Shaffer Family Farms

05/31/2026

We are sure thankful for the rainstorm that settled in on our valley yesterday! What a blessing! The thirsty soil and crops soaked up and enjoyed every single drop!

Plus…our favorite old-fashioned wild rose bush (on our lane) is starting to bloom! This bush thrives with no care or love from us…it relies solely on what God provides. She’s a beauty! (You can see her from Highway 30…so keep a lookout!)

05/21/2026

It was a planting peppers, (more) tomatoes, and cantaloupe kind of a day. FYI…the dang wind makes it tricky to offload all of the used transplant containers as we worked our way through the field. It’s tons of fun picking them all up! 😉

05/18/2026

The list may be too long…and the wind may not cooperate with the spraying situation…we will see!

05/17/2026

♥️ Thoughts for a Sunday ♥️

05/12/2026

Pumpkin planting 2026! We were able to get the specialty, Jack O’Lantern, and sugar (pie) pumpkins in the ground today.

Don’t let the video fool you. Prior to today, I’d never sat behind the wheel in this tractor…but a million things needed to be done…so I got to help out. (Note: I think I have PTSD from my childhood…it was always so nerve wracking for me to drive tractors! So, here on our farm, me driving a tractor is an emergency-only situation.) But, with the use of the GPS, (and Brent turning the tractor around at the ends of the field 🥴) it was pretty slick!

GPS in farming has changed the way we care for the land. It helps farmers plant straighter rows, reduce overlap, save fuel, use less seed and fertilizer, and make every acre more efficient. But beyond the savings, it also helps us be better stewards of the ground we’ve been blessed to work.

Long days in the tractor cab are a little easier when technology helps lighten the load and improve accuracy—especially during busy planting and harvest seasons. It’s incredible to think how far agriculture has come!

We can’t wait to show you how beautiful this field is going to be!

05/12/2026

05/06/2026

It’s corn planting week! When we plant corn, we don’t go by the dates on the calendar…instead, we use the temperature of the soil to determine when to plant. While we will plant all of our grain and silage corn right now, we will plant only a small portion of our sweet corn. We will follow up with several plantings the next few weeks so we can drag out the summertime goodness as long as we can!

05/04/2026

Out here, the weather isn’t just small talk, it’s everything.

Farmers wake up checking it. They spend all day watching it, and fall asleep wondering what it will do next.

Will the rain come in time?
Will the wind be too strong?
Will the sun stay long enough to help things grow?
Will it hail?
Will it freeze? Again?

Every decision…when to plant, when to water, when to harvest…rests in the hands of something they can’t control. And yet, farmers show up anyway. They plan, prepare, and keep checking that sky!

Because farming is faith in action.
Faith in the forecast…and faith beyond it. Faith when the weather cooperates with hopes and dreams…and faith when it doesn’t.

Here’s to all of our farming friends who refresh the weather app more than their social media, who read the clouds like a book…and who trust that somehow, someway, things will all work out!

04/25/2026

There’s something extra sweet about pulling out a little bit of last summer on a spring day like today.

In honor of National Zucchini Bread Day, we dug into the freezer stash, those farm fresh zucchinis we tucked away months ago, and turned them into warm, golden loaves. The smell alone feels like a hug from last August.

We love this simple reminder that the work we do in one season blesses another. Planting, harvesting, preserving…and now enjoying.

We’re grateful for a full freezer, a cozy kitchen, and the chance to slow down long enough to make something homemade today.

04/21/2026

Tomato planting day! We’re so excited for the season and all the growth to come. We had the best help today! (These three rows of tomatoes will all have frost covers on them…we can’t rely on Mother Nature’s unstable moods! 😉) Here’s to the 2026 season!