Let’s take a walk through the year together and talk about what seasonal farm chores look like and why adapting to the weather is so important.
Spring – The Season of Mud, Babies, and Hope
Ah, spring—the season that convinces you farming is magical, even while you’re knee-deep in muck.
- Pasture Prep – As the ground thaws, pastures need to be cleaned up. Fallen branches, winter damage, and invasive weeds all get attention. Fences usually need repairs after months of snow, ice, and critters pushing against them.
- Animal Babies Everywhere – Kidding season for goats, calving for cows, lambing for sheep, and even the first clutches of chicks and ducklings—it all happens in spring. This means setting up kidding pens, heat lamps, brooders, and having milk replacer on standby. Sleep? You’ll catch up in the fall. Maybe.
- Gardening Starts – Seeds are started indoors or in greenhouses, compost piles get turned, and raised beds are readied for planting. Depending on your climate, hardy crops like peas and lettuce go into the ground.
- Mud Control – No farm spring is complete without wading through knee-deep mud and wondering why you didn’t invest in a good pair of muck boots sooner.
Summer – The Season of Abundance and Exhaustion
Summer is where your farm (and you) hit full throttle.
- Pasture Rotation – Animals need regular movement through different grazing areas to keep the grass healthy. This means a lot of fence moving, water trough filling, and occasional goat wrangling.
- Harvest Begins – Depending on your garden, you might be pulling in lettuce, beans, berries, and other summer crops. Preservation starts early with dehydrating, freezing, or canning.
- Daily Water Checks – When temperatures soar, water becomes the most important chore. Buckets and troughs get scrubbed often to avoid algae growth, and animals may need shade structures or sprinklers to keep them cool.
- Fly and Parasite Management – Summer is fly season. Whether it’s natural sprays, fly predators, or good old-fashioned manure management, you’ll be spending time keeping critters comfortable.
- Weeding Wars – Your garden will grow, but so will every weed you’ve ever met. Pulling weeds becomes a daily workout, whether you planned on it or not.
Fall – The Season of Harvest and Preparation
Fall is where you play catch-up, stock up, and prepare for the cold.
- Big Harvest – This is when the bulk of your garden and orchard come in. Tomatoes, corn, squash, pumpkins, apples—you name it, it’s ready. This also means marathon canning sessions that leave your kitchen looking like a sticky battlefield.
- Preserving for Winter – Canning, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting—if it can be put away for later, fall is the time to do it. Root crops get stored in cellars, and freezers fill with meat if you’re raising livestock for the table.
- Winterizing Barns and Coops – Insulating waterers, sealing drafts, and laying down extra bedding all help animals stay cozy once the snow flies. This is also the time to clean barns deeply before everyone gets stuck inside for the season.
- Pasture Management – Grazing slows, so many animals move to hay. Stockpiling or buying winter hay happens now (and usually makes your wallet cry).
- Butchering Time – Poultry flocks get thinned, and sometimes larger livestock are processed before winter. It’s never the fun side of farming, but it’s necessary for sustainability.
Winter – The Season of Survival and Maintenance
Winter may seem quiet, but it’s far from easy.
- Feeding on Repeat – When pastures are covered in snow, animals rely fully on hay and grain. This means hauling bales, cracking ice in water troughs, and constantly checking that everyone has enough.
- Water Battles – Frozen water is the bane of every farmer’s winter existence. Heated buckets, tank heaters, or breaking ice multiple times a day become your reality.
- Keeping Animals Warm (but not too warm) – Bedding is piled deep, barns are closed against drafts, but ventilation has to remain to avoid moisture buildup.
- Maintenance and Planning – Since gardens sleep and pastures rest, winter is a good time to catch up on repairs, deep-clean equipment, and plan out the next year’s projects. Seed catalogs in January are a farmer’s version of window shopping.
- Snow Management – Clearing paths for humans and livestock alike is constant. Sometimes you’re shoveling, sometimes you’re cursing a frozen gate latch, and sometimes you’re just wondering why you chose to farm in a place where the wind hurts your face.
The Seasonal Rhythm
The beauty of farming is that no two months ever look quite the same. Spring is about beginnings, summer about hard work, fall about reaping what you sowed, and winter about endurance. Each season prepares you for the next, keeping you on your toes and reminding you that farming is a lifestyle tied directly to the rhythm of nature.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s also deeply rewarding. Watching your animals thrive, your gardens grow, and your pantry fill with food you raised yourself is worth every muddy boot, sunburned neck, and frozen toe.
