Can Bad Weather be Good for Farmers?

Can Bad Weather be Good for Farmers? via thefarmerslife.com

The Bad 2015 is a tough weather year. Excessive rain is currently taking a fairly big toll on our crops. Corn especially. The last two years were very kind to us and brought big harvests. This year has been wet. Really wet. During planting I don’t think we worked the fields more than three straight […]

What is One Ear of Corn Worth?

What is One Ear of Corn Worth? via thefarmerslife.com

One ear of corn. It doesn’t seem like it holds much value. But even though I’m a corn farmer growing around 850 acres of corn, there is a lot of worth in one ear of corn. Let’s do some math. We plant on average 32,000 seeds per acre taking the whole farm in account. 32,000 […]

Raising the Barn Quilt

Raising the Barn Quilt via thefarmerslife.com

We just installed a barn quilt on the barn at our farm. My sister describes the history of the quilt as follows. “In the early1900s, my maternal great-great-grandmother Inez Newton made a quilt using her own variation on the Whig Rose Pattern. Around that same time, a barn was being erected on the ground that […]

Planting is over. Now what do farmers do?

Planting is over. Now what do farmers do? via thefarmerslife.com

Our 2015 planting season began on April 24. It ended on May 23. The season seemed longer than one month because I don’t believe we ever got a full week of planting in due to rains and waiting on particular fields to dry out. Some people think grain farmers like us work hard for just […]

First Day of Corn Planting 2015

Planting via thefarmerslife.com

The first day of planting is an exciting time. It means winter has finally (aka hopefully) given way to spring on the farm. Lots of planning and preparation goes into being ready for the first day.  In the past I’ve written about how we know when it is time to start planting. Not every year […]

Precision Decision

Precision Decision via thefarmerslife.com

We use precision ag technology in all of our field operations including planting, tillage, fertilizing, and harvest. Precision agriculture begins with the use of GPS.  Our equipment is guided through fields via satellite signals with pinpoint accuracy. The tractors drive themselves in perfectly spaced, repeatable paths across the farm. That is pretty cool on its […]