Live, in-field demo

Posted on June 20, 2026 by casifarm

Saturday, June 20, 2026

Yesterday, we were able to demonstrate a new grain cart.  It an “Elmer’s” brand, manufactured in Manitoba.  The Elmer’s company has 6 of these carts traveling around the US this summer and fall to allow farmers to get acquainted with their construction and features.  We became aware of this brand at the Commodity Classic ’25 in Denver and that sparked our interest.  At that time, there was no dealer network in the Midwest, so it was essentially unavailable to us.  Now, Elmer’s is growing their dealer network and have recently connected to H&R Agri-Power, who has many dealers in Indiana, with one particularly in nearby Washington.

Ben from Iowa and Noah from Manitoba were here bright and early at the Huey farm.  They gave us a walk-around tour explaining the features, then they hooked it up to our JD 9520R tractor.  Ben rode with Brandon D for quite a while helping him become accustomed to the operation.  Brandon commented that he was very appreciative of the way the cart unloads on the right side.

Ben and Noah

Hooking up from their low-boy trailer

Unloading into the Elmer’s “Haulmaster” on-the-go

The guys REALLY liked the RH unload

Sign on the side the Elmer’s Peterbilt.

 

We thought the tracks were well-made, the low profile made it easier to load, and the frame was very durable.   The drivelines were sturdy and the gearboxes robust.   The big windows gave a good view.   The weights were contained in a iPad, and a single hydraulic outlet powered the folding/fill gate with a single joystick.   Each part was well thought out… and it was as if they had interviewed us for our ideas of the ideal grain cart… and then built just that.

We very much liked the cart, so much so that we decided that when we need a new cart, we will be shopping for an Elmer’s!

We were able use this cart all day, and Ben and Noah are taking the cart today to another farmer up in central Indiana.

 

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Back at it.

Posted on June 19, 2026 by casifarm

Friday, June 19, 2026

Well, the weatherman is predicting good weather for today and tomorrow.  Maybe more rain coming Sunday. We are going to go late this morning to get going again on wheat harvesting.  Yes, it’ll have to go through the dryer, but it is becoming urgent to get that crop done.  So, we will be back at it soon.

Yesterday morning, I checked on the progress of the replanted soybeans at Grubb and Freddie.  They are looking very nice now.  The once-dead areas are filling in again.

You can see replanted soybeans in the foreground, and bigger flood survivors in the background.

Have a great weekend.

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Scenes from Wheat Harvest 2026

Posted on June 18, 2026 by casifarm

Thursday morning, June 18, 2026

Wheat harvest is stopped again this morning.  We got a light rain yesterday at 4pm that drove us out of the wheat field.  This was in addition to a light rain at 4pm on Tuesday that drove us out of the field.   Between 2 and 3 am today, we received 1.15 inches (29mm) of wind-driven rain.  So, our wheat harvest is not marching right along on blistering hot days.  The wheat is standing well yet, but we have concerns what this rain is doing to the test weight and other quality factors.  We had to start up the dryer again yesterday; the wheat moisture content was too high to put directly into storage or to take to market.  It was running 16-18%.   It needs to be 13%.   The test weight (a measure of density) is already a bit low at around 57-58 pounds.  That needs to be 60+.  The process of drying wheat can sometimes improve the test weight.  So, this wheat harvest has been challenging, no doubt.   It makes me p0nder if it was a prudent decision to increase wheat acres by over 50% this year!

I will include some pictures of our limited days in wheat harvest.  When we can go, it has gone fairly well.

Wednesday afternoon

It was going well on Wednesday afternoon

The wheat is beautiful piling up in the cart

At 4pm, the rain caused us to shut down the harvesting.

Larry and Brandon D unloading at the home farm.

 

I used a couple hours Wednesday morning, while we were waiting for the wheat to dry a bit from the rain and heavy dew to plant two small, nearby fields to double-crop soybeans (DCB).  I must say the beans went into the soil very well.  Although it is a tiny fraction of the DCB that must be planted, at least it’s a start!  The soil surface will need to dry in order to plant more DCB.

Wednesday morning

Both Brandons are on the road today, taking wheat to ADM in Newburgh, Indiana.  After they get back there will only be 55 more loads to go there!

I’ll go check on the wheat fields to see if it is too muddy to begin again this afternoon.

Please pray for favorable weather for this harvest time…

 

 

 

 

 

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Wheat today.

Posted on June 15, 2026 by casifarm

Monday, June 15, 2026

9am.

The combines are out of the shed.  The headers are prepared.  The trucks are ready to go.  The grain cart is all set.   Now, we wait for the dew to burn off in order to go cut some wheat.  We are hoping for dry grain when we start, but the dryer is prepared if it is too wet to go into storage or to market (13%).   We have waited a bit longer than some neighbors, hoping that when we do get going today, we will find the wheat dry.   We will know soon.

The first fields are only about 2 miles away, over on Robinson Road near US 50.  If the wheat is too soggy, then moving back home should be no big deal.  But I am hopeful we will find it <15%, and we can continue through the day.   We will take one machine to start, then both will run if the wheat moisture level is what we desire.

We are eager to get going on wheat harvest.  We planted many more acres for this year, and it will take us a few more days than typical to get through it.

And… Larry is coming today to help.  He planted the crop, and now he will help us bring it in.

Have a great week!

This JD S780 combine has been brought out of the new building, and it ready to go to the field, as soon as the dew burns off.

RD40F header parked in front of the shop to get it ready for today’s work.

On the backside of the main header frame, these connectors activate the off-the-ground header height sensors. That will make harvesting this short wheat even easier.

 

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Some welcome rain

Posted on June 12, 2026 by casifarm

Friday, June 12, 2026

It is a pleasant morning today, after we received .4″ (10mm) of rain early this morning.  That matched the same amount we received in the wee hours of Thursday morning.   That rainfall is certainly welcome.  I checked on the replanted soybeans at Grubb this morning and saw that many of them are popping through the soil.  That makes me hopeful that no further replanting will be needed… at least as far as we know now… White River has come back up a bit but is not out in the fields…yet.

Soybeans replanted on June 5 are beginning to emerge. It’s always a relief to see those little cotyledons come out to the sunshine.

White River is rising, but should not be a threat to the replanted soybeans

The guys are hooking up the grain cart to the JD 9520R tractor… one of the last steps before wheat harvest.  They did some repair to the horizontal auger a few weeks ago, and now it is fully prepared for operation once again.

Servicing the grain cart driveshafts and tracks today in preparation of wheat harvest next week. Demco 1322

The temperature is more comfortable this morning at 72ºF (22C), with a high predicted this afternoon of 85F (29C).   Even cooler highs are predicted for next week, with some days in the 70s!   The heat and humidity of this week have felt like wheat harvesting weather, but the wheat is not quite ready.  We expect to begin on Monday.

More comfortable this morning… 72 degrees and .42″ of rain earlier today

We will see what the days bring.  We are eager to get going on this summer’s harvest.  We are hopeful for decent yields for the wheat.

Corn is growing rapidly, like it always does in June.

I think we have surpassed the “knee high by the 4th of July” old saying…

Have a lovely weekend.

 

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The wheat crop is not far off…

Posted on June 10, 2026 by casifarm

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

After doing multiple field checks, we have decided to wait until Monday to start wheat harvest.  We’ve heard reports from other farmers in the area that tell us of wheat running 14.8 to 30+% moisture.  It is our goal this year to harvest wheat dry enough to sell or store, which means at or very near 13% moisture.  We are not expecting record yields, but the wheat does look quite good so far.  It will take us more days this year to cut the wheat crop, for we increased our acres planted by 60+%.

Wheat at Huey Farm.

Also at Huey, a little closer view.

One indicator of ‘readiness’ that I watch for in the wheat crop is the curling down of the heads.  Along the edges of the fields, the heads are curled down like the handle of an umbrella, but out in the body of the field, the heads are only beginning to show a curve.  Once they all look like a ‘hook’, the wheat is ready for the combines.

Wheat at Holscher farm.

Wheat at the Waldo farm.
These pictures make us encouraged about the potential yield this summer.

It feels like wheat harvesting weather today, with temps in the low 90s and humidity to match!  There is a chance of rain in the forecast each day, but not a very high percentage probability.  In fact, a good inch of rain would be very welcome.   We did receive .1″ to .5″ (2.5 to 13mm) on Monday, but today, there are only a few “Andy’s room”* clouds in the sky.

This is the weather station report screen in the farm office at about 330 this afternoon. With the temp of 90.3ºF (32C), and humidity of 69%, it lists the ‘feels like’ temp of 102.7ºF (39C).

I was able to ‘catch up’ the soybean replanting on Saturday.   I did some small areas of replant a week ago today, and then Friday, I put in a really big day.  That made it possible to get “done” on Saturday.   “Done” means that we got all replanted that was dry enough to do.  There remain small areas in each field that still have water on it, but if I don’t’ get back there to finish it off, it won’t be a great concern.  We will make that call when the double-crop soybeans are all planted.  If those areas have dried, then I might go back and run in some seeds in those areas.

Replanting soybeans… I had to drive over all the acres, but I was able to lift the drill in areas where there was sufficient ‘stand’ of beans.  Notice, there is a such a small green patch just ahead in this picture.   For example, I replanted 188 of the 298 acres at the Freddie farm

Brandon has been out with the JD 6145R tractor and R15 rotary cutter (generically called a bush-hog), mowing roadsides in many of our farm locations.  We made a change today, when we replaced the blades on the R15… the new ones really highlighted how worn out the old blades were.  I’m certain it will cut more evenly now!

New blades are looking very good

Out goes Brandon to make some more field borders look great.

Keep cool out there.  The steamy heat makes me want to stay in the A/C!

 

*Andy’s room clouds here refer to the look of the wallpaper in the room of the boy Andy in the Toy Story movies.

 

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A little replant today, and some spraying

Posted on June 2, 2026 by casifarm

Tuesday afternoon, June 2, 2026

After checking the soybean fields for replant possibilities yesterday, I could go and do a little bit today.  I replanted soybeans in drowned-out spots on the Steen and Steimel and Dunn farms.  I estimated about 20 acres, ended up planting 27.2.  With the 80ºF (27C) temperatures this week, those should be peeking up out of the soil by Saturday.  The JD 9540R tractor (with the air drill) is a little bulky to get around narrow Knox County roads, but most drivers are very cooperative to get past me.

Other fields near the White River are still too wet to get back there to replant.  The river has not entirely receded, and after it does, it still takes some warm and dry days to get the soil properly dry enough to plant into it.  I’m estimating Monday the 8th to return to Freddie, Nellie, Commer, and Grubb.  There could be 350-390 acres across those 4 locations that will need the air drill once again… Freddie will be for the 3rd time!  I’m sincerely praying I can get the replant done before it’s time to run the combines for wheat harvest!

John was able to use the JD R4044 sprayer yesterday to apply some post-emerge herbicide to some more of the soybean fields.  The wind was favorable in speed and direction, and he found some fields dry enough to drive across.  He’s hoping to do more, and to get ‘caught up’ through the soybeans by Friday night.  We will see.

John spraying across soybeans near Wheatland on Monday. Stopping johnsongrass and some marestail and waterhemp.

Brandon K is out on his 4-wheeler spot spraying some ditch banks.  There is a relatively new weed called hemlock that seems to be taking over in this area.  Unseen here until about 3 years ago, it is increasing rapidly.  Ditch banks and roadsides are seeing more and more of it.  It seems to be displacing even the thistles.

Brandon D did some roadside mowing yesterday, and today he assisted the guys from Montgomery Welding who are replacing the conveyor chain in our big unload pit.   He will also help keep the sprayer support trailer ready as John needs it.  He will run the bush hog as it fits around his other tasks.

Pat and I are working VBS this week, Monday through Thursday evenings.  It is very interesting, and fun to interact with kids from age 3 through 5th grade.  Turnout numbers are pretty good, but not overwhelming.   Our Children’s Director at WCC, Jennifer, wrote the curriculum–based on stories about Daniel.   She has plenty of volunteers and it is great to see how everyone pulls together to make VBS meaningful and fun.  But I have to admit, when we return home in the evening, Pat and I both say, “Whew!”

The days are drawing to a close for any replanting of corn.   More of it survived the flooding than we anticipated, and it won’t amount to very many acres, probably <20.  But if we cannot return there by June 15, we will not replant and just accept it as it is.

This day is a beauty… 80 degrees and clear blue sky and a gentle breeze.  I don’t know who the famous guy was that said it, but he was correct when he said, “There is nothing more rare than a day in June”.    This one, in particular, is lovely.

Wheat is about 10 days to 2 weeks off.  It’s golden on top, but peering down into the crop canopy, it is still pretty sappy and green.

May you have a great first week of June.

 

 

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A little bit more rain

Posted on May 26, 2026 by casifarm

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Yes, it’s drizzly rain again today.  Not a lot of accumulation.  But the skies are gray, and the temperature is in the low 70s.   Once this round of rain departs the area tomorrow, we are predicted to get about 2 weeks of warm and dry weather… that will be welcome.

Driving by our fields in the White River bottomlands, the bulk of the water is gone, just some remaining in the sloughs or bayous.   At its crest, the water covered whole fields.  This flood event increased our need for more replanted soybeans.  At least the flood plain fields are soybeans, not corn, and that will give us a bigger window to do the replant.   We are very reluctant to plant corn after June 10, but soybeans can be planted well into July.   Brandon is planning for a limited number of corn replant acres…we will just have to see how those flat fields survived the water.

This was the Grubb field on Saturday. Replant will occur once the flood water recedes and the soil surface dries.

The wheat crop is moving right along.  Almost more yellow than green!   While we usually begin wheat harvest around June 20, it may be a week or so earlier this year.  We are hopeful for good yields, but this extended rainy spell may reduce some potential.  We won’t know for sure until the combines roll.  But today we are optimistic.

Wheat at the Cox Hill field.

While not as thick as we had hoped, the heads seem to be a tiny bit bigger this season.

Looking forward to getting the combines into this field at the Waldo farm.

John didn’t celebrate the Memorial Day holiday yesterday; he spent it in the sprayer.  By picking and choosing across several farm locations, he was able to get over 300 acres of soybeans their first post pass of herbicide.   Hopefully, he will make even more progress on this application later this week.   It would be great if that can be done before we cut wheat.  The corn is essentially ‘laid by’… we will not perform any more work on it, until we hire an aerial applicator to apply a fungicide on it at tasseling.

We enjoyed the 110th running of the Indy 500 race.    Just watching on TV was interesting, especially the pre-race ceremonies.   The top thing for me is when they sing “Back Home Again in Indiana”.  That is touching and I get a little sentimental about how life here has been very blessed.  I’m proud to call Indiana my home.

Have a great week.  Soon, June will arrive!   Hasn’t 2026 gone by really fast?

 

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Soggy

Posted on May 20, 2026 by casifarm

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

More rain.   The drought is over!   Another 1.9 inches (48mm) here today.  This is on top of about 6 inches (152mm) received on the fields since Saturday.  The WASCoBs are full.  Ditches are running bank full to overflowing.  White River is rising again and is predicted to crest at 20 feet by Friday.   This is the 3rd White River flood crest in a month and will be the highest one this year.  A 20-foot river will bring some significant flooding damage to nearby fields.   Now, we are hoping that the waters will recede in time to do the replanting by early June!

The Wednesday morning White River forecast at Edwardsport. Our fields are about 1-day’s flow after this location.  20.2 feet will bring significant flood damage

It’s amazing how we went from a drought in March and most of April…now in May the rainfall is excessive.   And yesterday it came in short periods of heavy downpours.  Today, it has been non-stop since it began in the wee hours of pre-dawn.   We will just have to see how it all works out over the next several weeks.   Plus, we can really see the wheat getting ripe, the deep green is well on its way to turning to rich gold.

These rainy days have allowed Pat and me to attend the granddaughters’ awards ceremonies.  Yesterday, it was at SKE, today at SKMS.  It is a happy moment for old grandpa to hear their names called out for doing something special or excellent.

Tuesday morning at SKE, our granddaughter in Kindergarten (green shirt) helped bring the music to the ceremony.

Maybe I can use this rainy day for something productive, like getting in some reading.

We will have our 2x/month small group Bible study tonight, and it will be great to be with those special people again.

The guys are using this rainy spell to work on the headers… getting them ready to cut wheat.  The installed the lock-up bolts, and replaced worn/broken sections in the cutterbar.

This RD40F is almost ready to cut wheat! The MacDon header will take its turn in the shop next.

Have a great rest of your week.

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Beautiful weekend rain.

Posted on May 18, 2026 by casifarm

Monday, May 18, 2026

 

Last weekend brought us a really great rain.   It came in 3 separate bursts, Saturday morning, afternoon, and night. Depending on the field location, we received 1.0 to 1.7 inches (25 to 43 mm) of rain overall.   We just could not ask for a better rain event…plenty without being too much.  We were getting dry again, even after the 5+ rain event in late April…most of that washed away rather than soak in.  This rain event was very welcome.  It helps both the corn and the soybeans, especially the replanted soybeans that went in last week.   Another good factor is that the daytime temperatures have increased now into the 80s, and that warmth will help crop development.

The guys are preparing the JD 6 145R tractor and R15 rotary cutter (aka bush-hog) so that I can begin with some roadside mowing.  I enjoy that work, and the ‘after’ look along our fields.  I plan to reduce the number of trips I make this year compared to previous years, trying to save some fuel.  But I will mow often those fields I drive by frequently!

Both Brandons are working together this morning to make the 6145R tractor shine. The “Andyclean” soap makes it even better!

They corrected the oil levels in the gearboxes, greased the drivelines, and sharpened the blades.

John helped me put up a new flag this morning.  The old one was getting very tattered and faded.  The new version of ‘Old Glory’ is flying brightly now!

Rain is predicted for seven of the next 10 days.   That may delay some of John’s plans to spray herbicide on soybeans.  And it may delay some of my roadside mowing.  But it is good to receive the rain, and we pray that it is not too much all at once!  The wet period delays also Brandon’s plan to spot-in some corn replant in <20 acres.  And it delays my return to the Nellie, Commer, and Grubb farms to replant soybeans.  The very slowly retreating White River is keeping me from those fields.  My hope now is to get back in there by early June.

The wheat crop continues to ripen slowly.  We are expecting it to be ready a little bit earlier than typical this June.   We are also hopeful for the yield, not a record, but above trend line yields.

Pat and I spend many evenings these days at the softball fields for John’s girls.  I think tennis season is over, but softball will last several more weeks.  It is a pleasure to watch them do their sports.  Grandma and Grandpa need to be there to cheer them on!

Have a good week.

 

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