Tuesday, June 24, 2025
We got started in the wheat crop here at the home farm yesterday. It was a slow start, with some unforeseen repairs to the feeder drum in the JD RD40F header. Plus, the Autotrac in Brandon’s 780 did not work. (that got fixed this morning), so he had to drive his machine manually all day. The day went well after we got going about 11am. The wheat is not what we had hoped for, but it is better than last year, running 115+ in yield. We are grateful for that, because the month of May was exceptionally rainy, and that’s not healthy for a big wheat crop. It is less than ideal, but better than expected!
The wheat grain is dry 11.1 to 12.7% moisture, and the straw is dry too. The dry straw processes better through the residue spreader on the back of the combine. It will be much easier to plant the soybeans in these conditions. Damp straw doesn’t grind up as easily and it is tougher to get the soybean drill to cut through that mat of straw to get the soybeans into the soil properly.
Here are some videos from yesterday.
From the seat of the S780 I was operating.
Yes, the fields are quite hilly, but they are still productive.
Pat took this one…
It was a good first day. We brought in 20 semi loads of wheat. Two of those went to market at ADM in Evansville this morning.
Larry Corn is here again this week to help us bring in the wheat crop. He ran the grain cart for a big part of the day, and then he was a truck driver after Brandon D took over the cart job. It’s good to have Larry here, things go pretty smooth when he’s on the team. It’s only fitting he be here to help bring in the wheat crop… he “planted” it after all… as he has done for decades here at Carnahan & Sons.
The sun is beaming down again today. It will be another very hot day, with temps in the mid- to- upper-90s. Adding in the humidity, the temperature index is predicted to be about 110ºF (43C) again today. Sunny and hot days are predicted through the week, and I hope that will allow us to bring in all the wheat crop by Friday night. Time will tell. After that, I’ll get busy planting those double-crop soybeans (DCB) in the wheat stubble.
Keep cool out there!
