I feel like every year we have “that field”. The one that just can’t get a break. It might be the weather, the timing of planting, or any number of factors…but no matter what it just can’t win.
This year it’s one of our crimson clover fields. This darn field has been through it all and while I’m over here praying it actually really does make it through it all, here’s what happened.
Fall Challenge:
Matt heads down to go look at the crimson field down by the river and my phone rings, “Holy…(um, we will use the word cow here) cow, the field is disappearing and fast!” It’s early fall and it’s been warm, and the slugs have been feasting. 
In very short order slugs from a neighboring field moved in with such vigor that they literally ate a 50′ strip down the entire length of the field! This area completely disappeared within just a few days time!
Early Winter Challenge:
Matt heads down to go look at the crimson field down by the river and my phone rings, “Holy cow, you should see the ruts in our field, someone went mudding all over and it did a number!” Crop damage is hard to tell at this point, ruts will be the largest factor come harvest when we are trying to drive through and over them. 
This all makes me want to scream and put someone in that darn tractor for the hours, and hours, and hours it took to get that field perfectly flat and planted. So frustrating!
Late Winter Challenge:
Matt heads down to go look at the crimson field down by the river and my phone rings, “Holy cow, our field is gone. No really except for about 30 feet along the road, the field has disappeared in just four days.” 
This picture captures the whole story. In just a matter of a few short days a flock, or more correctly flocks of geese moved onto our field and had a feeding frenzy! 50 acres of beautiful crimson clover eaten down to nubs on the ground.
This is a photo of where they didn’t eat…isn’t is so pretty?!
This poor field, I’m telling you it just can’t win this year! The good news is that we got most of the slug damaged areas replanted and it sprouted just in time for the geese to eat. But the good news there is that it should grow out of it and just be a later harvest than the rest of the crimson we have (fingers crossed). As for the jerks that drove all over our field…that one I’m still upset about! This field still has until early July to try to survive before we harvest, here’s to hoping it gives it a good try and gets left alone for awhile.
But it all just goes to show, sometimes you can’t anticipate challenges that are going to hit your farm, your crops, or your land. Sometimes you can go look at fields every day, and somehow miss one or two and just like that lose a crop. 
Sometimes you decide that you and the boys are going to go look at the field down by the river instead of Matt.
And sometimes (maybe the most important lesson here) you learn that you just don’t answer the phone anymore when…
Matt heads down to go look at the crimson field down by the river and your phone rings, “Holy cow…”
NuttyGrass 