Spring in 2020 looks quite different from a year ago. Farming weather has been cold and dry in contrast to the wet spring of 2019. It’s been great to stretch our muscles in the garden sooner than usual, but some early crops suffered during the frosty nights. And we’re all adapting to the medical and social challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, many important things remain the same. Lettuce and rhubarb shrug off the cold, peas stretch toward the sky, garlic greens emerge from winter mulch, and future laying hens race around the pasture, exploring their new world. Carlton Cou...