Thursday, July 12, 2012

Last night, Pat and I went to Evansville, to the new Ford Center, to see James Taylor in concert.  It was very special, and those mellow tunes brought back sweet memories.  We are not avid concert-goers, so this was really something out of the ordinary for us.  He sang his familiar melodies, for 3 hours!  At the big finale, he was singing, “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You”, to a standing (and swaying) audience.  I’m sure we made a special memory last night in Evansville.  It made for a very late night, but so worth it!

The drought extends with upper 90s temperatures today, but after last week’s 100+ numbers, this doesn’t seem quite so bad.  The corn and soybean conditions continue to deteriorate.  We are working to keep our optimism, but we are entering a type of drought we have never before experienced.  You can see Purdue Agriculture’s reports and response to this extreme weather event on a new website dedicated specifically to the drought.  I will be visiting with our crop insurance provider soon to reacquaint myself with the claim procedures and to try to determine an estimate on how the crop insurance will assist our cash flow into 2013.  We have already begun to work with our banker to expand for next year our line of credit, but I would expect that increase to be just a one-year need.

The WIN Energy guys are back today continuing their work on the upgrade of poles and wires to power this farm.  They have been away for several days, assisting other power crews to repair storm damage in north Indiana, and in Virginia.

Philip continues to mow roadsides, and John mowed our yard this morning–the first time in 8 weeks!

Ross and Rhoda have returned home from a few days at their home in Florida.  While he was away, he sold the first forward contract of 2013 wheat.  Even on vacation, he’s still on task!

I understand rain is predicted for tonight.  You’ll hear no complaints from us!