June 8, 2016

We crossed the finish line with the soybean air drill yesterday evening about 8pm.  The rainy weather extended the planting season across more weeks than we would have hoped.  I guess we should be grateful that spring planting got finished before spring became summer!  The past couple days were very productive, in terms of acres covered.   We trust the results will be acceptable.

Something I check constantly as I’m planting soybeans: The GS 2630 screen on the left, and the iPad with FieldView Cab (beta) on the right.  The 2630 controls and monitors the air drill’s operation, the iPad captures planting information into the FieldView system.

Pat prepared a yummy salad for me, so I could have lunch on-the-go on Tuesday. Thanks to AutoTrac-controlled steering and long rows, I didn’t have to stop for lunch.

In the last field (Grubb Triangle, 21 acres), John accompanied me in the tractor.  He had gone to our seed dealer and picked up some individual unit paper bags (about 53 pounds in each) of soybean seed to finish up.  We spoon-fed the air cart towards the end, estimating how many little bags to add to the tank to plant the remaining 15 acres.   We got fairly close, and had to stop (twice) and add 1 bag of seed to get done.  In that way, the air cart seed tanks were completely empty when we pulled out of the field.  Feels good.

With the final field of #plant16 done, here is the JD 9330 tractor with the 1910 air cart and 1890 NT drill folded and ready for the return home.

Driving west along US 50, the evening sun streams into the cab.

I am not going to unhitch the air drill from the JD 9330 tractor just yet.  We have some concern that some soil in parts of the Freddie and Huey farms may dry out too rapidly in the hotter weather predicted for the weekend… those soils may have enough moisture in them to get the soybeans sprouted, but then dry too rapidly to sustain their growth.   It may happen that I would have to return to replant those after the next rain.  It is amazing how in some soil situations, you can go from ‘too wet’ to ‘too dry’ very quickly.

Other post-planting activities have begun.  John took out the bush-hog to mow some roadsides.   Ella went along with him, but the hum of the tractor engine soon did to her the customary thing.  Nap time.

John said this was a TKO…tractor knock out. A tractor ride is often more effective than a Sominex…

We’ve had some corn dinged by spray drift from a neighbor’s adjoining field.  He must have applied his herbicide for his corn field at a time when the wind was too strong, and we see some effects on a few acres of our corn.  We have had our consultant take a look, and he thinks the corn will survive.  The net effect on final yield will be determined at harvest.  I called this neighbor to advise him what had happened, so that if there is some net yield damage, he will not be surprised if I must call again this fall.   I tried to be kind in that conversation, for we have been the responsible party one time in the past.

Can you see the brown damage on the corn leaves? The new growth coming up out of the corn’s whorl looks okay, but time will tell if the damage was significant to the final yield.

We reviewed many fields of later-planted soybeans this morning, and we’re happy to report a good stand of soybeans in each one.  Our concerns are limited to what has been planted this week.   We’ll know by Monday if more replant is gonna be required.

So, there is some relief that the crush of planting is (probably) behind us!  Time to move on to the next thing.