Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Yesterday evening, the last of the soybeans got planted. I was able to work at the Huey farm location from early morning to mid-afternoon, and got the Flat L field planted. There were some spots where it was a little muddy, and a couple spots of standing water to drive around. But the unplanted areas are so small,(<0.5 acre in total) I don’t plan a return there to fill in the small gaps.
From Huey, I moved over to the Nellie farm. That was where I was working on May 12 when the rain came and drove me from the field. Just like at Huey, there were small spots of water or mud to drive around. And like at Huey, I don’t plan to return to those small spots.
As of today, there is NO replanting to be done. I will be checking on an area at the Cox farm, but today it’s too wet to think about going back for maybe an acre of replant. I’m really not sure that a replant will be warranted, it’s just too far away to get a good look at it just yet. I guess I could justify the purchase of one of those UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicles) drones that sports a camera… for situations like this!
This was the scene Monday evening, as the end of the soybean planting for 2014 approached. This is on the west side of the Nellie farm/field. In the background you may see our levee, on the bank of West Fork of White River. Planting conditions here were very good this day!
Within 30 minutes of finishing at Nellie, a small thunderstorm arose, with very strong winds but just a little .2″ (5mm) rain. Rain is predicted again for tomorrow.
Ross worked yesterday at the Freddie farm, our most distant location. It is planted to corn, but needed the nitrogen applied in a manner called ‘sidedress’. That means the anhydrous ammonia is knifed into the soil between the rows of the growing corn. We prefer to apply our NH3 ahead of the planter, but that just did not work out for this field this year. He got about half of it done yesterday, and plans to return there tomorrow (weather permitting).
John is quite busy with the sprayer. He is applying a tank-mix of herbicide, Roundup WeatherMax plus Warrant. This is about 5-6 weeks after the initial herbicide application to corn and soybeans. The corn he is spraying will be considered “laid by”, but the beans will probably need one more application of Roundup in about 5-6 weeks before they can be regarded as ‘laid by’. The phrase “laid by” indicates that the last field operation has occurred, and no further work of crop care is anticipated between that time and harvest.
Shepard Construction is working on the Lett and Watjen farm projects. Most of the tile lines have been laid, and now the work of building the WASCoBs is occurring. We hope that finishes soon!
Today, my efforts have been directed to providing support for John’s sprayer work…refilling the nurse truck with herbicides and water and locating it nearby where John is working.
Today’s upper 80s temperatures feel a little muggy, but the corn and beans like it!
