Developing And Diminishing

Summer is a time of growing. We watch plants bloom. We continually cut our grass. It's when crops  rapidly develop. It's the time of year kids outgrow their clothes.

A farmers job in the summer is to monitor that crop development. To weed and feed if necessary. To keep bugs and disease out. And to pray and trust God for the proper amount of sunshine and water.

Crop development happens fast in an Iowa growing season. It has to. After planting and emergence a corn plant has about four months to mature. We also want it to. Our goal as farmers is not to end up with continually growing green plants. Our job is to feed the world. We plan to end up with grain soon after Labor Day.

In order for that to happen that corn plant has to start to diminish after it has served it's purpose. After emergence, growth, roots, development, and reproduction, the starches and energy switch from focusing on the plant to focusing on the ears of grain. 

 Cover crop has developed into a regular practice. It's effective for soil loss, tilth, water holding capacity, and drainage. It's usually planted in fall after harvest. The following spring the intended plants are no-tilled into the cover crop. If you look close you can just barely see bean plants emerging through the cover crop.

However for this practice to work the cover crop needs to diminish as soon as the intended crop starts to develop. I have seen the intended planted crops struggle this spring on many farms because the cover crop continues to do it's thing. I have watched too much emphasis and too little management on cover crops, and seen loss of focus, potential, and production.

Well, remember the pond project that Mark and Mike and their boys were building on Mark's farm?

It's just about finished. This past Monday and Tuesday they closed up the middle, undammed the creek, and started letting the water in.

Thursday Bryce and his daughter helped Brian and Becky's family bale small square bales of grass hay.

Brian and Becky now have about 700 bales in the haymow to sell this winter when there is snow on the ground and cows are hungry.

Congratulations to Olivia, Matt, and Johanna who greeted friends at their graduation celebration at the cabin this past Sunday afternoon and are heading off to college this fall. Olivia is a niece and Matt and Johanna are friends. It's hard to believe they are grown up already.

These little men wanted to go swimming last Monday so Grandpa had them fill their own pool. One has a hot water hose and one has cold on the west patio of our house.

Little men develop into young men. Ezra and I unloaded the last two racks of hay while Brian and Kyle stacked in the barn.

About as fast as an Iowa corn crop young men and women are soon adults. Productive, assets in society as well as God's kingdom, and developing families and businesses of their own. Thursday, Farm Bureau hosted a teachers ag education day here on the farm. Mark and Karl are explaining the process of growing crops and how the development of technology fits in.

Just like the corn plant needing to diminish as the ear develops while still supporting it, parents need to start to be behind the scenes as little men and women are given jobs and young men and women are making choices. Still there supporting. Always willing to help and affirm, especially when the winds and storms come. 

As those young men and women become adults and have their own lives and ideas the older generation often tries to keep a thumb on them, hoping they stay with the old way, not wanting to diminish and allow their children to become the main event. This happens in families. This happens in business. This happens in churches. God has a plan for our children. Just like He did for us.  

 Does diminish mean go away and be ineffective? Of course not. Can you imagine trying to harvest corn this fall if the stalk said, "I quit. Ear, you are on your own". It would be a huge loss trying to combine ears off the ground. I intend to finish strong, just not at the expense of my family. Likewise when we support our kids and grandkids, allowing them to develop, we help them become a record crop.

2 Corinthians 4:16 says we should never give up. Though our bodies are diminishing (sore shoulders), our spirit is being developed every day. It says our present troubles are small and short lived. It finishes by saying we don't focus on our troubles. We gaze on things that can't be seen. Things we see now will soon be gone, just like that corn stalk after harvest. However things we cannot see, like our future generations contributions to society and God's kingdom, will last forever.