Strange weather, strange field days

The strange weather this year, has made for some interesting crop tours and events.

In “dry old southern Alberta” I went to a seeding demonstration in June and the big question was, which tool works best in mud? In July I went to a “crop walk” day at Lethbridge and it was so wet the only crop we saw was during a power point presentation in a seminar room. At about the same time a field day sponsored by the Western Stock Growers Association checking out livestock research and feedlot operations had to be postponed, due to a shortage of gumboots.

And then, just this past week — early November— I went to a grain marketing workshop east of Calgary where 30 farmers were expected, and no one showed up. It was a sunny, plus 17 C day and anyone who still had crop to harvest was out doing it, or at least helping a neighbor. I knew something big affected attendance, because this was an event with a free lunch.

Organizers were understanding and will plan to rescheduled after freeze up.

It will be hard to know what to wear to the AgriTrade farm show at the Westerner Exhibition Grounds in Red Deer this week. While most displays are inside, some years the most popular outdoor display was the guy selling wood burning and pellet stoves, and other times you could be looking for shade. No matter what the conditions it is hard to dress appropriately. If you  bundle up for the outdoor stuff, you get too hot inside, and if you have a light jacket, chances are you won’t dawdle too long with the grain auger and manure spreader displays in the central parking lot.

And does anyone know this gal (pictured above) who was working on a farm south of Strathmore last week. She looks like a very knowledgeable  person on forage handling, but I wouldn’t want her giving any husband-handling advice to my wife.

Lee Hart is a long time blogger and social media guru who can be reached at lee@fbcpublishing.com