One of the non-COVID-19 challenges we faced on our farm this spring is dealing with flax straw—a tenacious material that needs to be removed from the field before seeding. We had dropped it in windrows behind the combine last fall but it blew all over the field in a windstorm before the baler arrived. We finally accumulated it into bunches suitable for burning this spring, but then we faced dry conditions, strong winds and a county fire restriction that prevented us from burning.

Add physical distancing requirements and a late spring melt to the mix and we’re all looking at an unusual and potentially stressful spring planting season.

Some good news, of sorts, for farmers: our government has declared us an essential service! It only took a global disaster to receive the recognition for which we have yearned lo, these many years.

Like the spring run-off, customers have started to trickle through my yard. I wish the snow and the seed were moving faster, but there tends to be a pretty strong correlation between how early the fields bare off and how early my bins empty.