Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Just some routine tasks happening today. Brandon has been mowing some of the 6-7 acres of farm lot areas here–a weekly task. Today, he has washed up the JD RD40F and the MacDon headers. He is now working on the JD S780 combine, to clean the air filters, fuel it up, and give it the post-wheat-harvest wash. He will also remove the inserts from the threshing system that were installed for the wheat crop. Things will look better this evening!
The headers are now clean and ready for fall #harvest21
Looking out the office window, I can see Brandon adding fuel to the JD combine.
Brandon scrubs the combine to get it clean…
The little JD 6130R tractor is parked for a few days, waiting for some parts to come from Germany, where the tractor was built. The cooling fan was not working correctly, and this break-down prevents me from continuing to mow roadsides until it gets repaired. I’ll get it going again as soon as they get it fixed. I have also done a bit of ‘spot spraying’ with the big JD R4044 sprayer to stop some johnsongrass–mainly in the bottoms of WASCoBs. It may not be a task that gives a big return, but it helps make for cleaner-looking fields, and will reduce the weed pressure for ’22. When I get done with this type of spraying, the sprayer has an automated clean-out system built into the controls.
The sprayer screen read-out in mid rinse cycle.
John is removing cables and control boxes from the JD 9520R tractor. We have traded off the JD 2510H toolbar for a different kind of application system. Yes, we will still use anhydrous ammonia next spring, but we are upgrading this tool to a more conventional applicator. The new one will be an Unverferth “Renegade”.
It’s a big task to remove the cables and controls for the ammonia applicator bar.
We are monitoring our corn crop for disease pressure, and the appearance of ‘Southern Rust’. If the need arises, we will contract with an aerial applicator to get that put on. There sure have been lotsa crop dusters in the area recently!
The local temperature will get into the low 90s today; it was 91ºF (33C) yesterday. The ‘heat index’ puts the temp near 100, after you factor in the humidity. That is just tick too high for corn and soybeans, which would prefer about 85ºF (29C). But there is still plenty of moisture in the soil to support the crop. Yes, the soil surfaces are getting quite dry, but the root system is drawing water from down deeper. A nice inch of rain would be welcome, but it’s not yet in the forecast.
We are now in the post-county-fair period, and local schools will begin in two weeks! Summer has flown by, and it seems strange to think that school will be starting soon.
Keep cool out there, and have a good week.
