{"id":117112,"date":"2024-02-12T03:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=117112"},"modified":"2024-02-12T10:12:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T15:12:32","slug":"what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do farmers do in the winter varies by the severity of the weather. While there are always winter farm chores<\/a> that have to be done, the list can expand in a mild winter. With more available outdoor time, chores that would normally have to wait until spring can be started early.<\/p>\n

Since the grass isn\u2019t growing and it\u2019s far too early to start planting the garden, there’s a window of time during mild winter weather to focus on \u201cwould-be-nice\u201d projects that often get passed over for more time-sensitive and mission-critical tasks during busier times of the year.<\/p>\n

What Do Farmers Do In the Winter – Mild Weather Projects<\/h2>\n

Here are some personal examples of projects for mild-weather winters.<\/p>\n

Opening Access<\/strong> – I enjoy clearing walking trails through the wooded section of my farm and opening up access to special trees and neat locations that otherwise require a bit of bushwhacking to reach. But of course, just-for-fun projects like these are pretty low on the priority list during spring, summer, and fall.<\/p>\n

In a normal winter, reaching the woods is difficult because of snow depth. The snow also prevents me from cutting down brush and sapling trees at ground level. Mild weather is a great opportunity to cut new trails.<\/p>\n

\"what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\"
Grafting trees. Photo by yanadjan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Grafting Practice<\/strong> – Mild winter weather opens up options for practicing grafting fruit trees<\/a>. Many wild apple trees are growing in an old livestock pasture on my farm, and I\u2019ve been hoping to use them as a training ground for improving my grafting skills. Accessing the pasture isn\u2019t easy when there are two feet of snow on the ground. It\u2019s similarly difficult to make delicate grafts of scion wood onto branches when it\u2019s 10 degrees outside and you\u2019re wearing thick winter gloves. But with warm temperatures and practically dry ground, I have no excuse not to head outside and conquer all types of grafts during winter downtime.<\/p>\n

Pruning Fruit Trees<\/strong> – Pruning non-wild fruit trees in my orchard can be difficult in bad winter weather since accessing the trees at the right time of year (before they leaf out) is always a challenge; most winters, by the time snow melts enough to make pruning feasible, the trees are already waking up for spring. Mild winter allows engaging in corrective pruning.<\/p>\n

What is a Mild Winter?<\/h2>\n

Exactly what constitutes a mild winter will vary from region to region. Maybe it means temperatures are warm enough to prep garden beds a month or two earlier than usual. Perhaps it means diving into \u201cspring cleaning\u201d while it\u2019s still winter. Maybe you can cut up and haul away a tree that fell during a storm. Or maybe you can tackle routine fencing maintenance<\/a> that would normally wait until spring. The effects of a mild winter, and the ways you can capitalize, will vary widely depending on your specific situation.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, these ideas will help farmers make a list of mild winter projects. It\u2019s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that certain projects are only done at certain times of year but if you\u2019re enjoying a mild, quiet winter and cutting a woodland trail beckons\u2026 why not take advantage? Favorable weather should never be allowed to slip by unused on a farm.<\/p>\n

Just be careful not to sink a hay wagon full of branches and logs in a muddy field<\/a>. Been there, done that!<\/p>\n

This article about what do farmers do in the winter was written by Hobby Farms magazine online. Click here to subscribe.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Make the Best of Favorable Winter Weater on the Farm <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":117303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10458,427],"tags":[11916,11915],"class_list":["post-117112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farm-garden","category-farm-management","tag-farming-tasks","tag-winter-farming"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather - Hobby Farms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hobby Farms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hobbyfarms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1702\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"J. Keeler Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hobbyfarms\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hobbyfarms\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"J. Keeler Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"J. Keeler Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/da7929dc567450df79a9704e7b71621a\"},\"headline\":\"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\"},\"wordCount\":613,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"farming tasks\",\"winter farming\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Farm & Garden\",\"Farm Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\",\"name\":\"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather - Hobby Farms\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1702,\"caption\":\"A closeup shot of grass and soil covered in mild snow. By Dalton Overlin\/Wirestock\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/\",\"name\":\"Hobby Farms\",\"description\":\"Rural Living for Pleasure and Profit\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Hobby Farms\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/00GPSuRp-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/00GPSuRp-logo.png\",\"width\":586,\"height\":68,\"caption\":\"Hobby Farms\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hobbyfarms\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/hobbyfarms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/da7929dc567450df79a9704e7b71621a\",\"name\":\"J. Keeler Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eec6c5a425ae9087eac380f266ad5aa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eec6c5a425ae9087eac380f266ad5aa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"J. Keeler Johnson\"},\"description\":\"J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, farmer, blogger and videographer with a passion for pruning trees. He lives on a farm in northern Wisconsin, where he cares for more than 100 apple trees and one 40-foot pear tree that should have been pruned long ago.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/j-keeler-johnson-56934a135\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/author\/j-keeler-johnson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather - Hobby Farms","description":"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather","og_description":"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/","og_site_name":"Hobby Farms","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hobbyfarms","article_published_time":"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1702,"url":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"J. Keeler Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@hobbyfarms","twitter_site":"@hobbyfarms","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"J. Keeler Johnson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/"},"author":{"name":"J. Keeler Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/da7929dc567450df79a9704e7b71621a"},"headline":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather","datePublished":"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/"},"wordCount":613,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg","keywords":["farming tasks","winter farming"],"articleSection":["Farm & Garden","Farm Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/","name":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather - Hobby Farms","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-02-12T08:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-12T15:12:32+00:00","description":"What do farmers do in the winter varies by severity of the weather. Mild weather means chores that would normally wait until spring can be started early.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/AdobeStock_410717384-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1702,"caption":"A closeup shot of grass and soil covered in mild snow. By Dalton Overlin\/Wirestock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/what-do-farmers-do-in-the-winter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Do Farmers Do in the Winter: Mild Weather"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/","name":"Hobby Farms","description":"Rural Living for Pleasure and Profit","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#organization","name":"Hobby Farms","url":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/00GPSuRp-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/img.hobbyfarms.com\/00GPSuRp-logo.png","width":586,"height":68,"caption":"Hobby Farms"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hobbyfarms","https:\/\/x.com\/hobbyfarms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/da7929dc567450df79a9704e7b71621a","name":"J. Keeler Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eec6c5a425ae9087eac380f266ad5aa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eec6c5a425ae9087eac380f266ad5aa1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"J. Keeler Johnson"},"description":"J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, farmer, blogger and videographer with a passion for pruning trees. He lives on a farm in northern Wisconsin, where he cares for more than 100 apple trees and one 40-foot pear tree that should have been pruned long ago.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/j-keeler-johnson-56934a135\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/author\/j-keeler-johnson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117112"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117305,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117112\/revisions\/117305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}