The Seed Sower

Recently we heard once more the Parable of the Seed Sower, one of my favorites;  :

The Parable of the Sower. 1 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.   2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. 3 And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.  5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, 6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. 8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 9 Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

LuAnn and I talked about the meaning of this parable and our discussion led to producing fruit 30, 60 or a hundredfold.  Have we done this in our lives?  A week from today marks 13 years since our first "date."  Her oldest met my oldest child's best friend, they became married and now we share two grand daughters from that marriage.  Every child was affected in some way, and for hers it meant a big move to people a little different than whom they grew up with.  We call that "God's Plan."

God also had a plan for us farmers, teachers and scientists.  How are we doing compared to Biblical days?  We plant corn at 32,000 seeds per acre.  160 bushel corn at 80,000 kernals per bushel is 12.8 million kernals or 400 fold.  This year many did not receive that but you get the picture.

If we plant 160,000 soybean seeds and it produces 40 bushels, that's 2400 lbs per acre times 3000 or 7.2 million seeds or 45 fold.  When I planted 2 million wheat kernals per acre and it produces 70 bushels per acre, 12,000 seeds per pound would be 50.4 million or 25 fold.  No wonder Corn is King!  You get more folds!

Hybridization had a big part in that advantage to corn but fertilizer, pesticides, machinery and lots of other technology takes their claim and brings their cost to the table.  Except for corn, our modern day production is pretty similar to that in Jesus' parable 2000 years ago.  Whoever has ears, ought to hear this!

Even tough harvest is on everyone's mind, some of us are focused on sowing, too.  It's time to sow winter cereal grains in the U.S. and of course I recommend every farmer plant a field or patch of cover crops just to watch them grow and learn.  Many of my friends are in a race to plant every acre as soon as it is harvested.  Cover crops have that potential to bear that necessity.

I trust you and I will keep sowing good seeds no matter what we are doing as the weeds, rocks, heat and drought are ready to pluck every good seed we sow.

Ed