Planting Seeds

By: Scott Ubbenga

Growing up on a 1,500-acre corn and soybean farm in Central Illinois, I’ve always felt a strong connection to the land. I also love planting seeds. After many years of showing crops and vegetables at the county fair, I eventually graduated to “skipping” school at 14 to run the John Deere 4440, pulling a couple of DMI wagons. I thought I was big stuff. Spring was an exciting time: going out to plant, getting out of the tractor to scrape back the dirt with our pocketknives to make sure we were finding moisture (but not going too deep), then circling back in the weeks ahead to check the stand, count the population, and watch it all grow. Some years we’d plant 36,000 plants per acre and 32,000 would grow. Other years, the ground would harden and it didn’t look as promising, so we’d get out the old Oliver, hook it to the hoe, and pray for the best.

The point is, you plant a lot of seeds. Sometimes they grow and flourish without much help. Sometimes they need a little TLC and take off a little later. And other times, they just plain don’t germinate. I was always fascinated by this.

Nowadays, it looks a bit different. We’ve got the 8330 and a 16-row center-fill. We set our auto-steer and drop it in with precision, right atop the beautifully laid seedbed from the anhydrous bar the fall prior – and they mostly all grow! It’s amazing how introducing some technology and tools, along with leveraging R&D and working smarter, makes such a difference. Great Grandpa would be pretty amazed that 200+ acres is just another day.

Aside from all that, one of the greatest joys is introducing my kids to planting seeds as well. They tend to like the harvest better than the planting part, but who could blame them? I could watch it all day long – the corn getting sucked down into the head while the cylinder siphons it into the feeder house and fills the bin behind us.

This year, the kids and I have enjoyed planting seeds of our own and watching them grow. We noticed that the rabbits were a bit of a hindrance after the first planting, so we had some replanting to do (followed by a fence to keep Peter out). It’s been fun for them to do some harvesting of their own and to share lessons each time we visit the garden. We noticed that even once a seed germinates, it still needs maintenance: weeding, watering, and such. They’ve begun to understand that for anything to flourish, routine follow-up is required. There really is no magic wand we can wave to do it once and let it be.

So what does all of this mean, anyway? For me, it’s a great way to view life – work, personal, and professional relationships. We’re all on a journey of some kind. And given what we’ve learned about planting seeds, I want to leave everyone with a word of encouragement: plant seeds everywhere you go.

Plant seeds of encouragement and kindness. Plant seeds of guidance and wisdom. Watch closely for the mentors and resources available to you, and let them plant seeds within you. Don’t forget to follow up on the seeds you’ve planted – check in with them often and ask what they need. If they appear thirsty and hungry, then feed and water them. If their growth is being hindered, help clear the path and pull some weeds for them. Expose the light.

Plant seeds of grace and love, and plant them with purpose. The more seeds we all plant – and the more we pour into them- the more they’ll grow and flourish. They will go on to bear seeds of their own and spread the seeds of joy to others.