Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Happy first day of Spring! Even though it’s not as sunny as yesterday, it’s still a nice spring day. And even though I’m working through the dreaded man-cold, I’m also getting better. A visit yesterday to the local NP got me a shot and some good medicine, and I’m slowly improving. I still don’t have much energy, and it is easy to sleep often. But I’m breathing easier, and there is not so much nasal drainage. I think the yucky part of the man-cold is behind me!
Yesterday, while I was visiting the NP, Hutson’s delivered our new soybean drill. It has a larger tank, and the drill part seems to have a stronger frame. There are some new features I must soon learn: the relative-flow blockage monitor, and the set-up of the timing for the section control. Since the tractor that I’ll use to pull this drill is already hooked to the ammonia applicator, I’ll probably hook the 9360 tractor temporarily to this drill to connect the electronics and explore my way through the new features. Yes, there’s a bit of a learning curve again, but I’m confident I’ll find my way through it. The larger air cart will give more capacity, and should allow a full day’s work with one fill-up in the morning. So, needless to say, I’m eager to put this new machine to work!
Once again, our friend Gene Williams brings us a new machine!
The new drill is parked for a while, it will be put to work in just a few weeks! This model 1910 air cart has 3 seed tanks instead of 2. More capacity, more flexibility, more productivity than the previous air cart.
The N550 drill (new model number) is a 50-foot, drill with 60 10-inch rows. I desired to go to a 60-foot drill, but the folded dimensions were too wide and tall to move around our narrow Knox County roads. So, 50 feet will do!
The service guys from Alliance were here yesterday to apply a PIP to the R15 rotary cutter (bush hog). They welded a small reinforcement to the frame/hinge. While the R15 is in the shop, John took the opportunity to replace the blades. Now we’re ready for some great mowing this summer!
This little U-shaped bracket was welded to reinforce the area where the wing axle turns up and down.
John is removing the blades from the center section. See the new blades on the right wing?
Although the NCAA tourney play of our Purdue Boilermakers was disappointing, we must reflect a bit on how our expectations climbed during the season. They had many unexpected accomplishments, winning the Phil Knight tourney in Portland, moving from unranked to first in 32 days, winning the B1G regular season by 3 games, and winning the B1G tournament! So, with modest beginnings, those guys still had a great season! Gives us all excitement to see how it goes for next year!
One exciting thing this weekend was the play of local guy Adam Schenk in the Valspar Classic. He led all through the 4 days of play, right up until the last hole on Sunday. His best finish ever! It was so exciting to watch him on TV, and to see him interviewed. He grew up golfing at our local South Knox High School, and my youngest son Ben was a golf teammate of his, (Adam was 1 year younger than Ben). So, we had great interest in watching Adam! Congratulations, Adam…that first trophy is coming your way someday soon! And to top it off, he and his wife Kourtney are expecting their first child in about a month.
Nutrien was able to apply the second application of nitrogen on the wheat crop yesterday. There is now some urgency to getting the herbicide applied. The weather conditions have not been favorable to get that needed practice done. The temperature needs to stay above 45ºF (7C) during the nights for 4-5 days. Yes, we’ve had some really warm days, but not enough of them in a row. Looks like it will all break loose one of these days soon, and we’ll have a multitude of tasks to perform all at once! It’ll all work out…
Have a great week.
