Well we where able to finish planting all of the field corn last Thursday. Some went into ground that was really wetter than you would like it to be but it is planted. Still have the soybeans and silage corn to go. There is an area of about 15 miles around Cascade that did not get as much rain as areas just a few miles further away. Lots of the time we would be forecasted to get 1-2 inches of rain and would get a few tenths.
The earliest planted looks the worst as it got snow on it right after planting,about a 80-85% stand. In a normal year would have thought about replanting it. This year just glad it is as good as it is. A lot of the really heavy rains stayed south of us.
Did some unconventional stuff to get corn in the ground. Even with four finishers running around the clock the planters would catch up. We usually notill the bean stubble IF it has not had bedding pack manure applied. Well I was running the planter and ran out of worked ground. The field/farm that was close had been fall deep ripped but the ripper does have a rolling basket on it and the ground is fairly sand. So it was pretty smooth. So with them screaming rain I just set the row cleaners down a little deeper and moved the rows to a diagonal to the ripper lines, notilled away. When I was done it looked like it had been planted with a lister planter from years ago. I just got the farm finished when we got 2.5 inches of rain. It looked like a furrow irrigation setup but with the rows of corn under the water. Well it did work out OK. Got a final stand of over 32K so a lot better than waiting. On another field we had applied hog manure last fall with a hose system that uses an injector applicator. The ground is far from smooth after that but being fall applied and a hard winter, we notilled it. Looks OK so far.
The planters got a work out this year. Planted in a lot rougher conditions than they would normally do. Darn glad to have a "backup" planter too.
Got to brag a little about a very important Lady in our family, my Mother. She will turn 86 this July. The last few years she started running some of the more modern tractors. Took to the GPS systems like a Duck to water. Last fall she liked running the JD 9220 as it rides pretty smooth having Dt-710 tires that we run at around 10 psi to make for reduced compaction. She ripped a lot of acres last fall. Well that tractor came out of CA and was a rental. It has a security system in it that makes you log-in with a pass code to start the tractor. It also is tied to the GPS system so it can record the data from each operator. So we gave everyone using it a different log-in this year. Wanting to see who is doing the "best' running it. It is pulling a 42 foot Sunflower finisher this spring. You can knock out 30-35 acres an hour pretty easy. She ran over 2650 acres this spring. WOW GREAT!!!!! Her running it long hours caused one of the few arguments we have had with each other in years. Two weeks ago, on the first day we really got to run hard, She started running it right after lunch as the ground just had gotten fit. At super time my son went to switch out with her. She told him to get some sleep and she would wake him later as she was not tired yet. I go to check on him at midnight and he is sleeping and she is still going. ARGGGGGG!!! LOL. She wanted to finish the farm she was on before she quit. I did not want her running any later. Well it got heated finally I got her to switch if we left that for her to finish in the morning. Not a big deal as the farm right across the road was where we were going next anyway. The next morning I was starting chores at 5 AM and my son was fueling/greasing the tractor. I heard the tractor go out the lane. Shortly he came out to help finish chores. I asked him who was running the tractor. He looked a little sheepishly and said Grand Ma had told him SHE was taking over. LOL It is just as easy to let her go as she will usually win in the long run. LOL
Want to know why she was so determined to finish that farm??? Well that farm is a half section, 320 acres. When she was in grade school two brothers farmed it together. They had "new" John Deere "D" tractors. Their sons where in my Mother's class at school. The sons often bragged about how fast and big those JD "D" tractors were. The two sons still live in town and go to Church with my Mother. She wanted to "brag" to them about how SHE worked that whole farm in under a day. LOL She still remembered 75 years later them bragging. LOL
So when compared to a great many farmers we have been blessed with better weather. Still got a lot of work to go but we are better off than many. I really feel for those blocked out of the fields. Watch the calendar tick off the days while the markets go south too. Makes for a tough time. I am afraid that this weather and crop prices will take a few more farmers out of the business. Seems like more going out than coming it. Makes the future of farming look a lot different than when I started fifty years ago.
You know the biggest blessing I have been given??? Being able to work with my family. Four generations working together to get the job done. Might not make a single dime but I am still a "rich" man this spring.
One thing that made it worth all the work. My ten year old Grand son was riding with me in the planter tractor. The field was pretty square and I had all the end rows done. So I started him "driving" the tractor/planter. He loves anything to do with technology so the GPS stuff is a BIG toy to him. did not take him a round to get how to make it work. Then he made my spring when he told me " Grandpa this is pretty neat". Can not top that!!!
The earliest planted looks the worst as it got snow on it right after planting,about a 80-85% stand. In a normal year would have thought about replanting it. This year just glad it is as good as it is. A lot of the really heavy rains stayed south of us.
Did some unconventional stuff to get corn in the ground. Even with four finishers running around the clock the planters would catch up. We usually notill the bean stubble IF it has not had bedding pack manure applied. Well I was running the planter and ran out of worked ground. The field/farm that was close had been fall deep ripped but the ripper does have a rolling basket on it and the ground is fairly sand. So it was pretty smooth. So with them screaming rain I just set the row cleaners down a little deeper and moved the rows to a diagonal to the ripper lines, notilled away. When I was done it looked like it had been planted with a lister planter from years ago. I just got the farm finished when we got 2.5 inches of rain. It looked like a furrow irrigation setup but with the rows of corn under the water. Well it did work out OK. Got a final stand of over 32K so a lot better than waiting. On another field we had applied hog manure last fall with a hose system that uses an injector applicator. The ground is far from smooth after that but being fall applied and a hard winter, we notilled it. Looks OK so far.
The planters got a work out this year. Planted in a lot rougher conditions than they would normally do. Darn glad to have a "backup" planter too.
Got to brag a little about a very important Lady in our family, my Mother. She will turn 86 this July. The last few years she started running some of the more modern tractors. Took to the GPS systems like a Duck to water. Last fall she liked running the JD 9220 as it rides pretty smooth having Dt-710 tires that we run at around 10 psi to make for reduced compaction. She ripped a lot of acres last fall. Well that tractor came out of CA and was a rental. It has a security system in it that makes you log-in with a pass code to start the tractor. It also is tied to the GPS system so it can record the data from each operator. So we gave everyone using it a different log-in this year. Wanting to see who is doing the "best' running it. It is pulling a 42 foot Sunflower finisher this spring. You can knock out 30-35 acres an hour pretty easy. She ran over 2650 acres this spring. WOW GREAT!!!!! Her running it long hours caused one of the few arguments we have had with each other in years. Two weeks ago, on the first day we really got to run hard, She started running it right after lunch as the ground just had gotten fit. At super time my son went to switch out with her. She told him to get some sleep and she would wake him later as she was not tired yet. I go to check on him at midnight and he is sleeping and she is still going. ARGGGGGG!!! LOL. She wanted to finish the farm she was on before she quit. I did not want her running any later. Well it got heated finally I got her to switch if we left that for her to finish in the morning. Not a big deal as the farm right across the road was where we were going next anyway. The next morning I was starting chores at 5 AM and my son was fueling/greasing the tractor. I heard the tractor go out the lane. Shortly he came out to help finish chores. I asked him who was running the tractor. He looked a little sheepishly and said Grand Ma had told him SHE was taking over. LOL It is just as easy to let her go as she will usually win in the long run. LOL
Want to know why she was so determined to finish that farm??? Well that farm is a half section, 320 acres. When she was in grade school two brothers farmed it together. They had "new" John Deere "D" tractors. Their sons where in my Mother's class at school. The sons often bragged about how fast and big those JD "D" tractors were. The two sons still live in town and go to Church with my Mother. She wanted to "brag" to them about how SHE worked that whole farm in under a day. LOL She still remembered 75 years later them bragging. LOL
So when compared to a great many farmers we have been blessed with better weather. Still got a lot of work to go but we are better off than many. I really feel for those blocked out of the fields. Watch the calendar tick off the days while the markets go south too. Makes for a tough time. I am afraid that this weather and crop prices will take a few more farmers out of the business. Seems like more going out than coming it. Makes the future of farming look a lot different than when I started fifty years ago.
You know the biggest blessing I have been given??? Being able to work with my family. Four generations working together to get the job done. Might not make a single dime but I am still a "rich" man this spring.
One thing that made it worth all the work. My ten year old Grand son was riding with me in the planter tractor. The field was pretty square and I had all the end rows done. So I started him "driving" the tractor/planter. He loves anything to do with technology so the GPS stuff is a BIG toy to him. did not take him a round to get how to make it work. Then he made my spring when he told me " Grandpa this is pretty neat". Can not top that!!!
