We kept somewhat busy during a wet week. Rain kept us away from harvest Sunday through Saturday. Our farm has been really wet.
Wet Week
https://storify.com/thefarmerslife/east-80-wet
High water alert. Just 2″ of rain made everything wet. Our soils have been close to saturated since heavy rains came ahead of harvest back in August. As a result, it doesn’t take a huge rain to shut things down right now. That 2″ had nowhere to go but runoff or sit in low spots.
The Upside
We really would rather be getting our grain out of the field, but since so many farms are sitting still in the Midwest the price of corn came up a fair amount this week. We moved a few truckloads of corn to town during the week.
Spent a little time in line to dump corn on Saturday morning.
Dad and I inspected two popcorn fields to see just how wet the ground was at the end of the week. By week’s end things had firmed up quite a bit. We considered restarting popcorn harvest late on Saturday, but the constant drizzle and cloudy days of the week brought the grain moisture up a little too high. Here we were looking at wind damaged popcorn. Most of the ears I can pick up with the head, but some stalks are broken in such a way that the ears have been touching the soil during all this wet weather. Those ears are showing signs of mold and sprouting. We want to be careful not to get those into the combine. We might leave some yield on the table, but it’s not worth getting a truckload rejected for poor quality.
Popping Out Again
I’m getting into the next week, but I have goods news. Sunday afternoon we decided after a day of good sun we would loads our three trucks with popcorn so they’ll be ready to roll out Monday morning. I finished one field and opened up another which gives us a good jump on the coming week.
Coming soon to a store near you!
If you’ve never smelled a freshly cut corn field that’s too bad. You should sometime.
Shut down on Sunday night. Ready for another day. See you next week!
Brian:
Thanks for all the effort you go to to share your farm operation with us. I’ve been following quite a while but haven’t commented before now. It’s not only your commonsense perspective on crop genetics that are appreciated, but also your images of everyday work and family life, getting corn to market, weather, etc. that make your blog something special.
I own cropland in West Tennessee (though I’m not a farmer). My family and I drove up through Illinois to Chicago last week, and I noticed there was less center-pivot irrigation north of us than I expected. Would you care to comment on why this might be the case?
Thanks again for the extra effort you spend o document your operation for us, even in the midst of harvest season.
Julian Williamson
Jackson, TN
Thanks for stopping by, Julian. There are a few irrigators going up in this part of the country, but for the most part we do not need it around here in Northern IN and IL. Darker soils and usually we are trying to move water away from fields rather that add more. Once you get past US 24 near us you get into sandy ground and will start seeing some irrigation.
Brian –
Great blog. Keep it coming. I haven’t been “on the farm” since helping my grandpa and uncle when I was in high school and college. I’m retired now, so that’s been a year or two ago. I spent many happy hours on Grandad’s old Allis and Uncle Sam’s Oliver along the Vigo-Clay county, Indiana, line.
all the best,
Paul Randall Dickerson
Ashland City, Tennessee
Hi, Paul. Thanks for the comment. We’ve been down to Pigeon Forge three times in the last 18 months. Love sitting in the cabin doing mostly nothing.
Brian, I am a grain and oilseed producer up in Ontario. You remind me of a young fellow I know, who farms with his dad and uncle. Your dedication to moving this industry forward while still keeping your family first and your country a close second makes me comfortable that as my career winds down, we are in good hands.
Thanks, Hugh. After college I spent about six years working off the farm in town. I think by leaving I know realize this is what I’m meant to do.