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Small Farm Clutter


Those that have visited small diversified farms may wonder why they have a collection of junk. Some farms are clean and orderly, but generally those farms are only growing a few crops while others that are more diversified have piles of more equipment here and there (more diversification usually mean more different types of equipment & supplies). Ours is one of those that have piles of stuff here and there. Today Fritz Auction has a trailer outside which is fully loaded with stuff. Some of the stuff that was once considered junk is now considered collectable antiques. Children of depression era parents (me) tend to collect way too much stuff. Farmers with older equipment hang on to other equipment just in case they need to repair their older tractors with parts from other equipment. Most small organic growers don’t make enough to purchase new equipment so they learn to be mechanics as well as farmers; and soon the junk piles up, often a tractor that needs repairs sits in one spot waiting for the farmer to find time to repair it.
Other stuff like the wagon wheels pictured above once were used on the farm generations prior and still remained in the equipment graveyard; now they are being shipped to Fritz Auction to find a new home.
Each time I walk past our junk I sigh wishing to put the stuff in a dumpster, send it to a recycling center, donate it to the thrift shop or to store it again just in case we may need it someday.
A farmer’s dilemma is if today we take the time to do something about the junk the weeds are not getting pulled and the sweet potatoes say please pull the weeds that are choking me. They don’t seem to care about the stuff hiding past their small space. While the weeds are growing, the paper work piles, other garden plots are not getting planted, the yellow jackets are making homes where we don’t want, the rye needs to be combined, the irrigation system is plugging up, the shed where the potato digger is in is still collapsed from the snow, the ground hog is digging under a building, the roof is leaking, and the list goes on each day as we have to prioritize as to what needs more attention and the stuff piles get ignored. Today is different, the stuff piles are going, by removing the clutter we hope it will allow us to focus more on growing and less time moving junk from one spot to the next wishing we had more room.

Until Next Time
Marian Listwak