Done with wheat. Looks to be the best wheat crop we ever had. It was muddy and still is too wet to plant beans.
Down to 20 acres. Waiting on trucks…….
Way too wet to plant beans right now. Almost been stuck twice with the combine.
Rain: Got 3 inches over the weekend, some had 5-6 inches. Sun came out yesterday. 44.5 inches of rain for the year so far.
Wheat: Got 65 acres left to cut, hope to get some of it today if it will dry. Its going to be muddy out there for sure.
Bean Planting: Still at 0% but time is running out and we are going to try to smear some in if the weather will hold by the weekend.
The spring that will not end………
We got a rain. After many false starts the last few days, dark clouds, wind, lightening, thunder and storm warnings we did get 1.5 inches of rain on Tuesday here at the farm.
From what I can gather rain fall totals ranged from right at 3 inches to as little as 0.8 inches. This is great for the corn crop as in many places it was suffering from the heat and from the compacted soils of wet planting. Many fields look like they grew a foot yesterday.
Now lets hope it wasn’t t0o much rain to keep the bean that guys planted on Monday from coming up!
Well its that time of year again when the seed salesmen are out in force making their rounds trying to get those seed sales locked in before the last early prepay deadline of the year. I had nearly forgot about it until I saw a post by @cornwuff and @darrenheafty on Twitter today. From the looks of their Tweets, they are doing it right.
Why had I forgot about this looming deadline? Well because I did mine about a month ago.
Two interesting things about seed selection and purchasing from this fall still have me wondering. To be politically correct I will just use Company A and Company B in my discussion. I buy 99.999% of my seed from Company A. I do plant a bag or two of other companies give-me seed for side by sides or just as research to see what is on the other side of the fence. Please note I am very happy with Company A and the job their “numbers” do here on the farm. I am in no way looking to change, so save your emails. I am open though to knowing if something is better, which is why I experiment.
Last year after some listening to some of my customers on the consulting side I purchased some seed from Company B to try. And yes it did quite well. With the dry weather we had from August up until we harvested I wasn’t going gung-ho on anything until the combine got done and and had hard numbers in hand. Upon leaving the field I called Company B to tell them I wanted some of that seed. Their answer surprised me: Were sold out. What? Its September and your sold out? WT? I still don’t really understand how someone could be sold out of seed when the combines haven’t even stopped rolling. But they are sold out I was told.
I shared my experience with some friends of mine in the consulting business and then got a phone call a few days later asking why I was unhappy with Company B. Unhappy? Not at all, just mystified that they could be sold out in September, that’s all. Now if its a marketing plan then it works. If its a supply issue, then it doesn’t work. If its growing pains in the Company, then they have problems. No not mad, not unhappy, not anything but mystified that for three months they have nothing to sell, yet everyone else is out banging on doors left and right, with plenty of seed to go around.
The result of this is that I appreciate Company A a little more this fall, they take care of me, I am in the loop with their sales force and agronomist. They make good recommendations for my farm. They let me know whats going on to insure I have a supply and the opportunity to get the biggest savings with their discount program. In short I see that they value me as a customer and we have a one on one relationship.
So every day a new seed book shows up in the mail from some seed company, and every day it gets thrown in the trash. Seed books just lack the personal touch that a one on one relationship does with you seed supplier.
Things were moving right along yesterday, cutting 36 bu/ac double crop beans and the moisture was running between 11 and 14 with an average of about 12 when we hit a wall. Well not a wall but the beans jumped up about 10 bu an acre on the average and they moisture jumped up about 4 points to above 15
So we stopped. The weather looks good for drying so we will try again on Friday and if it is still to wet then we will wait until Monday. Monday should be fun as I hope to also get started or ready to start planting wheat on the bean ground I just cut.
But today…….we are headed to Gorham, Illinois to see the Union Pacific Steam Engine train as it makes an appearance here in Southern Illinois.
Later
Well at least it is a dark green this week. Last week before the rain we were a greenish yellow wilted color. That color isn’t good for indicating plant health.
Out the back door picture(s) for this week showing the drought and heat stressed beans here behind the house. The cool weather of late has helped and the rain of a week ago has the beans blooming again. But those pods that are being set are only 2 bean pods. That ain’t good! We will see what the weekend brings as we have another slight chance of rain.
Awoke to fog this morning. The air was so think you could cut it with a knife. And you could feel it when you breathed.
While I was there I took a couple of picture so the double crop soybeans. They sure need a rain as they are blooming and beginning to get a few pods. They are going to be short. I just hope they make 30 bushel but realize that might not be possible. The nice thing about these double crops is that they still have a long way to go, and we still have most of August and September to fill them out. Especially if the heat holds on.
Well now its wheat to get cleaned today, then off to get a couple of computers fixed and few farm visits to get some recommendations done. I also have to put the finishing touches on my presentation for a meeting tomorrow in St Louis. Busy, busy day, again!
Well the Russian drought has caused all kinds of panic in the wheat markets that have pulled the corn and bean markets along with them. However the basis has widened each day so the flat price has stayed the same. But that has not deterred people from jumping back on the wheat band wagon. Seed is getting scarce around here.
People dont understand how something like the Russians can cause the wheat price in Illinois to go up. Hey folks, we are all connected now. As Disney says so well, Its a small, small world!
I got jury duty over with yesterday evening late and spent today trying to get back the three days I lost to my civic duty. I made some progress with a computer project started and near finished, got the sprayer out and got two loads of weed killer down on the double crop beans, two more to go, and got the wheat sampled to send off for a germ test.
Well it was a good start, anyway. I think that got me only three and a half days behind instead of four……….
I have got to get with my trucker and get some lime ordered. Soil test show that I need to spread some lime this fall. I hope it is dry enough to get the job done this year. I have also got my N, P and K fertilizer ordered for the wheat ground that I intend to plant. Prices on inputs are creeping up at a fair pace around here right now.
Tomorrow I hope to finish up the last two loads of spraying so we can put that to bed for the year. Then its off to the Surgeon to see about my shoulder……….not something I am looking forward to by the way. After that I need to spend some time on the phone, lime spreader to contact, seed cleaner to contact, seed treater to contact and last but not least is to get ready for Saturday.
Saturday is, I was informed today, yard day here at Robertson World Wide Headquarters. Which is necessary, it’s time for more than just a mowing………but not something I am looking forward to. However she who must be obeyed has spoken. I am wondering who will figure out how to sneak off first, me or the kids.
Ever wonder what to do when you don’t know what to do? You know you need to do something but don’t know what it is. Well I am there today.
Lt Gen Hal Moore, the Commander of US forces in LZ X Ray in Vietnam, whose story was made famous in the movie We Were Soldiers, says that there is always one more thing you can do. He always says to trust your instincts, follow your gut, not your heart. That is kind of contrary to what we have been told in the world, that we should follow our heart.
So hear I sit, needing to make a decision on weed control, particularly one field of seed beans. I knew it was coming, but I have been delaying it, thinking I could out-think it. My heart tells me to find a way to control the weeds other than to spray another application of the same weed control. This “alternative” method involves spending more money and might not work as well as I have it in my mind. The heart will lie to you, to get you to take a chance, because you want something to work.
My gut tells me that no matter what I do, I have lost yield that I will not get back. That’s reality. It also tells me that I have enough chemicals left over that are already paid for to nuke those weeds. Then, if they survive, or not, I did all I could do. My gut also tells me that, if it doesn’t rain, it won’t matter which road I travel. Reality again.
My gut also tells me that I can take them out next year with tillage and the corn chemicals easier and cheaper than I can with a new piece of equipment and a hope that crazy idea would work.
When I get off jury duty this week, I am going with my gut. So if you see a bright flash and mushroom cloud North and East of Benton, you will know that I nuked them. Those that survive, survive to fight another day. And if I don’t kill the beans, and it rains, well we might just make something yet!
I woke up this morning to a half inch or rain. Wonderful! Would take some more but that is great. The double crop beans are progressing right along but still have a ways to go to top the wheat straw yet. I will post pictures of the double crop beans in the canola stubble in a few days.
Crops:
I have looked at several fields of early corn this week and last week and there are pollination issues in lots of areas. The hot dry weather and low humidity are also taking its toll on the later planted corn. I saw several fields yesterday that were rolled up and turning white. Some were knee high others were trying to put a tassel out. There are also a lot of compaction issues in some of these fields in some areas due to the constant early rain and replanting. Long silks are also another concern in some areas as this is a sign of trouble pollinating.
There are also lots and lots of soybeans that are “yellow”. At first you might think of Round Up Flash but most of these fields the plants have very small root systems or restricted root systems and we are seeing nutrient deficiencies because of the root system. Some fields are growing out of it but others are going backwards. At this stage of the game with the temps and low humidity we need a rain on both the corn and beans. I have also had a report of some tissue test on these beans showing low K and B due to the small root systems. I saw one field of later planted beans that looked wilted yesterday evening.
Safety:
Please be safe out there guys. Yesterday I saw a farmer driving a Rogator almost take the door off a car in town. He was driving to fast to start with and weaving in and out of the “parking lane” along the side of the road. Slow down not only in your equipment but in the heat. Several reports of farmers getting “sun poisoning” and heat sickness. I know we need to spray and bale hay and mow but please take care of yourselves while you’re doing it.
Spraying Food for Thought!
From the Frank James blog. Round Up kills non Round Up corn pretty good…………….(link)… Don’t let this happen to you. Know your hybrids and communicate that to the operator of the sprayer, custom applicator, chemical company or service company.
Nothing specific today but lots of odds and ends:
Recreational Spraying has begun! It’s that time of year for farmers to begin spraying fungicide and insecticide on corn. I call it recreational spraying because in a lot of instances, if one knows their hybrids and scouts, there is most likely little need of an application. And at about $35 with the plane, that’s about 10 bu or corn you have to “add” to make it pay. Plus an insecticide that gets a “free” ride that may or may not be needed. I am not against fungicide on corn. There are times and hybrids where it pays and pays big. And it also adds plant health for some hybrids that a farmer might not get to harvest in a timely manner. But for the most part, its not needed with a lot of our hybrids. And this explains why I am not on the Christmas card list of the aerial applications in the area.
Canola Yields: Got the last ticket back from Ty Jones who trucked our canola to Golden Gate and of the 130 acres 100 of it averaged 48.X, close enough to call it 49 bushel and acre with the worse 30 acres averaging 20. Take away the 1o acres of drowned out spots and it made 30, but you can’t do that……… I am very happy with the yields knowing that we had one 26 acres make near 60 and another 40 acres make over 50. So the potential is there for some outstanding yields, and profit vs. wheat here in Southern Illinois.
Soybeans: The bean crop over the country side looks mediocre at best. Some beans are waist tall with a dark green color but there are a lot of short beans that are puke yellow and a soil probe reveals that they are root restricted. The recent rains help color some up again but that is fading pretty fast today in the low humidity.
Double Crops in Canola fields: I have to say that I absolutely love planting double crop beans in Canola stubble. Sure beats wheat straw any day of the week. And the ground plants so much better and mellower. Another strike against wheat and a mark in favor of canola in the future.
Civil Air Patrol Encampment: Is 8 days from starting and 17 away from being over. I am looking forward to this one being over. This is my last year as Commander and I am ready for it to end. Just to much junk going on to make it worth the while for me personally any more. Attendance is down 50%, with the economy the main reason, but also a lack of support in the local units where commanders are over burdened with a lot of junk for higher headquarters.
Civil Air Patrol: The stupidity of the leadership at NHQ is unbelievable at times. Due to their agreement with their “only licensed supplier or licensed merchandise” (I refuse to mention or promote in any way that company) I cant get any gifts for the staff of the encampment with anything that refers to CAP on it. And that company sells crap for “gift” items and those products are about twice as the same thing from other companies. I have started my own one man protest not to support CAP in any fashion with my money other than my membership dues. Nuff said.
And last for today……..
I am SOOOO ready to go to an Appleseed Shoot that I can’t stand it. Just got to get the Encampment out of the way and then I can concentrate on something important for me and Matthew to do. Maybe even Morgan and Mom…..?
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