Monday, October 20, 2025

We finished harvesting corn on Saturday about noon, returning to the Dunn farm to pick some replanted corn that we had picked around when we were there a few weeks ago.  It felt good to load the corn headers on the transport trailers for the final time.  We have folding corn heads, and the trailers are used mainly to store the headers away.  Soon, the guys will use compressed air to thoroughly clean the debris away from the corn heads and then give them a wash.  The combines are especially dirty this fall, and it’s hard to determine what the original color is under that black coating of dust!

After completing the Freddie farm Friday evening, we moved the combines and grain cart and trucks home.  Freddie is our most distant location, about 12 miles from the main farm.  When we have corn down there, the distance makes it hard for the trucks to keep up with the combines.  But we got some additional help from Emily and Jake, and we were able to keep rolling fairly well those 3 days.  Only a few times did Brandon have to park his combine for a trip or two in a truck.

View from the seat of the combine, picking some good corn.

John operates the grain bin system and dryer during harvest. It is a high-demand task.

We are pleased with the corn yields.  Every bushel had to go through the dryer; none was dry enough in the field to go directly to storage.  We had our best-ever average yield, even though our fields in the White River bottoms all had areas where the excessive rains of the summer damaged the corn, even to the point that there were spots of zero yield.  But the areas that lived through did really well and helped the overall average.   We recognize the good yields as a blessing from the Lord.  1Cor 3:7

After finishing the corn on Saturday, we immediately switched over to try some DCB right here at the home farm.  We found them dry enough to cut, with moistures running 11-12%.  We stayed with the DCB until rain started to fall about 5 pm.  Even though the DCB harvest was stopped, this rain was very much needed.   Over Saturday night and Sunday morning, we got about 2″ (51mm).  The emerging wheat fields needed that boost of moisture to complete the germinating process and get started.  Now, on Monday morning, the wheat is looking more robust already.  We are grateful.

Here we see the rain clouds gathering in the west as we cut some DCB Saturday afternoon.

Wheat is looking healthy and is the stand is improving after the rain

Grow, little wheat… grow!

No, we are not completely finished with the fall harvest, but we have turned a major corner, wrapping up the corn fields.  We can turn our attention to DCB harvest as soon as fields firm up from the rain.  Other tasks loom out there now… delivering grain to market, using the VT tool on the DCB acres, and planting strips of annual rye in the valleys to control erosion.  Also, we will soon begin the strategic financial planning for the end of the fiscal year on 11/30.

Today, they’re cleaning up under the dryer. These fine corn bits make for pretty good bird seed. But most is spread out in a nearby field.

Brandon and Brandon are replacing the leaky cylinder on the spout of the grain cart.

Loading some corn to go to GPC today

Last Friday afternoon, we had a visit to the corn field by the guys from Bayer seed.  The area agronomist, Matt Parmer, and area DeKalb/Asgrow rep Justin Marchino came to the Freddie farm where we were harvesting corn.  They brought us some ice cream, and while we were enjoying that, Matt washed the combine windows, inside and out!  It was a pleasant visit, and we appreciate the kindness.

Matt and Justin

Matt cleans the windows!

Nutrien is soil sampling the few fields that are on the 2025 fall testing list.  Plus, they are spreading the P and K and micronutrients for the 2026 corn and soybeans.  October is a month packed with activity here at Carnahan & Sons.

We hope to return to the DCB harvest Wednesday or Thursday.  The temperatures are cooler after this rain went through, only in the 60s instead of the 80s.  The soil doesn’t firm up as fast as it did when the temps were warmer.

We have a couple repairs we can make before we go back to cutting DCB.  The days will still be occupied, even if we are not yet back in the combines.

Have a lovely week.