Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Yes, we can see the end of spring planting.  I was in the last field of soybeans yesterday, but I was only able to plant 75 of the 88 acres in the creek-bottom field at the Cox farm.  The part I drove around had water still standing on it!  There are a few spots like that in some of the corn fields down in the White River bottomlands too.  But, as of Saturday, Brandon finished planting all he could get done of the corn crop… excepting the maybe 25 acres of water he had to maneuver around in the 5 fields of corn near White River.

The JD 9R540 and air drill are parked at home awaiting the final spots of fields to dry out for the remainder of #plan25

We fully expect that there will be replanting to do.   One corn field in particular at the Dunn farm along Roberson ditch has already been identified as needing replant from some flooding.  I also expect some of the soybeans I planted into spots that were a bit too wet will need replanted.  But, right now, it feels pretty good to have the bulk of the planting done.  Many of the fields of corn and soybeans have emerged and look okay.  We like to give a freshly-planted field at least two weeks (or more) before we start to evaluate the ‘stand’.

Brandon has been out checking fields to see if he can replant any corn… not looking favorable yet…too wet.  Brandon D is out there using the Gator to spray ditch banks for woody sprouts.  Brandon and Hudson are getting the JD R15 bush hog hooked up to the JD 6145R so that I can start mowing roadsides… those are looking a bit ragged.

The bush hog (JD calls it a ‘rotary cutter) is getting serviced and prepared for mowing season.

Hudson helps his dad get the bush hog serviced.

John, today, is beginning his first pass of post-emerge herbicides on the earliest-planted corn.  He will have to switch over his sprayer soon to do some post-emerge on soybeans.  Switching is a bit cumbersome, takes about 3 hours for him to be satisfied with the clean-out of his sprayer.  He is quite thorough!  He mentioned again today how much he appreciates JD’s AutoPath feature when he is spraying corn.

John begins spraying corn post-emerge at the VanVleet farm. He is applying herbicide and a fungicide.

He had to stop and clean out a plugged nozzle

He folds in his boom to a more narrow width for first pass around this field.  After that, he unfolds to the full 120-foot width.  Can you see the pulses of the ExactApply nozzles?  There are 97 of them across this sprayer boom.

So, as #plant25 hopefully wraps up, we turn our attention to other tasks and look ahead to wheat harvest.  You can really see the wheat crop beginning to turn from deep green to gold.  In about 4 weeks we will be in the thick of harvest!  That will last 6-10 days, depending on the weather, of course.  Plus, the DCB (double-crop soybeans) will be planted into the wheat stubble ASAP.  The month of May this year has been unusually cool, and not as wet as May of 2024.  That helps improve our optimism for the wheat crop.

Now that school is out, we are into T-ball and softball with the granddaughters.   It is really neat to watch them do their thing.  This is 5-year-old Kate’s first organized sport experience.  She’s catching on.

Kate is now into sports!

We are sponsoring Molly’s softball team this summer

Ben took Pat to the Indy 500 last weekend.  They had a great time, but it was uncharacteristically chilly for the event.  Usually, it is a hot and sticky day, but not so this year.  Ben takes his headsets and they listen to the drivers communicate with their teams.   The traditions and pre-race pageantry are amazing, and we all get sentimental when we hear Jim Cornelison sing “Back Home Again in Indiana”.

Pat and Ben at the 500

June will be here soon. Next week is VBS week at church.  That is a wonderful event and leaves us happy and tired when it’s done!  For those of you who read this and have worked a VBS, you know what I mean!

Pat had the last picking of her strawberry crop yesterday.  She put in a big day of work, picking, cleaning, and making cupcakes and freezer jam.  Yum Yum!  We are grateful for the abundant crop of berries she had this year.