facing the Future & Facing reality

The picture at the bottom of this page is a map.  A map of a segment of our farm.  It was in the middle of a table, surrounded by people, including myself, who will make key decision about the future of the farm.  The cool thing is, we are in an amazing time for agriculture.  New methods, real time data, resources that are beyond imagination and an industry where people support each other, share information and want to help you succeed because it really is about caring for our land, our community and our families.  
All that being said, it can still weigh heavy on my shoulders.  There are some big risks that come with changing the way we always farmed, just like there are big risks associated with not changing the way we farm.  
And then there is reality.  Reality is, due to one night ... just one night ... where the temps dropped too low and the peaches had just pushed too far into blossom, we lost a significant amount of our peach crop. There is no recovery from that, only a hope that next year will be different.  
And then there is another reality.  The reality that each new day I will have familiar faces and new faces who will walk in our front doors. They will smile and feel welcome in our farm market and even when I explain how our crops were impacted this season, they will understand, they will still come back.  And I will know that every decision we make, every risk we take is because those faces depend on us.  Depend on us to help them understand a little more.  They depend on us to create a great place for kids to play and learn. So even though we struggle in one area we succeed in another. 
So facing the future, it's a good thing.  It's hopeful.  It's challenging but the hard times keep life in perspective.  
Thanks for walking in our doors, it means the world!
​dB