks ago. We did have to spray for bugs. [Last year was unusual, we never did have to spray.] That is not good. We are getting ready to start another irrigation on Monday.
   I had a superstitious Puerto Rican grandmother so I don't want to get too far ahead here, there is still plenty of time to screw up. But, we are off to a good start.
   Wheat harvest begins this week. That is earlier than recent years also. 

 I Hate No-Win Scenarios

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright June 2013

               Like Capt. Kirk I hate the No-Win Scenario. Star Trek fans will remember the Kobayahsi Maru where Kirk beat the by re-programming the computer.

Well, I get tests like that all the time on the farm. I have to make choices with incomplete information. When do I plant the cotton? I won’t know the right answer until weeks afterward because the answer depends on the weather after planting. When should I irrigate? The weather could get hotter or colder after I irrigate, and that will make all the difference. Do I sell my crop now? Or, wait and hope prices will go up later? I frequently have to make decisions that are based on conditions that are out of my hands and I will have no way of knowing if those decisions are right or wrong until later on, but waiting is not an option.

Again, like Capt. Kirk, I hate the no win situations.  But, I face these kinds of decisions all the time. I just have to face the fact that I must make decisions with incomplete information. I also know this not unique to farming. Many of you face these kinds of decisions every day.

I hope you all have a great week!

P

32 years on the Farm

   Well, it got a little hot today. Not to sound like an old guy, but this week marked the thirty second anniversary of our moving here. My first summer I spent on the back of a D-8 Cat and it was 100F plus every day for the first three weeks of June. This poor little Southern California boy was wondering what he had gotten himself into. [He still does, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.]

   The cotton has dried down after our first irrigation and it looks pretty good. There are some bugs moving in. I hate to spray this early. Spraying would hurt the beneficial insects too. We like the beneficials, they are the good bugs that eat the bad bugs. But, we can't let the bad bugs have the crop either. I'll sweep the fields again on Monday then decide what to do.
   I think the cotton is about two weeks ahead of normal. I'll know better when we have first bloom. We normally have bloom around the 4th of July. We'll see if it comes earlier this year.

In honor of that first summer here's a piece I  recorded this week for the radio.

The Loneliness of the Tractor Driver, Isn’t All That Bad

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

               There was an old book about the loneliness of the long distance runner. There is a parallel in farming- the loneliness of the tractor driver. At least that used to be true. My first summer up here I spent on the back of a D-8 Caterpillar- no air conditioning, no radio, no cell phone- I just spent a lot of time with my self, out in the field. And there is nothing wrong with that. It was kind of cool. I had just graduated college and it gave me a lot of time to process things. I don’t know about you but being in school can be a lot like drinking from a fire hose because I am a slow learner. The air conditioner is a lot more comfortable, a radio can be entertaining, and today we have cell phones so we can stay in touch with everyone.

            But, there is something to be said for those long days sitting on the tractor just thinking. Of course, there is that old saying, “Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just thinks.” Life these days can get kinda busy. Sometimes sitting on a tractor working a field is a good way to spend a day and get a chance to unwind things. 

I hope you all have a great week!

P

A Nearly Perfect Irrigation...

...followed by nearly perfect weather.

   As I have mentioned before, timing the first irrigation of the cotton is critical. Too early or too cool and it will bolt and create vegetative growth. The problem is I have to make decisions before I know what the weather will be like. Sure, it's June that means hot weather in our neighborhood. But, over the years I have seen the weather on June 1st vary as much as 25 degrees. That's a big difference to my little cotton plants.
   This year, things look pretty good. Without drip irrigation we are still putting on between three and four inches of water which is pretty darn good. That would be hard to beat with sprinklers or drip. Ruben and the guys are doing a great job! The weather is helping. Instead of getting cooler, things are warming up nicely. It's a little hot this weekend, but cooling off during the week. Cotton likes the temps between 65 and 95F. We are just about on target.

    Of course, it's hard to irrigate without a shovel.

Shovels

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright May 2013

               I bet you didn’t know how many different kinds of shovels there are. To most people a shovel is a shovel. We do our best to avoid them because they look like work. But, on the farm each of us has our favorite shovel. It makes a difference what kind of tip it has. Does it have those little ears on the back to hold the dirt on? What is the handle like?
            A broken shovel can be a tragedy because and old shovel is an old friend. It takes time to get one just the way we like it. I have seen guys get a new shovel and the first thing they do is start grinding and shaping the tip.

            We all have our favorite tools. My wife thought I was being fussy about my favorite pen, until she started taking a drawing class and found she liked some pencils more than others. We all go nuts when we have to set up a new computer or cell phone don’t we? What a pain. But, phones and computers are complex pieces of modern technology. You’ll have to take my word, shovels may seem simple and non-descript, but they can be just as personal as the wall paper on your computer or the ring tones on your phone.

I hope you all have a a great week!

Time to Irrigate the Cotton

   As I have mentioned before, timing the first irrigation is critical. Too early and the plants go to stalk  instead of bolls. Generally we want to be ready to irrigate June 1st, then we can wait until conditions are right.

Farming and Chess

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright May 2013

               I like chess. I’m not very good at it, but I like it. The best chess players are those who can think many moves ahead. Farming is like that.

            We live in a society that values living in the moment, and that is important. The problem is that if you only live in the moment, you are rarely prepared for the surprises that pop up. If you are only living in the moment everything becomes a fire drill. Life has enough challenges without everything being a fire drill.

            For example, we generally irrigate the cotton the first week of June. I got caught behind on our field work on time years ago. The weather turned hot. We had to pull out all the stops, work over time and we still had some cotton get a little scorched. Since then I start the month of May with a plan to have all our field work done before June 1st. That paid off this year when the cotton was ready to water a week ahead of normal. The fields were ready. We laid the pipe and started water.

Thinking a few moves ahead, like a chess master, helps keep surprises to a minimum.

   In other news, we had guests for dinner on Thursday night.Thirty two guests to be exact. Along with Mark and Blaine McAfee we hosted members of  the Fresno Food System Alliance for Dinner on the Farm. I made ribs, tri-tip, pasta salad and a wild and brown rice mushroom casserole. Blaine made a fabulous spinach salad an also brought brownies and amazing orange cookies. Sally Tripp brought some meat balls. Our neighbors Daniel and Shannon Bashoff sent over some yummy organic vegetables which I grilled. The Ubicks brought some fabulous wine and a good time was had by all. The goal of this group is to try to improve our food system by encouraging a healthier economy for farmers and healthier diets for consumers. The weather was perfect and the moon was rising over the Sierras as people headed home.

I hope Y'all have a great weekend.

Just a reminder-Freedom isn't free. 

We will never forget those who have 'the last full measure of devotion' for our freedom.

Thanks also to all who served. I know your day is Veterans' Day in November. We are glad you made it home.

Good Cotton Growing Weather

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. This is the cotton this week. If you go to the post two weeks ago, you can see how much

it has been growing. The weather has been perfect for cotton, warm in the afternoon and not too cool at night. 
   We have fertilized the cotton and sprayed the weeds over the past week and a half. We are furrowing out so we can be ready for the first irrigation. We'll finish furrowing out this week. Then we will put up borders and ditches. Then we will lay out the pipes and wait for the right conditions to start water. The plants have to be ready and it cant' be too cool. If we water too early or too cool the plants will grow stalks instead of setting fruit. They might look pretty being tall and green, but I get paid for cotton bolls, not stalks.

   Spring is always a busy time of year. It reminds of this piece I wrote last winter.

Success is not a 9-5 Proposition

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright January 2013

               I know farmers aren’t the only ones to work long, hard hours. In fact long, hard hours seem to be one of the main ingredients for success.

            I sometimes see people who punch in late and leave early envying those who have stuff they want. They can’t seem to understand there is a connection with extra effort and the rewards of success.

            I couldn’t succeed in school if I was goofing off all the time, and that doesn’t work in the work world either. Sure, physicians make a lot of money, but they have to go through six or eight years of school—after college to get to that point.

            My point is, success is not a 9-5 proposition. There are no guarantees that hard work will pay off. I have seen a whole seasons work get washed away in one afternoon’s rainstorm. But, there is an old saying that luck seems to favor those who are prepared. There’s truth to that.

            If I tried to limit all my effort to an eight hour day I would never get anywhere.  Farming and life take everything we’ve got. 

I hope you all have a great week!

P

We're back on the radio

   Thanks to the generous support of Greg and Karen Musson, of the GarTootelian Co., "This Week on the Farm' is back on the radio. If you are in the area you can now here us on KMJ radio on week days.

   I wish a photograph could show how the cotton has grown this week. 

Heck, I wish I could tell how pretty this cotton looks to a farmer. The cotton is loving this weather. It has really jumped this week. We got the fertilizer on this week and we started spraying herbicide on the weeds. By the end of next week we will start furrowing out. Then we wait. We will start the first irrigation by the tenth of June. The question is when to start? If we start too early the plants will bolt, growing stalks and not bolls. We don't get paid for stalks, we get paid for bolls. If we wait to long, the cotton will get stressed in the heat and not produce properly. I'll keep you posted.

   The wheat has really changed this week too. At the beginning the week it was mostly faded green like in the foreground. BY the end of the week the fields have turned to pale gold. The milk in each wheat kernel is starting to dry down and become doughy. Then it will dry down completely and be ready to harvest the end of June or beginning of July. We are done watering. Now we wait.

It’s Not Just for Doctors, Nurses and Lawyers

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright February 2013

               You may be surprised to know there is continuing education for farmers.
            As a kid I was surprised to learn that our neighbor, who was a nurse, had to go to school. I didn’t know grownups had to go to school, I thought that was just for kids. [ Like most kids, part of me was wondering, will I ever get out of school?] Mom explained that there were always changes in medicine and nurses had to take classes to keep up and keep their licenses.

            When I started farming I found out there is continuing education for farmers too. To keep my applicators license I have to take so many hours of classes every year. In addition to required classes the Farm Advisors and the universities constantly offer classes, workshops and field days to report their latest findings and introduce the latest technologies.

            It’s pretty interesting. In one sense farming is an ancient profession- one of my main jobs is to stick seed in the ground like farmers have done for ten thousand years. But, farmers today also use computers, satellites and lasers every day.

            I need to keep going back to school to keep up on the latest innovations in an ancient profession.

   I thought I would leave you with a picture of the neighbors onion field.

I hope Y'all have a great week.