June will always be crazy time at the farm. The first harvests are underway. Entire fields have yet to be planted. Weeds are growing at breakneck speed. Everywhere you look, something is competing for attention. This time of year, office work loses priority except for two key tasks—payroll and the weekly plan. Payroll is obvious, but the weekly plan less so. In June, any crew member can pull into the field and find something to do. But is weeding more important than seeding? Is harvesting more important than mulching? It depends on a multitude of factors—the maturity of the crop/weed, the size of the crew, the weather, the market, and much, much more. By 2015, after years of farming of the defensive, I learned the value of having a weekly plan, one that identifies which tasks are most critical, which can be postponed, and which will be most cost-effective if addressed immediately. Since then, Dan and I have gotten into the Sunday habit of drafting a plan, sharing it with the crew, and adjusting as needed. With it, we can make well-informed pivots in the field. Without it, we’re just putting out fires.
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