Wednesday, July 12,, 2023

It has not been a quiet week here at Carnahan & Sons.

Brandon has been out with the sprayer, applying a herbicide to fields that have johnsongrass showing up.  He also has begun the next pass of the sprayer, applying fungicide and insecticide to the soybeans.  Every acre of soybeans gets a fungicide these days.  I think he is enjoying operating the sprayer.

Brandon is applying Roundup here to stop the johnsongrass.

I have tried to support him somewhat by occasionally re-filling the water supply truck/trailer.  Re-filling at Nutrien takes about an hour and a half, plus there are times when additional chemicals need to be loaded into the mini-bulks tanks.   It’s not a hard job, but just takes a while.

I have been out and about on the Gator, spraying weeds alongside fencerows, field edges, roadsides, and ditch banks.  We try to keep the field borders clean, which will improve harvest this fall.  I have also been back in the JD 9520R tractor with the soybean drill, replanting a spot at the Cox farm that drowned out in last week’s heavy rain.  It has not been a big replant need, 9.9 acres all together, but it feels good to fill back in that empty spot.

I also had to go back and replant some of the DCB, just 14 acres, that had been also  damaged by the big rain.  As of today, I think I am all done with the soybean drill for 2023.  The calendar is telling me I need to be done.  Anything past the 15th of July is pretty ‘iffy’ to develop properly for fall harvest.

Shepard Construction is working at the Harry farm to rework some WASCoBs, and create a new ditch to improve the management of the surface water drainage.   They discovered a different and less expensive way to build what is needed to handle the water problems we have been experiencing there for a number of years.   I’m looking forward to seeing the finished system in place.  This new idea will eliminate the need for additional underground tile to carry away the water.  We will sow fescue on the new ditch banks to protect them.  It should be a terrific conservation system when they get done.

When the week started, I had full intentions to mow with the bush hog along some roadsides and ditch riparian strips.  Too many other things occupied this week,.. it’ll have to wait until next week!

Gonna be a really hot day today.  Keep cool.