Now is a good time to finish paperwork

Hello again:

If you are awaiting my deer hunting story, I will not deprive you. I was on my very first deer hunting expedition on opening day of gun season.

Now if you wonder how a 50-year-old woman gets roped into this, I will share. My husband got drafted into working Monday, so my 10-year-old son was without a hunting companion.

Actually, I was pretty excited Justin would take me. I know how to load and shoot. When I was younger I was a regular with my brother at the sportsmen club, and still target shoot.

Justin and I have our guns, shells, trail mix, beef jerky, orange vests and hats and arrive at our location just at dawn.

Rules

He informs me “cell phones stay in the car, and no talking from here on out.” Justin hustles his 410 and gear out of the truck and is off, while I am left with all the extra stuff — vests to put on blind, food, etc.) Just seconds out of the truck a big doe bolts between us. He hardly saw her and I dropped all the extra stuff, just because.

I guess that adrenaline rush did make our morning in the blind a little more enjoyable. It was hard, but I didn’t talk and I proved to my son that I could go deer hunting.

Paperwork

I know that many of you are hunting for more paperwork to do between now and the end-of-the-year or through the winter months, so how about wrapping up some paperwork at the FSA office?

As you are re-evaluating the farms you are operating, take special note if you are going to be doing tree removal, tiling, grubbing or other cropland conversion. An AD-1026 HEL and Wetland Conservation form needs to be filed. By completing these requests this time of year, the determinations can be made prior to spring planting.

It is also a great time to update crop maps to adjust, merge or expand cropland so proper fields can be drawn in before acreage reporting.

Timeliness is key in farming, so if you are going to do work to expand cropland, this is the time to notify your local FSA office.

That’s all for now,

FSA Andy