A repair

Posted on January 30, 2026 by casifarm

Friday, January 30, 2026

It has been a rather slow work week, but not entirely so.  We have had to be out pushing and blowing snow for 4 days.   I think the blowing and drifting snow has finally stopped filling our farm lane, at least I hope so!  The local county schools have been closed or on “e-learning” all week.  Closed again today.  The 12″ snow of last weekend has had a lasting effect!   The main highways like US 50 or US 41 are clear, and many of the county roads are very passable, but by no means all.  Our farm lane is such that a 4wd is needed to get in and out.  Our mail was delivered on Wednesday, but he got stuck trying to get turned around.  So, our mail is being delivered to Brandon’s house until the lane gets better.

In good news, we have not had any power outages.

Early in the week, Brandon went over to Kris and Marty’s house to clear their driveway.  In that effort, the backhoe he was using slid off the lane and he had to get it pulled out.  During that slide-off, the backhoe came to rest against a tree.  That collision cracked a hydraulic line and bent the step on the RH side of the backhoe.  Both Brandons had the backhoe in the shop here yesterday to replace that hydraulic line and straighten out the bent step.  I think they did an excellent job.  With a good wash job to clean it up, you’d never know it had a run-in with a tree!

Here is the restored step, looking great.

A good washing will make this old machine look pretty good.

As the roads clear, our trucks will be busy again next week, delivering corn to market at GPC and ADM.  We hope the temps improve a bit.  It is 5ºF (-15C) here this morning!

Have a nice weekend…it’ll be a chilly one here.

 

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Big Snow

Posted on January 26, 2026 by casifarm

Monday, January 26, 2026

The weekend brought us a big snow…12″ at least… and that’s a big snow for us here in SWIN.  It started about noon on Saturday and kept coming down until 5pm Sunday evening.  It was such a major-enough snow event that when coupled with near-zero temperatures, we cancelled Sunday services at Wheatland Christian Church.   Unlike others who cancelled as early as Friday morning, we waited until Saturday evening to make the call.  It turned out to be the correct call.

Clearing the lane on Monday morning

Today, I spent some hours in the JD 61456R tractor using the old snow blower to clear the farm lane and my driveway.  I even had to take it over to John’s house to clear his driveway.  It was just too much to shovel by hand.  Brandon used the backhoe to work on the farm lot around the bins and buildings.  I think we are pretty clear for now as of Monday evening.  But the way the snow is blowing, and with big wind tomorrow, we will likely need to use the blower a few more times!

The snow blower does a pretty good job of clearing a path. It is quite old. Dad bought it soon after the Blizzard of ’78.  John restored it a few years ago.

I took the tractor over to John’s for him to clear his driveway.

 

This was the biggest 24-hour snow event we’ve had in many years.  Back in November, we got a 4–5-inch snow, and we thought that was a lot, but this one is gonna stick around a while.  There was no in-person school today, and I expect it to be another e-learning day again tomorrow.  I was out with the pickup to go to Wheatland to check the church building for frozen pipes (none, PTL!), and to take a couple pieces of mail to the post office.  IN 550 was snow-packed, making it a bit slippery, but no loose or deep snow.  For our county road, East Wheatland Road, I saw a county road grader scraping it as I was working on our lane, and it is fairly passable too.  Snow-packed of course, but passable.

Looks like things will be a bit slowed down for a couple more days.   If the kids don’t have school, they are not permitted to play their basketball games that evening.

The tournament draw for the Indiana Girls HS basketball state tournament was held yesterday.  Our team, the South Knox Lady Spartans, (defending 2A state champion!) will be playing in a 6-team sectional next Tuesday at Eastern Greene HS.  They drew Sullivan.  The toughest opponent will likely come on Friday when they will probably meet North Knox.  If they can get past NK, they would be favored to make a trip to the IHSAA state championship again.  We are hopeful.

Last Saturday, Pat and I went up to Purdue to see the Boilermakers play Illinois.  The weather was clear all the way as we drove to West Lafayette.  Of course, we had to make a stop on the way at the Beef House for a hearty lunch.  The game did not turn out to our liking.   It was a close game throughout, lead changes back and forth, but the Illini came out on top at the end.  They had a freshman player name Wagler who scored 46 points!  I have not seen anyone shoot that well since ‘way back in Rick Mount days.  As we left Mackey Arena, the snow was beginning to fall.  The roads home were pretty good until we got to Terre Haute.  US 41 was snow-packed through the city but got better once we got south of town.   The highway became slippery once again between Carlisle and Oaktown, and the last 10 miles were slick.   There was only about 2 inches of snow on the ground, so we made it safely by driving extra-carefully that last stretch.  It felt good to get back home.

The farm lane as we left late Saturday morning.

Pat and I really enjoy being at Mackey for a ballgame. It was loud and fun. And, of course, it was special to hear 14k+of us sing “Hail, Purdue”.

Mackey Arena is a great place to see a basketball game… not a bad seat in the house.  We did not come home with a win, but still it was a treat to be there to cheer on our Boilermakers!

As I write this on Monday afternoon, it has warmed up to a balmy 6ºF (-14C), but it does not feel too bad because there is no wind.  That’s supposed to kick up to about 40mph tomorrow.  Not fun!

If you got snow where you are, I hope you can enjoy it.  Down south, in KY and TN, they got ice, and that’s never a good thing.  We pray they get their power back on soon.

Have a good last week of January, everyone.

 

 

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Preparing for a winter storm

Posted on January 22, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday, January 22, 2026

The guys are busy this morning, putting together what may be needed in response to the weather forecast for the weekend.  Some heavy snow and strong winds are predicted for Saturday evening through Sunday.   It was nearly 50ºF yesterday, but single-digit temps are coming, they predict, with below zero wind chill factors.  And I’ve seen predictions for anything from 5 to 24 inches of snow.  They also say there will be a band of ice coming for a swath across Kentucky.  I prefer snow to ice!

Here’s the Weather Channel “Weather Alert” for SWIN

They have installed the snow blower on the 6145R tractor, and prepared the generators for the shop, and for their homes.  Pat and I put in a Generac at home a few years ago, so we are ready if the power goes out.  Perhaps the guys are doing too much, but in the words of my dad, “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”  One wrinkle for us… we have tickets to see Illinois play at Purdue Saturday afternoon.  The worst of the weather is predicted for southern Indiana, so we may not have any trouble getting to the game, but we may have some difficulty getting back home that evening.  At least it’s a 3pm game, so we should begin the about 3-hour trip home before dark.  Would we skip the game?  Are you kidding, it’s Purdue basketball for Pete’s sake!

John prepares his generator to use at home.

All hooked up, fueled up, and cleaned up…ready for the weekend snow.

John modified the old-style spout-position hand crank with a hydraulic motor so that he can swing the spout from side to side from the tractor seat inside the warm cab!

 

The deacons are making preparation for snow removal at church for Sunday.  It will take some extreme conditions for us to cancel services, but it has been done in the past.  It’s too soon to make that call, probably that decision will be made on Saturday night.

Is a tough weather weekend predicted for your location?  Prepare now!   Come to think of it, there’s even an evangelistic message in that, too.  Jesus is coming… are you ready for that?

 

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Service work

Posted on January 21, 2026 by casifarm

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

My favorite tractor, the JD 9R540, is in the shop today getting its annual service.  Oil change.  All new filters.  Grease.  Inspection of all lines and hoses and wiring.  Thorough cleaning inside the cab.  In other words, ‘the works’.

This 9R540 is the best tractor I have ever operated. So smooth and powerful and comfortable. It gets the once over today.

Brandon D inspects the steering, the oil lines, and the electrical lines.

Devin from Sloan’s is here today also searching around the JD 6145R tractor for a tiny hydraulic leak.  He has some special skill in discovering such things and he is putting that expertise to work today.  We made an examination late last fall, and we were unable to locate the source, but we are confident Devin will have better luck.

Devin continues his search, and soon he will find and fix the tiny hydraulic leak.

It is not quite so cold today; it will get to the low 40s this afternoon.  But single-digit nights are returning for the weekend.  And a new wrinkle in the forecast…. snow!   Up to 8 inches Saturday night and Sunday.  We will see.   As always for me, I don’t mind the snow… in fact, I kinda like it.  But when it melts away, that’s not so great. Lots of muddy mess.  I’m not sure, but the forecast may merit hooking up the snow blower on the 6145R.  Usually, if we have it ready, there is not much snow, but if we don’t have it ready, it will snow a lot!

Have a pleasant day.

 

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Chilly

Posted on January 20, 2026 by casifarm

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

It is a cold morning in SWIN, 9ºF (-13C).  Just a little colder than yesterday morning, but it feels better because today, there is no wind!   I don’t mind these cold temps if the wind is not blowing, but when it’s this cold and windy, I turn pretty wimpy pretty fast.  They are predicting a warmer day tomorrow (in the low 40s), but a return to single-digit nights for the weekend.

 

Old Glory flies proudly on yesterday’s clear and cold and windy day

The guys have the Tony truck (07 Peterbilt) out of the shop this morning, they got the few little lights working on it.  Today, they’re working on the 8RF340 to find and fix a tiny fuel leak.  They haven’t traced it down just yet, but I’m confident they will.  They also are headed to Sloan’s in Vincennes to pick up this year’s supply of filters and the repair parts ordered for the soybean drill.  (Sloan Implement was running a 20% off parts special) We will have to wait for much warmer days to work on the drill…  our shop is too small to unfold it inside.  But we will have all the parts on hand that were identified in the inspection.

Congratulations go out to the IU football team on the wildly successful, undefeated season… National Champions!   One guy at church on Sunday said, “It must be the end-times!”  For all I can see about their Heisman-award-winning QB, he must be an outstanding young man.  He is bold to speak of his faith in Jesus, and I appreciate that about him.  I wish him well.  So, to all the IU fans out there, enjoy!  What an amazing story of success!

I worked yesterday in the office (not a bad idea in this cold!).  I was compiling all the year-end financial information for our banker.  Our books are ‘cash basis’, and for the bank’s purposes, I have to deliver information that effectively converts it to ‘accrual’.  It’s not hard, it just requires some attention to details and organizing the information in a different way.

I have some planting prescriptions to write yet… those for the double-crop soybeans (DCB).  I have not received the report on the seed size for that variety that we will plant in DCB.  When that arrives, I can crank those out pretty easily.  It’s not fast, but also not difficult.

These are the tools for prescription-writing. variety seed sizes, a soil survey map, and Operations Center in your computer.

 

Keep warm out there!

You know, planting season is only 11-12 weeks away!  We will be ready.

 

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Snow

Posted on January 16, 2026 by casifarm

Friday, January 16, 2026

There is a little bit of snow in the air today, off and on, but nothing is accumulating.  There is a little breeze and that makes it feel even colder than the 33ºF listed on the thermometer.  We had 50+ degrees on Tuesday, and each day since it has gotten colder and colder.  They tell us we are heading for the single-digits by Sunday morning.  Oh, well… it’s January in southern Indiana… and it can be warm or cold… or maybe even both on the same day!

Snow is coming down right now

 

The guys have been busy this week, doing some small repairs to the corn planter.  We had it inspected last fall, and that created a short list of repairs/adjustments that are needed.  Only two little parts needed to be replaced.  So, both Brandons have been working on that getting it fully ready for spring.  They got that done and removed the planter from the shop this morning.  Now, the Tony truck is in there, getting air bags replaced on the back axles.

Hooking back up to the corn planter to get it out of the shop

The planter goes back into storage until spring…. it’s ready!

The Tony truck is in the shop now. New airbags on the back axles and a check on some wiring and lights.

I will be using the next few days to prepare for the farm corporation’s annual meeting, set for January 28.  All the documentation for the shareholders is pretty much gathered by now, I just have to organize it to be distributed that evening.  We will also be signing revised documents for FSA, and the annual rental agreements.   It takes me a while to get all this stuff prepared.  But I enjoy this kind of paperwork, so it’s not a burden, just gotta pay attention to the details!

The January WASDE crop report came out on Monday and created a free-fall in the grain markets for corn, soybeans, and wheat.  After that surprising report of record corn production, the market went into shock, dropping (or should I say plummeting!) dramatically.  Since then, there have been a couple days of a small price rebound, especially for corn and wheat.  But the effect of that report has had a significant negative impact.  Grain farmers across the country were already pretty blue about the prospects for 2026, and this was another ‘hit’.  In this economic environment, we will examine our operation with even more scrutiny and make every effort to find ways to cut costs.   It’s all part of the challenge.  The “golden age” for agricultural producers (at least those of us in the grain business) has perhaps moved a little farther into the future.  But we are hopeful that better days are coming.

I am by no means an IU fan, but I am so happy for their fans, and I hope IU wins that football championship on Monday.  It is a great thing for our state to receive that kind of recognition.  I understand that the tickets for the game are outrageously priced, but no doubt the fans of the cream and crimson will fill the place.  I hope they come away rejoicing in victory.

This brings back sweet memories of April 2024, when I traveled to Phoenix with my sons and DIL to watch our Purdue Boilermakers in the Final Four.    Purdue fans filled about 70+% of that gargantuan stadium.   What a sweet memory!   What a thrill to be there!   That’s what I wish for the IU football fans in Miami on Monday.

What a glorious weekend we had in Phoenix.

Have a nice weekend.  Stay warm!

 

 

 

 

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MT

Posted on January 8, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday, January 8, 2026

MT… that’s our abbreviation for the word ’empty’.   The last two loads of soybeans went to market at ADM in Newburgh today, and we are officially MT of 2025-crop soybeans.  Sure, there are many loads of corn yet to be delivered, but the soybean bins are swept clean.   It is a mixed feeling to be MT of soybeans… good to have that behind us, but also it would be nice if there were more in our bins yet to sell.    But we will be grateful for the crop we had last year, and we will look forward to the one we will be planting in just a few weeks!

 

This was the view from the driver’s seat of the Volvo as I help Brandon D to load his truck.

The Tony truck is loaded, so out it goes…

Here’s a screenshot of Operations Center, showing the Volvo and the Tony trucks in line at ADM in Newburgh. This was the last loads of 2025 soybeans being delivered

It’s been a quiet week here at Carnahan & Sons.  I’ve been in the office each day working to develop the financial information reports that will be needed to prepare for the renewal of our line of credit at Old National Bank.  I’m working on this now as we are only one month into our fiscal year.   ONB uses information like our inventories and “prepaid” expenses to adjust our ‘cash basis’ accounting to an ‘accrual’ basis.   That way, they can get the picture of our financial health in a manner that suits their needs.   There are other reports that they need, such as a reasonable assessment of land and machinery values… and those particular numbers cannot be discovered only from our cash basis books.

One of my next projects is to write planting prescriptions for the 2026 soybeans.   I think I will have to learn a new system in Operations Center that utilizes what they call “work planner”.  Although that’s not entirely new, I’ve used a different system connected within OpCtr to write these prescriptions in previous years.  I guess an ‘old dog’ can learn some new things!

Our JD 2660VT tool has been at the shop at Sloan’s in Vincennes for several days.  They had to do a rebuild on some cracks in the main frame, as well as replace a couple hydraulic valves.  That work was completed last week, and we took the occasion on Monday to bring it back home, while the roads were clean and dry.  It is stored away now, ready for work in the spring.

Storing the VT tool.

It’s overcast today, no sunshine at all.  But the temperature is a warm 63ºF (17C)!   That’s probably too warm for January, and some storms are predicted to roll in tonight.  One concern in the forecast is strong winds, some as high as 50 mph could blast us.   More rain is predicted for Saturday, and the high temp on Sunday they say will be 32ºF (0ºC).   I’ve always said that I don’t mind cold temps, even 20ºF…if the wind is calm.  When the wind kicks up at those temps, the cold just cuts right through you!  I guess it doesn’t really matter, for we will accept whatever comes our way.  On cold days, be grateful for your warm house!

John will be attending a farmer meeting tomorrow at the Gasthof in Montgomery.  He will be learning about some agronomy technology and methodology.  Perhaps he will bring home some new ideas that will increase production and/or reduce costs.  We are eager for those kinds of ideas these days.

So, I hope you’re moving into 2026 in a good way.  Have you caught yourself writing ’25 instead of ’26 yet?  I’ve done that a couple times, but I think I’m ready now to use the correct number.

May this new year bring you good things and contentment.  I’ll probably see you at some basketball game soon, huh?

 

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HNY!

Posted on December 30, 2025 by casifarm

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

The year is winding down.  There’s not much activity here today. Yesterday, the two Brandons were busy hauling out corn.  The Tony truck and the Volvo were occupied.  But they are quiet today.

After this fall’s harvest, the farmer adjoining our Nellie farm wanted to rebuild the levee that protects both our farms along White River.  They moved in their dozer and track-hoe, and hired another earth-moving contractor.  They finished that work a couple weeks ago.  This morning, since the ground is frozen, I took the Gator down there to have a look at the finished product.  It is certainly an upgrade.  Plus several hundred feet of the levee had to be relocated away from the river.   These particular fields are on the ‘outside of the curve’ of the river.   As time marches on, the river ‘eats away’ at the river bank, eroding away farther and farther into our field.  Dad bought this place back in middle 60s when I was just a kid.  Since that time, that 145-acre patch of ground is now down to about 100 acres!   That is a significant loss over that 60-or-so years that I’ve watched White River do its thing.  We’ve had the property taxes adjusted a few times to account for this decrease.  Yes, there are structures that can be put into the river to stop this erosion.  Big structures called ‘bendway weirs’ will direct the current away from the outer bank.  But those structures would be extremely expensive.  I know they’ve used them in the Mississippi River to maintain channels for the commerce ships, but it is not a feasible solution for us at this location.  By the way, the Nellie farm got its name because my Aunt Nellie, one of mom’s older sisters, lived on this place with her husband Uncle Wib in the 1920s.

Approaching the levee from Nellie field.  

View from up on top of the levee

 

I also took today’s trip out in the Gator to look over a few of our wheat fields.   I was pleased with the ones that I viewed today.  The Huey farm, the Waldo farm, and the Roberson farm look pretty good today.  Next month, we will have the first pass of nitrogen fertilizer applied.  It will be a solution called Nex Blu-S, a liquid blend of ammonium nitrate and sulfur and biocatalysts.  Nutrien will do this application for us.

Waldo farm, big field

Roberson farm, main field

We had a wonderful Christmas together on Friday evening.  It was really special, and to see the 4 granddaughters enjoy one another was special.

Dennis, Ben, Kate, Pat, Ella, Molly Emmy, John, Kierstin, and Ashley say Merry Christmas to you!

The new year is almost upon us.  Have you made any resolutions?  May 2026 be good to you.

James 4:8a

Happy New Year!

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A helpful repair, and… Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 23, 2025 by casifarm

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Yesterday and today, the two Brandons are working on our farm lane.  After the recent snow melted away, we were feeling the need to do some refurbishment!  The pot-holes in the road were getting so numerous and deep, holding water and making the trip in and out of our nearly half-mile lane a messy and bumpy trip.  In fact, it was so rough that anytime I’d drive in or out with my wife, I’d tell her, “I’m sorry, Pat… there are too many potholes… I simply cannot hit them all.”

They brought in a couple tri-axle truckloads of #53 crushed stone to improve the two worst sections.  They used the backhoe loader bucket to re-arrange the stone piles across the worst potholes.  Today, Brandon D even used the JD 6145R tractor and the “Reveal tool” (like a grader blade system that Brandon K uses to condition the soil inside his riding arena) to smooth the stone.  The result is much, much better.  Perfect?  No, but so much better to travel in and out here.  The cars and pickups will stay a bit cleaner now, too.

Brandon D using the backhoe to smooth out some stone over a pothole.

There is not much other activity here at Carnahan & Sons today.  I’m working in the office today to refine some numbers in the Cash Flow reports for 2025 and 2026.

It’s a fairly nice day outside today with a high temp today of 60+ºF.  On Christmas they’re predicting 66ºF (19C), and on Friday 72ºF (22C)!   That doesn’t feel much like Christmas to me… I’d prefer snow and 20º.   I must admit, however, that I don’t miss last week’s single-digit temperatures with blustery winds.  But we take what He sends and we are thankful.  Looking on the bright side, the heating bill will be reduced by these warmer days!

Brandon K tells me there may be some loads of corn that must go out to GPC next week.  And in January, there will be even more.  We will probably be MT of soybeans early in January.

Pat is out today bringing in some groceries and doing some last-minute Christmas shopping.  Our sons and their families will be coming on Friday for our family Christmas gathering.  We are really looking forward to that time together.  It is always wonderful to have them all here together.  Yes, we miss our son Philip, but memories of him warm our hearts.  The meaning of Christmas I hope never gets lost on us.   I pray we will always put Christ first and know that what He has done for us has lasting, eternal value.  PTL!

May you know great blessings this Christmas season.

 

 

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Corn going out today

Posted on December 16, 2025 by casifarm

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Brandon D is delivering corn to GPC today.  He is filling a LH Dec (last half of December) contract.  It certainly is warmer today (40ºF 4C) than yesterday, and lots warmer than the weekend when we saw temps in single digits.  You can see the snow melting, and the ground beginning to thaw wherever the sunshine is hitting it.  The morning was completely overcast, but now there is not a cloud in the sky!

After loading, Brandon D pulls away to head off to GPC.

He’s using the Volvo today.  It is running smoothly since its return from the shop at VoMac in Vincennes.

We will have to run up some corn into the overhead load-out bins.  They will even use this pretty-nice afternoon to sweep a grain bin!

Went to watch our 5th-grade granddaughter play basketball last night.   She did well as a point guard, especially on defense.  Her team won handily over the rival North Knox.  There will be more games later this week.  The Varsity girls’ team won last night over Vincennes Rivet… 64-19.  Basketball in the winter… it’s what we do here in Indiana!

 

 

 

 

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