Many farmers would consider growing no fewer than a dozen crops at 6,000 feet elevation to be challenging enough. Snowflakes were still falling as he was attempting to drill spring wheat this week. Winter can come as early as late September in this region where crops are grown with a scant average of 15 inches of annual rainfall.
Readers will be able to follow along to learn more about this unique farming area and Lakey Farms this season through DTN's View From the Cab feature. This year celebrates 20 years of exploring farming through a diary-like series that appears weekly through the growing season.
Also participating in 2024 will be Quint Pottinger, New Haven, Kentucky. Read more about his farming enterprises here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Next week both farmers will drill down on planting progress. Read on to learn more about Lakey's operation.
DAN LAKEY: SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO
Dan Lakey will tell you he's the third-generation farmer. Truth is, he's not sure how far back his farming roots extend. The family immigrated from Scotland to North Carolina in the mid-1800s. The Homestead Act of 1862 urged his great-grandfather westward to this southwestern corner of Idaho where land was free for the taking if you farmed it.
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