Well, I thought planting was finished.

Yesterday, when I was mowing roadsides at the Freddie farm, I noticed a brown area in the middle of the farm, in that location where we often experience some ponding of water after a big rain.  Well, this morning I went there to specifically look for dead soybeans, and to determine if it would be possible to replant today.  The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.  Yes, there are areas of drowned soybeans, in fact, 25 or 30 acres!   And, no, it will not be possible to replant today, some standing water remains.  I’ll check again on Monday.

We’ve received about .7″ of rain here at the main farm, but east of Wheatland, our friend Barney Dunn tells us he received 1.5″ last Friday night.  But farther southeast, at the Freddie farm, it must have been even more.  We have no way to measure the precipitation there, but my estimate is 2″ or so…. estimated by the flooding damage in the middle of the Freddie farm.

John is out inspecting each corn field this morning; he is accompanied by Greg Anthis, our CPS consultant.  They are determining the timing of the application of Roundup herbicide to each field.  This scouting is helpful to our management.

Ben is out on the little AC tractor, better known as the ‘suntan machine’.  He will have several days on that thing.  It is a rather painstaking process to drive along and hand-direct the herbicide on the woody sprouts!  It takes extra effort, and can become a bit tedious, but it is the cleanest way to keep the drainage ways clear of brush and looking neat.  He will have a tan to boast about, even though he wears sunscreen when he’s out.

Pat and I are taking the weekend to go to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play.  We are going on Sunday afternoon, for the David Freese bobble-head day!   The weather forecast is perfect for a baseball game; let’s hope the Weather Channel has it right.