Beautiful day in SWIN

Posted on November 3, 2026 by casifarm

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Today, besides election day, is the birthday of my best friend from my Purdue days.  Roger lives in Wisconsin, and we exchanged messages this morning.  I’m so grateful for his friendship all these years.  When the month of May rolls around, Roger and I will have been out of Purdue for 52 years!    Happy Birthday, Roger!

It is a very lovely day here in Knox County, Indiana.  78ºF with a 13-mph SE breeze. This is about 10 or 12 degrees above average for this date, but no one is complaining!  So nice to be outside today.

Beautiful day

John is over at the Harry farm location, running the VT over the DCB crop residue.  This pass lightly incorporates the wheat/bean residue into the top layer of the soil.  The VT does its best work at 8mph or more.  John usually runs it at about 10-mph.  That really seems fast to me!   The 9R540 handles it with ease.

Here he is at the Tom field at the Harry farm.

Look at that blue sky and wispy clouds. Warm and breezy today.

 

Sure seems fast!

 

Brandon is wrapping up the final wash of the other S780 combine.  He had to bring it into the shop to do the final scrubbing and rinsing– the wind was making that unpleasant, even though the temp outside is nice.  He is now scrubbing the shields he removed and re-installing them.  When it’s done, it will be parked in the new shed, beside its twin.  The final wash-up is down to the grain cart, and we can do that indoors if necessary.

The other Brandon is delivering corn to GPC at Washington.  There are LH (Last Half) Nov contracts to fill.

Dustin Hatton is down to the last project for this fall.  He just moved into the triangle field of the Waldo farm.  There, he will build two new WASCoBs that will eliminate some erosion.  He may not finish before the next rain event, but he has made good progress on the several projects we hired him to do– at Huey, Holcher, Harry, and Waldo.   His work is well done.

Here is a waterway at Harry that Dustin re-worked. It was a bit steep at the outlet end and eroding somewhat. He reformed it and added rock impediments across it, then sowed wheat+fescue and rolled out this straw and mesh mat to assist the vegetation to get established.

I’ll be going to the county FSA office in the morning to sign up for the next 2 years’ of farm commodity programs.  The details of the farm bill are not hammered out yet, but the yearly programs continue as an extension of the previous farm bill.

Fall fertility is almost done.  We are down to the last field, the one where Dustin is currently working.  The prices we are paying for these granular nutrients are higher this fall, but only about 8%.  I’m surprised it’s not higher.  Now, when we inquire about the projected price of our nitrogen source, NH3 (anhydrous ammonia) that’s another story altogether!  It up about 27%!   That will affect how we utilize that important ingredient in the 2027 crop.

We will enjoy this nice day.  They are predicting rain tonight, and 60s tomorrow.  Yes, summer is over and those beautiful October days seem to be coming to an end.  They sure were nice for our harvest work.  Now to start thinking about my favorite american holiday–Thanksgiving!  It is my favorite, but not just for wonderful food.  I love the attitude of gratitude it fosters.  We need to incorporate more thankfulness in our every day life.

 

 

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Oregon-like day

Posted on November 2, 2026 by casifarm

Monday, November 2, 2026

It’s a gray, drizzly, cool, damp day out there today.  It feels and looks like a day in Oregon, or at least the way I remember those days when our son Philip lived out there.  You can be out in it, and you don’t really get soaked… it’s just damp.

Gray, damp, and cool– an Oregon-like day.

We are using the day to do some more washing.  Brandon K is working on a combine, scrubbing the outer skin with a soapy brush.  It beginning to look like new again!  I did some adjustment to the ladder… it got a little bent when I was crossing from the Harry field to the Curt Hill field.  I just loosened the bolts and re-tightened them again with the lower section re-positioned.   Brandon D is out delivering some loads to GPC at Washington.  So, it’s a day we are using to be productive, but it’s not overwhelming.

It’s AndyClean!

They even removed some of the interior shields to get it even cleaner!

Wow, how clean!

One last rinse…

Now, it’s stored away for the season… waiting for its twin to be parked beside.

Field work for us has hit a pause.  We await for Nutrien to apply the granular fertilizers for 2027 corn to the Leser and Shake farms.  They can work in this kind of weather, but the soil is just a tiny bit sticky…we’ll wait for the sunshine to return before we run the VT again.

Nutrien has received the soil test results for the few remaining fields that need fall fertility.  They are now able to get all but two of those applied…we are waiting on Dustin Hatton to finish the terrace construction work.  This rain will slow him down a bit, but it hasn’t been a lot of rain, so he will get back at it right away.

Refilling Nick’s spreader truck.

This machine is very fast, but it is also very accurate, with Nick at the controls. 

Have a great week.   Welcome, November!

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Happy Birthday

Posted on October 30, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday, October 29, 2026

A couple days ago, Pat was at the grocery store and she encountered a young man who is a devoted reader of this website.  She learned that it was his birthday.  So, we wish him a very happy birthday, and we hope he continues to enjoy this website.  Happy Birthday, Kyle!

John is running the VT today.  Brandon D helped me prepare a repair to a spare knife for the RD40F header.   That spare is now stored inside the frame of the header.  Brandon is now washing the MacDon header.   I’ll be working on new numbers just acquired from Nutrien to fine-tune our cost/bushel for 2027.

John goes about 10 mph with the VT.  That really seems fast to me.

Brandon D finishes washing the RD40F header.

When Brandon gets done with this task, the RD40F will be #Andyclean, and will look like new again.

 

I think you could say that the trees here have reached ‘peak season’ for the fall colors.  It certainly has changed in just the past few days.   It is a topic for conversation around here, along with the beautiful warm days and cool nights of October.  There is no one complaining about the weather!   There is a chance of rain over the weekend, and that won’t be a bad thing.

The pictures don’t show the real brilliance of the colors.

SWIN beauty

Dustin Hatton continues his construction and repair work to fix tile holes, repair WASCoBs and build a couple new ones.   He has removed some trees from a couple ditches and will today repair a wash-out in a waterway.  He does good work.

Rebuilt WASCoB with another riser added.

Dustin is building a new WASCoB.  First, he pushes aside the topsoil, builds the terrace, and then puts the topsoil back on the terrace.

The local HS girls’ basketball has a ‘scrimmage’ tonight.  It sure does not seem like we should be in basketball season already.  Their first official game is next week!  The girls are once again highly regarded across the 2A Class of Indiana.   But rather than be highly ranked now, it is always preferred to be on top at the end of the state tourney in late February.  There is a lot that can happen between now and then.  We are still elated for their state championship from 2025– the only state basketball title in the 59-year history of the school!

Hope you have a nice weekend.

 

 

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Busy day

Posted on October 28, 2026 by casifarm

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

It’s a busy day here.  I’ve been to JD for parts and worked on my mower.  John is washing the JD 9R540 tractor.  Brandon K is mowing.  Brandon D is using the air compressor in the ThunderCreek fuel/service trailer to blow debris and crusty dirt off a combine and both platforms.   It’s also a very sunny and warm day, and it got up to 76ºF this afternoon.  These October days have been beautiful.

John washes on tne 9R540 tractor

Yesterday afternoon, I asked John to accompany me to the Shake farm to pick up two chunks of concrete that I had seen when cutting the DCB there. Instead, we found more than 2!  When we find rocks in a field, they are not naturally occurring here:  some man has placed it there in the past.

The crop insurance agent is headed here any minute to get my signature on the 2026 production report, the 2027 wheat planting report, and a small yield claim for one farm (or Unit number) of soybeans.

It has become apparent just this week how the trees are changing colors.  As we drive around the neighborhood, it is very eye-catching.  The colors are finally becoming brilliant!

It’s hard to believe that these azaleas are blooming in the fall, but the colors are really neat!

Have a good rest of your week.

 

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Harvest 26 is wrapped up

Posted on October 27, 2026 by casifarm

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

We finished our fall harvest yesterday evening.   We cut DCB at Shake and then replanted soybeans at Grubb and Nellie.  They were not great, but they were dry enough to cut.   The quality of the beans at Grubb and Nellie was hurt by the late-summer flooding of White River.  The maturing soybeans were not completely submerged in the muddy waters, but the river crest came up to as much as 2/3 of the soybean plants’ height.  That adds a muddy coat to the pods, slows dry-down, and adds damage.  There were shriveled beans and dark colored beans in the mix.

This was the last little bit of soybeans to cut at the Nellie farm Monday evening.

Here, we are traveling on the WB US 50 towards home.

It was sort-of yucky finish to the harvest season that had so-so yields.  It does feel good to have this one behind us; the results were not stellar… perhaps we have been spoiled with excellent yields in recent years.  But we are grateful!   With the all the excessive rain and flooding of 2026, it’s a wonder we have much crop at all!  The October weather has been spectacular and helpful for harvesting.  We must acknowledge our dependence on our Maker, and how He provides.  Hab 3:17-19.

Taking a tour to see the Lett and Watjen farms this morning and the wheat growing there, we noted the robust growth and healthy green color of the wheat.  The neighboring trees have reached a peak of brilliant color just recently, and the morning sun and slight fog enhanced the beauty.   It was a delight to see.

Morning sunrise in SWIN today.

Wheat looking healthy at the two fields of the Watjen farm.

Looks good up close too, even with the morning dew

A beautiful morning here; the wheat at the Lett Main field

Brandon is already occupied this morning, starting the clean-up of the combines.  It will be a bit more difficult this year, for the combines did get rained on a couple times, which seems to ‘pack’ the debris, making it kind of crusty and harder to blow it off.  He will use compressed air to begin the process, then the machines will be scrubbed with soapy water (AndyClean soap, of course!).

It’s good to see Brandon wearing the respirator as he cleans. 

 

I’m working this morning on the final numbers from the corn, soybean, and DCB harvest season.  All 3 of these will show decreased yields, with the DCB hurt the most.  It was just too wet when I was planting those, and the stand in many fields were thin and scraggly. Final result, corn 207, soybeans 65, and DCB 35.  Down, of course, but not disastrous. Only one farm unit will have a yield claim for crop insurance.

Still, we have many reasons to be thankful:   there were zero accidents, no grain spills, and no injuries during those 9+ weeks of busy harvest.  We had Larry again to truck and operate the VT, and best of all to plant wheat here for the 5oth+ time.  We had temporary truck drivers Joe and Brian.  They were terrific and certainly made this harvest a memorable one.  Brian even gave our Volvo truck a new name… Betty (like Betty White).   Having people that are generally cheerful makes for a much better busy season, and we thank God for all the team that made #harvest26 one of the best.

The office work will increase now as we prepare for the FYE November 30.

We offer our thanks to the Lord for the blessings of this harvest.

 

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Another sunny day.

Posted on October 23, 2026 by casifarm

Friday, October 23, 2026

Boy, oh boy!  It sure was foggy this morning.  That guarantees that we will not be starting DCB harvest today before noon!   It takes that long to burn off the fog/dew.  But that gives us an opportunity to deliver some loads of corn to GPC at Washington or VT (see paragraph below) some DCB acres, and to get the combines fueled and serviced… and even write a blog post!

It has been a good weather week for soybean harvest.  We were held out of the bean fields last week because the soybeans were just not quite dry enough to harvest.  But we’ve really buzzed through them this week.  The work days have been comparatively short…start at noon, too tough to cut by 8pm (or so).   This favorable weather is predicted to continue at least through next Wednesday, October 28.   If that happens, we should be able to wrap up #harvest26 by then.  The hitch is that the late replanted soybeans at Nellie, Grubb, and Shake may not be dried down by the 28th.

Nutrien has been very diligent in getting the 2027 corn and soybean fertilizer applications caught up.  They go right to work as soon as practical after we get the  2026 crop harvested in each field.  They are also applying lime where the soil tests call for it.  As they get the granular P & K and micros applied, John has been following them to work that into the soil on fields that were DCB this fall.  We like to use our VT tool for that incorporation.  It works shallowly, and mixes the wheat/soybean residue into the soil.   If that residue is left solely on the soil surface, it keeps the soil from getting warm and dry next spring, delaying the corn planting.  With this operation this fall, the fields will be ready for the NH3 application as early as needed next spring.  We usually don’t touch the corn stalk residue into which the soybeans will be no-tilled.

John has been using morning hours to run the JD 2660VT vertical tillage tool on recently-harvested DCB acres.  Here, he is headed to the nearby Roberson farm.  In the field, this machine operates best at 8 to 10 mph.  At 43 feet wide, it covers about 45 or more acres every hour.

Have a wonderful weekend.  The weather can’t be better!

 

 

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Nice weather for cutting DCB

Posted on October 22, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday, October 22, 2026

This has been a great week to harvest double-crop soybeans (DCB).   Yes, the morning dew delays the start of harvest to noon or so, but once we get going, the sunny and dry days have been great.  We did no harvesting last week… the DCB just were not quite ready to cut, and we got 2 days of rain and storms (we even had tornado warnings Thursday night!) late in the week.  Over the weekend we had a couple nights of light frost, too.  All those factors helped the DCB to get ripe enough to harvest.   We’ve seen moisture levels this week of about 14%, but also some at 11%.  It feels good to cut dry soybeans.  Plus, the forecast is for more of the same for the next seven days!

Good conditions during the afternoon

We cannot cut very late into the night, the beans get ‘tough’ soon after sunset.

The DCB have been disappointing yield-wise.  It is definitely showing the effects of too much rain in June and July.  There are areas of very thin stands of soybeans.  But, when you think of what might have been, we are blessed to have beans to bring in, even if the yield is not what we thought might have been.

We’ve been sending loads of soybeans to ADM in Newburgh, and those contracts should get filled today.   We can cut 7-9 loads of DCB during the short daily window of opportunity, with 3 of them going to ADM, the rest come into our storage.   With the ADM contracts complete, all the beans will come into our storage here at the farm.  Those will be delivered later as the market offers opportunity and as we are affected by cash flow needs.

I had a visitor to the combine on Tuesday.  Ben brought his 22-month old daughter Emmy to the field to see grandpa. Needless to say, I was a happy grandpa!   It is important to Ben that his daughter experience a bit of what his young life was like… for her to know and appreciate her heritage.   He’s a pilot for Delta, but he still values his farming history.   And, he says it is a rare thing for a child to have a farm experience these days.

Ben and Emmy visit grandpa in the combine.

 

We have about 25 acres of replanted soybeans in fields near White River, and those are not quite ready to cut.   This will drag harvest on into at least next week.  It is a goal to get done this month!   We hope we can.

 

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Rainy Wednesday

Posted on October 14, 2026 by casifarm

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

We got no rain from the recent hurricane, but we are getting some today.  It even has some lightning and rolling thunder embedded in it.  It is welcome.

Before the rain came this morning, I was able to go up to Lett farm and spread fescue seed on the refurbished crossing between the Lett and Watjen farms.   This rain should help it get started nicely.

While at the Lett and Watjen farms, I looked over the baby wheat.  I think it has gotten off to a very good start with an even stand and healthy green color.  These two farm locations are reclaimed strip mine land from the late 1970s and after about 50 years, it is becoming more productive…not quite like other land, but certainly much better than when we began with it after the mine went through.  

Watjen wheat today

Lett wheat today

John is putting on new brake rotors on his pickup this morning.

Installing new brake rotors on the front of his pickup

We have not been in the harvest fields this week.  We closely examined the 3 remaining replanted soybean patches and the DCB fields… they’re close, but just not ready yet.  But after this rain, the days will cool down and there may be some frost to speed along the process.   But even if we have not been harvesting, we have been occupied with other things.  John spent two days cleaning out the grain dryer…he washes it thoroughly from top to bottom.   John has also been working with Greg at Nutrien, to begin getting the granular fertilizers for 2027 corn and soybeans put on the fields.  I cut down some weedy patches at the Burke farm and did some mowing along roadsides and waterways.  Both Brandons have been delivering corn to GPC at Washington.   I washed two pickups.  Best of all, I started on the calculations for the fiscal year end 11/30.   That will take some weeks of gathering information and placing it in our proprietary spreadsheets to give the accountant the needed numbers to plan for our FYE 11/30.

Our corn crop yield finished out at 11% under the 2025 results, but the 2025 crop was our best-ever average yield.  Yes, it’s disappointing to see the crop be smaller, but with the extra-extra wet year we had, it is a fine and happy result.  We are grateful.

As I write this morning, I can see a light rain falling outside and hear some occasional thunder.  When you need a rain, those are good things to see and hear.

May your day be a good one.  It is a good one here.

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Saturday stuff

Posted on October 10, 2026 by casifarm

Saturday, October 10, 2026

No field work is being done today, for the corn is finished, the remaining 3 fields with replant soybeans are not yet ready, and the DCB (double-crop soybeans) are still getting ripe.  The trucks are sitting still today.  But we were able to find some things to do today.

John is working on his annual post-harvest dryer clean-up.  He invests almost 2 days of work into washing out the machine, from top to bottom.  It is a key ingredient in maintaining the machine and its integrity.   We find that it is worth the extra effort to keep it clean.

It takes many hours of washing to thoroughly clean the GSI 2326 dryer. John starts at the top

We were able to return to the Commer and Dunn farms on Thursday to finish cutting the replanted soybeans there.  They came off pretty nicely.  After we finished, there were  patches of weeds remaining both at Commer and Dunn (where the flooding had killed off the soybeans), and I took the bush hog there yesterday to mow those down.  As I was wrapping up the mowing job at Commer, Nick from Nutrien was there to spread the granular fertilizer for the 2027 crop.   Almost every field gets this fertility boost after fall harvest work is done.  Greg consults the grid-sampled soil test results, and creates a recommendation for P, K, and Micronutrients to be applied to each field according to its variable-rate map.  This puts on these expensive ingredients in a more precise manner, improving accuracy, and spending the $s more economically as compared to a single-rate broadcast.

I was out today with the JD 6145R tractor and R15 rotary cutter (bush hog) to mow roadsides at Leser, Harry, and Steen.  I also mowed the relatively new waterway at the Harry field.  It turned out pretty nice.  This waterway was constructed a few years ago, and it keeps the water from the neighbor’s hilly field along the edge of our field, and out of the valley where it had often drowned out spots of crops.   We mow it now each year to keep woody sprouts from overtaking it, and to maintain its appearance.

The water from the neighbor’s field there at the left is captured in this waterway and kept out of our low-lying valley to the right.

There’s not much that is prettier than a freshly-mowed waterway. I admire those I see when we visit Iowa. Their waterways are beautiful in summer in Iowa.

After the mowing today, I made the effort to blow off the debris from the top of the R15; it gets pretty dirty while mowing.  The clippings that accumulate there come off well with a leaf blower.  After the blower, I washed off the topside of the R15.   And after that, I scrubbed the 6145R tractor.  It feels much better for me when the machines are shiny!

I would even say it’s “AndyClean”!

Brandon used yesterday’s beautiful day to clean the corn heads with compressed air and then he lubed the gathering chains.  These are ready for next year’s corn crop.

 

Clean, lubed, stored

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will tour the unharvested soybean and DCB fields on Monday and create a plan for when/how to go about getting those fields cut.  When you don’t use one of these beautiful October days to cut soybeans, you may be trading it for a cloudy, gray, drizzly November day!

The replanted acres at the Nellie farm are just not quite ready for the combines. Hopefully sometime next week, we can cut here.

This is the DCB field at Leser. These are making progress towards harvest, but will be even later than Nellie. I’m guessing 10 more days!

The combines sit, ready for action as soon as the soybeans allow us!

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

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Corn for 2026 is done, along with planting 2027 wheat

Posted on October 8, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday, October 8, 2026

We finished off the harvesting of 2026 corn yesterday evening.   We had 3 fields with some corn that was replanted in late June, and we got those captured yesterday. It was just a few acres of replant all together, <15, but it was certainly not dry like most of the rest of the corn crop has been.

Harvesting corn in one of the last fields of 2026

Removing the corn heads for the final time for 2026

Totaling up the results, the corn yield was down 11% from 2025 (which was the best-ever corn crop for us).  So, given all the excess rains (and White River flooding) this result is not too shabby.  Flat fields and creek bottom fields that normally excel were held back.  The hilly fields were the bright spots!   We are grateful and thankful, for any positive result is not guaranteed.  We rely on our Maker for the increase.

John reviews the yield information with me

Doing some scouting this morning, I found 2 fields where we can return this afternoon to cut some replanted soybeans.  There are 3 more fields with replanted soybeans that are not ready today.  Looking over the DCB, it will be at least a week or 10 days until we cut those.  If we are not able to harvest for a couple days, then we can begin the clean-up work on the corn heads.  The trucks will be busy too, delivering corn to GPC and soybeans to ADM.

The last wheat field for 2027 was planted October 6.   The others were planted from September 28 to October 1.   The earlier ones are turning the fields green. Larry did the planting of the wheat crop again; this makes more than 50 years that he has done this for us!  I’ll get some wheat pictures this weekend.  I think wheat looks beautiful at every stage of growth.

We use a broadcast method to plant the wheat crop.  Nutrien blends the 2M seeds/acre into the granular fertilizer and then the mixture is spread uniformly across the fields.  Larry uses our JD 9R540 with the 2660VT machine to incorporate that blend into the soil.

Larry is a careful operator

Larry and John discuss the progress of the planting of 2027 wheat

We are enjoying these beautiful October days.  Warm, sunny, clear blue skies, and cool evenings.  Does it get any better than this?

Pat took this picture the other day while walking home from the farm office/shop. Yes, southern Indiana can be beautiful too.

 

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