Sundown, Saturday, April 12, 2014

We began some field work yesterday.  We were able to put down some herbicide for about 400 acres of 2014 soybean fields.  Also, Ross and John began to apply NH3.  We are a little limited in what we can do, for some fields are still too wet, and some are even in the flooded White River bottoms!  So, we have to pick around rather carefully to find a place to work.

We feel a little pressure to get some soybean herbicide applied, for there is a 1-week waiting period between application and planting.  Another spray operation is also becoming urgent:  applying Harmony herbicide to the wheat crop.

We began field work again this morning.  John was a little later getting going, for he had a flat tire to end the evening yesterday.   Picked up a thorn or some other foreign object.   So, his first stop of the day was at BestOne Tire in Vincennes.   The wind picked up in a very strong way about 1230 pm, and that stopped the sprayer.  But as the sun goes down, Ross and John are still finding fields that are acceptably dry enough to apply NH3.  At least some progress is being made.

Ross has had a pretty good day applying NH3 at the Burke farm. He pulls a 15-knife applicator bar, which has about a 40-foot swath. The rig uses a Raven control system to make the application rate precise. And, of course, his C-IH MX 290 tractor has AccuGuide, to make his rows straight and the swaths exact.

Here comes John across the hill at the Steimel farm.

John climbs aboard his tractor after hooking to the next cart with a full pair of tanks.

There he goes… applying a 60-foot swath of NH3. The 2510H applicator is controlled by a GS2 Rate Controller paired with the GreenStar 2630 screen inside the tractor. It has 6-sections of swath control to minimize overlap.

Brandon has kept busy, first helping me fill the sprayer, and secondly towing full ammonia tanks to the field, and empties back to CPS Wheatland.

Brandon assists me filling the JD4730 sprayer, by carrying the heavy bags of Actamate and pouring them directly into the tank. That crystalline material mixes better for us by going direct into the tank, rather than trying to get it through the inductor.

And the Shepard brothers have returned today to work on the Burke farm.  It’s apparent that we will have to return there to apply the NH3 where they are still clearing the woods.  That 3+ inch rain several days ago has had them stopped for many days… until today.