Tuesday, April 11, 2023
We got some field work in yesterday. John went out to test the new ammonia applicator bar. The field conditions were not as dry as we would prefer, but he felt it was important to give that machine a test. He discovered some rings that guide and protect the liquid hoses that had “pinch points” in them, and those rings punched holes in 3 of the NH3 liquid-carrying hoses. One of the pressure gauges up front is leaking. And the frame does not appear to run level to the ground. So, Devon is here this morning from Alliance Tractor (the dealer) to help solve the problems.
The gas went into the soil really well– no wisps of escape– but you will also notice there is no dust in the air! Not great conditions just yet.
I took the field cultivator out to the Roberson, Dunn, and Cresy farms to do some smoothing work on new WASCoBs that had been recently built by our neighbor Dustin Hatton (see post for March 1). I also used that tool to work in some erosion ruts that had appeared over the winter. The areas where Dustin had run his dozer worked up pretty nice, but there were spots that were still a bit ‘sticky’.
Here is a wide valley smoothed up by running the field cultivator over it.
I am hoping that tomorrow I can get the sprayer started applying burn down herbicide to some soybean fields. The field cultivator must do its work first, then the herbicide is applied ‘over the top’. Soon after that, the planter can run! But we are 7-10 days of field work away from starting the planters.
It was a pretty good ‘first day’ of field work, but because of the soil conditions being a bit wet yet, it’s not good enough to go full force on spring work. The weather forecast is good for the rest of the week, and surely by then, there will be improved soil conditions in order for us to turn on the ‘green light’! Until better conditions arrive, we will operate under a ‘yellow light’… inching forward, moving field to field, attempting to find suitable dry soils, so that our work is done well.
You know how fickle we farmers can be. In 3 weeks or less, we will probably be praying for a rain!
On a personal note, my knee is now 17 weeks and 6 days post-op. No, it is not pain-free just yet. It does get my attention as I am walking, but there is no pain if I am resting. (yay!). I can go up and down stairs pretty well now. But I notice that when I climb the steps up into a truck or tractor (those can be 12-16 inches) my knee lets me know about it! But all in all, I think I’ll be able to move through this spring’s work, with not much pain or limitation. PTL!
Have a good week.
