Saturday, October 14, 2023

Yesterday afternoon, I had my first run-in with a deer antler.  The inside dual tire of my S780 combine was punctured by a 7-inch-long antler.  The guys from Knox County Tire responded quickly to my call, and had me going again soon.  I had heard of other farmers who have had encounters with deer antlers, but this time it was up close and personal.

This was the culprit that stopped my combine yesterday afternoon.

The service truck crane helped the technician handle the big tires. Still, it was hard work to make this repair.

We received a small rain, .3″ (7 mm) Friday evening, but we are back at the harvest today.  We are grateful for the rain, hoping it will help launch the planted wheat.   An inch would be great, but we will be happy with what we did get.

We are now down to 3 farm locations for corn to be harvested:  Huey, Burke, and Crook.  Still several rows to run down, but the end is in sight!

After the corn is completed, we will move directly into double-crop soybeans (DCB).  They are getting pretty far along with maturity, only a few areas of yellow leaves clinging to the beanstalks.  By the time we are ready for them, they will be ready for us.

Fertilizers and lime are being applied to the fields for next year’s corn and soybeans.  A prescription map is created for each field, using the results of soil testing.  Then, the nutrients are applied according to the prescription.  The rate of application varies as the spreader machine travels across the field.  It is very precise.  There are both agronomic and economic reasons for such precision.

Here, Nutrien applies next year’s soybean food!

We have a short list of conservation work we want to accomplish this fall.  The Waldo farm is going to get some attention to receive a new grass waterway and 3-4 new WASCoBs.  We are still trying to minimize the soil erosion on that steep hillside.  Contractor Dustin Hatton should arrive at Waldo next week.  Little by little, we are making progress.

Have a good weekend.