Bins and Modules.

You know harvest is approaching when you see the bins:

• Fresh, wooden containers stacked on a flatbed semi. You know they are headed towards table grape vineyards because of the multi-syllabic Croatian or Armenian names hand-stenciled on the side.
• Dull-red bins sitting alongside a wine grape vineyard with a sign: “harvest bins for rent”.
• Stacked on trucks hurtling to or from a vineyard or a winery. 

And then, there are the white, cream puffs anchored with blue tarps. These are this year’s cotton modules that line a farm road or define a horizon in the distance. 

Another year is over. Good, bad, or indifferent – the growers must now account to their bankers, packers, retailers, and customers. Then, they start lining up their credit and resources for a new year. For some, they will celebrate and the cycle will continue. For others, it will not.

For many, they will question why they go on – but, they can’t help themselves. They must farm like an artist must paint. It is inherent. It is who they are.