Thursday morning, June 18, 2026

Wheat harvest is stopped again this morning.  We got a light rain yesterday at 4pm that drove us out of the wheat field.  This was in addition to a light rain at 4pm on Tuesday that drove us out of the field.   Between 2 and 3 am today, we received 1.15 inches (29mm) of wind-driven rain.  So, our wheat harvest is not marching right along on blistering hot days.  The wheat is standing well yet, but we have concerns what this rain is doing to the test weight and other quality factors.  We had to start up the dryer again yesterday; the wheat moisture content was too high to put directly into storage or to take to market.  It was running 16-18%.   It needs to be 13%.   The test weight (a measure of density) is already a bit low at around 57-58 pounds.  That needs to be 60+.  The process of drying wheat can sometimes improve the test weight.  So, this wheat harvest has been challenging, no doubt.   It makes me p0nder if it was a prudent decision to increase wheat acres by over 50% this year!

I will include some pictures of our limited days in wheat harvest.  When we can go, it has gone fairly well.

Wednesday afternoon

I used a couple hours Wednesday morning, while we were waiting for the wheat to dry a bit from the rain and heavy dew to plant two small, nearby fields to double-crop soybeans (DCB).  I must say the beans went into the soil very well.  Although it is a tiny fraction of the DCB that must be planted, at least it’s a start!  The soil surface will need to dry in order to plant more DCB.

Wednesday morning

Both Brandons are on the road today, taking wheat to ADM in Newburgh, Indiana.  After they get back there will only be 55 more loads to go there!

I’ll go check on the wheat fields to see if it is too muddy to begin again this afternoon.

Please pray for favorable weather for this harvest time…