Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The clean-up of the equipment continues today.  We hope to get a big bunch of it done today, for the weather today is 80ºF (27C), and tomorrow will be in the low 60s!  So, there is some incentive to use this warm day for the necessary washing.

The 9520R tractor gets the finishing touches on its turn on the wash pad.

The MacDon header also gets washed on this warm day.

The RD40F is next to be washed.

All the fall fertility applications of granular fertilizers have been accomplished.  The bulk of the “food” for the 2024 crops is now in place.  The only remaining fertility to do is the nitrogen for corn.  That will be applied in the form of anhydrous ammonia next spring–ahead of planting.

This is Nick, the operator of the precision fertilizer applicator this fall.

Here is Nick’s machine, an AirMax Precision2. It is very precise to apply according to the prescription map of each field. The prescription maps are created from a record of the grid-sampled soil testing, as well as the maps of previous crops harvested.

We have begun to deliver corn to GPC and soybeans to ADM to fill our November contracts.  It’s nice to see the trucks go down the road, all clean and shiny.  The grain looks beautiful as it falls into the trailer.

Office work abounds today.  I’m crunching numbers to finish off the farm’s fiscal year at the end of November. It’s a good thing I enjoy this kind of office work.  I guess I must admit that if I am filling out forms for some bureaucrat, that’s work… but working with these numbers to help manage the business… that’s interesting!

What a beautiful, warm and sunny November day.  Let’s enjoy it and appreciate it!