Wednesday, October 25, 2023

We have stopped our harvesting.  We tried double-crop soybeans (DCB) again yesterday, and they are just not quite ripe and dry enough for us to set in and march through.  It is hard to see warm days go by and not be out there cutting DCB.  But, we must wait for them to fully mature and dry down to 13% moisture or less.  Next week, we are predicted to have temps as low as 26ºF at night, and mid 40s in the daytime… what a change!  Maybe those beans will freeze-dry!  We are still hoping to complete the DCB in October, but it is likely that some of the last ones will come off in November.  They will tell  us when they’re ready, not the other way around.

In the meantime, we remain occupied with other tasks.  I have been out in the 6145R tractor with the 1560 no-till drill, planting strips and areas of rye to protect the soil during the winter.  We have done this for several years now, planting a cover-crop in valleys and on areas where the soil is ‘thin’.  This has really helped reduce the water erosion.

Here’s the rig we use to put down some cover crop strips this time of year. The JD 6145R tractor is just about ideal for this task.

The conservation construction work continues at the Waldo farm.   Just yesterday, Dustin put into place the netting with straw mulch in the new waterway.  It really looks good, and we are hopeful it will establish the sod.

Dustin and his associates roll out the netting and stake it into place. There is over 3000 feet put down for this project!  Installing that was hard work.

So, we wait for drier soybeans.   We will keep busy with other stuff, but when those DCBs are ready to go, we will be too!

The trees are finally getting their best colors! This one is in our yard.