By Rebecca French Smith, Missouri Farm Bureau

There is something about this time of year. When you know spring is coming, but it’s still below freezing in the evenings. When passing the seed packet stand at the garden shop gives you reason to pause, and dream of the fresh produce you might grow this year. When the days start getting longer and the sun rises a little higher each day.

What I look forward to the most is that first pop of green. It has long been a little game I play with my kids, though they may have never realized it. To show them how to look forward to something good and to persevere through something tough, I have them look for the first pop of green each spring. Can you see it? Can you name the day that you woke up and the grass was green and the trees were budding? It always seems to happen overnight, or perhaps I am guilty of being too busy and preoccupied to notice it in progress.

I also admire the straight rows farmers plant with corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton. The thin green lines will come soon enough as the seedlings start to emerge across Missouri. Ever the optimists, farmers know spring is coming. They anticipate it when they order seed for the planting season. They tend their tractors so they are in racing form once warm-enough weather hits. But even for the farmer, spring planting and warmer weather are no less magical.

As they plant, fleeting concerns of the unexpected will cross their minds. They will wonder if they’ll get a good price for their crop this year. What pests or disease should they be preparing for? Will Mother Nature throw any curve balls or will she be kind? At least they will have some peace of mind knowing a new five-year Farm Bill is in place. Even so, there is uncertainty.

As they plant, farmers will not know the specifics of the Farm Bill’s new safety net. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working through and prioritizing implementation of the bill’s many programs—programs that touch the lives of virtually every American. While farmers will need to be patient in waiting for more information, at least they know they can continue to purchase crop insurance in the event Mother Nature has some surprises up her sleeves.

By several accounts, this winter has been one of the top ten harshest on record in Missouri. Maybe she is tired and ready for a rest. Farmers are ready, too, and hoping for a good year.

Rebecca French Smith, of Columbia, Mo., is a multimedia specialist for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.