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More Friday the 13th farming superstitions

There’s still one more “unlucky” day in 2015

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

Hey, what’s a good horror flick without a good sequel, anyway?

For the second time in 2015, Friday the 13th is here and people are just as weary about it as ever. Airlines seem to offer some nice discounts to people who are flying today, black cats are avoided and people are clutching their lucky rabbit feet in hopes they find fortune.

As they did on Friday, February 13th, motorcycle enthusiasts are making their way to Port Dover, Ontario for a day of all things motorcycle.

Every industry has their own superstitions and farming is no exception.

Katherine Grossman from Pennsylvania described some of the superstitions she’s heard of.

“Keep a smelly billy goat with your cows and they’ll never get sick,” she said via Twitter. “Never plant peas or beans on the day that baking is done (and) to cure founder in horses from over feeding grain, pee on their hay before feeding.”

Emily Helmuth from Mapleton Township in Ontario said she saw a black cat near her shed today and hadn't seen one since winter set in.

Here are a number of other superstitions some farmers may believe:

  • Years ending in the number 8 will have strange weather
  • Putting a rusty nail or something made of iron in gardens when seeds are planted will help them grow
  • If a pregnant woman plants seeds they are guaranteed to do well
  • Never raise 13 of any one thing
  •  If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain for the following seven Sundays
  •  In Kentucky, do not plant until after Kentucky Derby Day (May 2, 2015)

Unfortunately for those who believe bad things happen in threes, there’s still one Friday the 13th left in 2015 – Friday, November 13.

Join the conversation and tell us if you’re superstitious. If so, what are some of them and how do they apply to your farm?


Friday the 13th


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