The Season of Starting Over

Spring, in many ways, is a blank slate. It’s when farmers start trials, fine-tune equipment and search for the right balance of seeds and inputs to grow a bumper crop. Each year, they look to improve by learning, adjusting and evolving.

It’s humbling to have a front-row seat to that process.

Through my lens, I try to do more than take photos. I try to capture the grit and determination of a way of life that simple labels or economic terms can’t define. Farming is an endurance test and a lifelong pursuit of trying to do things just a little better than the year before.

That pursuit hasn’t gotten any easier. Farmers today face stiff headwinds from rising input costs and the impact of trade tariffs that continue to shape global demand. Every seed in the ground is a calculated risk, and every decision made during planting carries more weight than ever.

Each spring, when the smell of soil, organic matter and the cool air combine, you know it’s time for planting. For me, the hum of a tractor and the rolling discs of a planter are signs that I’m right where I need to be. My job is to observe, to listen and to tell a story. I’m fortunate to experience planting season up close, and it still excites me to bring that story to the people who can’t witness it firsthand.

I’ve learned that for farmers, planting is an act of faith. I hope every photo I take honors that faith while providing a record of the beauty, struggles and satisfaction of their work as they start a new growing season.