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As I write this column, it appears spring has finally arrived. Now in Wisconsin, where FEED & GRAIN is published, spring is a relative thing. Records indicate more than one Memorial Day weekend festivities were hampered by flurries. But weird weather notwithstanding, spring indeed brings with it a deep sense of renewal on many levels.
Spring renews our livelihood. Our industry relies on the spring planting of crops which fuel our feed, food and now, renewable energy needs. Within the pages of this magazine, our Focus on Biofuels section devotes itself to news on renewable energy.
Spring renews our hope. With the return of baseball we're reminded that with the beginning of each season we hold out hopes for our favorite team winning the pennant.
Spring renews our faith. The Easter season reminds us that having faith can provide the rudder we sometimes need to get our life's voyage back on course.
Spring renews our engines. For millions of students, spring break symbolizes a much-needed escape from the bleak environs of winter and our climate-controlled classrooms and schools. Spring break also symbolizes the school year's entry into the home stretch.
Spring renews our look and feel. Both our closets and our window boxes, adorned in winter's cloak of dark and subdued browns and grays, now give way to bright, fresh shades of yellow, green and red.
Spring renews life. Nature usually replenishes itself with many species bringing their young into the world in spring. Growing up, many tractor rides around the neighborhood would be highlighted by seeing a doe leading her fawns as they bound through the underbrush.
Yes, spring is definitely a season for renewal and rebirth. So as we prepare for all our springtime duties, remember that our most precious renewable resource isn't a grain — it's ourselves.
Let's do our best to protect, nurture and grow that resource so it's available to offer the hope, faith, the look and life, from which others may draw for their own seasons of renewal.
author: Gerry Whitty