Sunny day

Posted on March 20, 2024 by casifarm

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Spring arrived last night at about 11pm.  I must confess I was not awake to see it come in.  But today, at least the sun in out and the day is warming a bit.  As of noon it has warmed to 56ºF.  Yesterday, we awoke to 23ºF (-16C), and then the wind took off like a gale.  We had winds of about 40mph; even though the temp got up to almost 50ºF, the wind made it very unpleasant to be out.

I used the early afternoon yesterday to take the backhoe to the Dunn, Lett, and Watjen farms to push out fallen trees from the edges of the fields.  Of course, the cab on the backhoe kept me mostly comfortable, but still I had to get out to pick up limbs by hand.  Yesterday evening Pat wondered if I was coming down with some kind of ailment…for my face was red as a beet with windburn.   It’s better today.  I found the fields where I worked yesterday to be not ready for the NH3 applicators… it’s just too soft yet.  We will continue to “hunt” around to try to find a place we can get that operation started.  Hopefully by the weekend.

We have some tile holes to fix.  That is a job that will take one of the younger guys to dig down and put a repair splice in the plastic tile.  It seems like we sprout new tile holes every spring.

The wheat crop appears to have weathered the recent low nighttime temperatures adequately.  It was a concern when it got down to 23º, but so far, so good.  It is becoming urgent to get the herbicide application on the wheat.  The winter annuals (like henbit and chickweed) are thriving down under the wheat canopy, and stealing some of the N from the wheat.  The temperatures have been too cold to make the herbicide effective, but once we get nighttime temps in the 40s, (and the field is dry enough to support the sprayer), we will perform that application.  In it will be included a growth regulator to shorten the wheat stalks (that protects them from lodging).  Some fields will get a few pounds of copper added to the mix, to shore up that micronutrient.   Nutrien has done a fair amount of tissue testing, and most shows the wheat plants are in great shape, with very few showing any type of nutrient deficiency.   We are hoping the weather will allow the sprayer to treat the wheat by Friday and Saturday.

Brandon is working on the old blue NH3 applicator bar.  He had trouble with one of the hydraulic cylinders leaking too much, and he removed it and took it to a shop to be rebuilt.  The repaired cylinder came back today and he is installing it.

Here, Brandon is cleaning a screen in the liquid NH3 line.

Today, John is cleaning up some limbs and stumps from the yard, and disposing of an old gazebo-like thing from the farm yard.  It was decayed and past repair, so he drug it away and placed it on our ‘burn pile’ to clear it away.  He even buried some old chunks of concrete. This afternoon, he will meet with Dustin Hatton, who is a local contractor that is doing some repairs to terraces just ahead of our planting season.

Like most farms, we have a burn pile for tree limbs and other debris, and this gets set off when needed… a few times a year.

 

We are inching closer to #plant24.   Exciting days just ahead!

 

 

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Pause for a rainy spell

Posted on March 15, 2024 by casifarm

Friday, March 15, 2024

Another rain last night has brought field work to a stop.  We had begun to use the field cultivator in some fields here close to home that were dry enough work.  But today, that is stopped!  We were also able on Wednesday to apply a herbicide to a field at the Harry farm and another field at the Waldo farm, in order to burn down the rye that was planted late last summer.  If you recall, we did some significant conservation work on that field after last summer’s wheat crop, and did not plant double-crop soybeans there.  Instead, we did the conservation work and planted rye on top to protect it from erosion.

Here’s a map of the Harry field showing where John applied the herbicide on the cover-crop rye. This is taken from a mobile app of JD Operations Center.

The new corn planter has arrived at the dealer, Hutson, Inc. in Jasper, Indiana. We went down to check it out Thursday morning.  The dealer has a lot of fine-tuning work to do to get this machine set up and ready for the field.  Within a month, this machine should see plenty of action in our corn fields!

Brandon with the new planter. He is excited about what this new machine will do for us.

The JD 1775NT planter is 24 30-inch rows.

Here John inspects the big seed boxes.

Brandon has noted that he has a big job ahead of him to learn the details of this new JD 1775NT planter.   He has started that task, and he was working with John this morning to start getting up-to-speed.

John and Brandon use this drizzly morning to review some online simulators to prepare Brandon to run the new corn planter.
This picture brings a smile to my face to see the NextGen of Carnahan & Sons working so closely together.

The weekend is upon us.  We don’t place very many outside things in our schedule this time of year, so that we can be ready to go to the field anytime it’s ready for us.  Sunday morning church is the only sure thing we set.  Plus, if you can’t get  your fill of college basketball over the next few weeks, you’re not really trying.

Have a lovely weekend.

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How’s the wheat crop doing?

Posted on March 11, 2024 by casifarm

Monday, March 11, 2024

We had a new wheat consultant from Nutrien stop by today.  We gathered at two of the fields near Wheatland to examine the current status of the wheat crop.  We were especially interested in observing a variety of wheat that is new from Dynagro.  After a short review, and from digging up a few clumps of wheat with their tillers, it was determined that the wheat crop is in excellent condition.  This was happy news to receive today.  At least there is good yield potential as of today.  The market price of wheat is another matter altogether, but today was just about the agronomic status.

Brandon, John, and I met with our local adviser, Greg Anthis, and our regular wheat specialist from Nutrien/Dynagro in Kentucky, Landon Taylor.  Also in the group was a new Nutrien/Dynagro wheat expert with national responsibilities, James Gullum.  We met James in Houston at the Commodity Classic and invited him to come to the farm.  Together, these 3 consultants seemed pretty optimistic about the current appearance of those fields.  I found that to be very encouraging.

We didn’t have to walk very far out into the wheat to make the determination… and that’s a good thing, for the wheat fields were quite soft from last week’s rains.
L to R: James, Greg, John, Brandon, Landon.

Greg pulled a single wheat plant, and counted 14 fall and spring tillers that had developed from a single seed. That made him smile.

James Gullum comes to us from east central Illinois and Landon Taylor comes from Owensboro, KY. They were enthusiastic about the fields’ potential.

Although today’s report is very encouraging about June’s harvest, it is still a long way from being a successful wheat crop.  Dad’s words ring in my ears, “Don’t start writing checks on it just yet.”   Patience.  But we are hopeful.

***

In other activities, the NH3 applicator returned home today from Alliance Tractor, where their shop had been installing a product improvement package on each row unit.  This package was provided by the manufacturer, Unverferth.   Today, the guys are installing a GPS receiver on the machine, and it will assist the guidance of the tractor when applying NH3.  With this more accurate guidance, we hope to be able to plant the corn rows between the applicator strips, using a JD system called “Autopath”.   Autopath should also help guide the sprayer this summer and the combines in the fall.  This will be our first experience with this higher-accuracy guidance.  If it works as advertised, it will be very helpful in the corn fields the rest of the growing season!

This is our Unverferth Renegade applicator. They are preparing it for spring work. Can you see the GPS receiver on it?  Our shop is too little to unfold it inside, but is a good day to work on it outside. A bit cool but sunny.

I think I’ll be able to hook up the field cultivator tomorrow to the new 9R540 tractor and run it in some nearby fields where last week’s rain was <.3″.  It’s time to smooth a few ruts and back-fill strips where tile lines were installed last fall.  The erosion is very slight this spring because of light precipitation during the winter.  It will be fun to crank up that new tractor and put it to work!  Perhaps I can get a few nearby fields ready for the NH3 or sprayer before another rainy period arrives on Thursday.

Have a wonderful week.

 

 

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Rainy Friday

Posted on March 8, 2024 by casifarm

March 8 ,2024

It’s a rainy day today… this will definitely push back the first day of spring field operations.  On our horizon, will be some smoothing work in a few fields with the field cultivator (dad called it a ‘scratcher’).   Also, we will begin the application of NH3 fertilizer to the ’24 corn fields.  The wheat will receive an application of herbicide and growth regulator, and soybean fields will begin to have their burn-down application of herbicide.  Yes, we are approaching a very busy spring field work season.  Still, it’s just March 8, and not concerning yet.  #plant24 is on the way.  2024 will be my 50th year to be a full-time farmer!

The tulip trees are budding out, spring is almost here!

Have a good weekend.

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New combine arrives

Posted on March 7, 2024 by casifarm

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Last Monday, the 4th, our friend Gene Williams who works for RK Transport Company delivered our new JD S780 combine.   It had been sitting at Hutson, Inc. in Ireland, Indiana for several days, waiting on a dry day to bring it home. For this delivery, Gene drove it here so that he would not have to remove the duals.  (RK Transport now requires the duals to be removed in order to haul a tractor or combine.  Until recently, most farm equipment dealers had their own delivery trucks, but now most dealers in this area use RK.  Gene used to operate Hutson’s truck, but now works for RK).  It was a nice dry day Monday afternoon to allow Gene to get it here.  It is always an exciting day when a new machine arrives!

Here comes Gene with the new machine.

Gene is very experienced and a cheerful fellow to be around.

Since this new combine’s delivery, we have been using every opportunity to read the Owner’s Manual (bigger than a Sears catalog) trying to get familiar with the new features.  It will mostly operate like the 2019 model with which we are familiar, but with some new details.  It is fun for me to get up-to-speed on a new machine.

Yes, it’s a thick and heavy book.

Getting familiar with the new S780

The green paint shines nicely on a new machine. We will work diligently to restore that shine to ‘like new’ after every harvest season. We want it to be “Andyclean“!

 

There are a couple features not yet installed on this new combine, and we must wait a few more weeks for what JD calls “performance upgrades” to get fabricated and delivered to the dealer.  They will come here and install a special adjustable spout on the outer end of the unload auger, and also some electric clutches on the cross augers in the grain tank that will allow me to stop the augers in the tank to fully empty the long unloader arm.  All those things come with accompanying software updates that will have to be loaded into the appropriate brain boxes on the combine.  Also, since we have changed brands of combines, Hutson will also convert the attaching parts on our MacDon draper header from CIH to JD to make it compatible.  When the wheat crop comes off in mid-to-late June (typically around Mom’s birthday– June 20 or so), we will be eager to put this machine into service alongside the other S780!

John is working today at Vincennes University, the site of our Knox County Ag Day celebration.   He is on the county Farm Bureau board.  School kids from the county will go there today for a farm animal petting zoo, and other farm-related  activities.  This evening, the county Farm Bureau will host a special pork-burger supper, sold for $1, representing the farmer’s share of the cost of the meal.   There is usually a huge turnout for this meal, and it is a time for neighbors and friends to ‘catch up’ before the busy spring planting season.

Have a great day.

 

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Plant prep

Posted on March 6, 2024 by casifarm

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Today is a chilly and gray day in SWIN.  This follows a warmer day yesterday, which had  periods of rain. John and Brandon worked on the field cultivator and the sprayer and our blue DMI NH3 toolbar to get them ready for spring work.  They had to duck inside from time to time to escape the downpours, but they were able to get those 3 machines the attention they needed.  The DMI still has a hydraulic cylinder to replace, but once that arrives and is installed, it will be ready.  Our Unverferth NH3 applicator remains at Alliance Tractor in Vincennes where it is being serviced under a ‘recall’ of sorts.  They should have that back to us by next week.

The field cultivator was serviced. Dad called this tool a ‘scratcher’.

The warm and dry days of the end of February and the beginning of March stirred our hearts toward some field work.  Last weekend, we could see a few tractors out in some local fields, working the soil.  It just feels a bit too soon for us, but on the very next period when the soils are dry enough to work, I think we will be out there, too.  Application of NH3 is one of the first operations we will perform.  The wheat crop also is needing an application of herbicide and growth regulator.  Soon, the burst of spring busy work will arrive.

Most of the DeKalb seed corn arrived this morning, and now it is safely stored onsite, ready for #plant24.

Brandon moves the boxes of seed from Nutrien’s trailer to its location in our old block building… one of the few remaining buildings from when we moved here in 1958.

The weather forecast is for cooler temps through the week, with more rain coming on Thursday and Friday.  March came in like a lamb, it may go out like a lion!

 

 

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Back from Commodity Classic 24

Posted on March 5, 2024 by casifarm

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Last Wednesday (the 28th), Pat and I with Brandon and Emily, traveled to Houston to attend the 2024 Commodity Classic.  After attending the Classic in Orlando last winter, it was a high priority for us to attend this year.  The Classic is the premier trade show, hosted by farmers, with a special emphasis on cutting-edge technology.  This year’s Commodity Classic surpassed our high expectations!

Pat and I were happy to go to the Classic

Our trip was sponsored by Nutrien and Dynagro Seed because we had the 1st and 2nd place yield of wheat for Indiana in the 2023 National Wheat Growers Yield contest.    We were honored at a special Nutrien/Dynagro event on Wednesday evening that recognized the state and national yield winners of corn, wheat, and sorghum.  They made us feel rather special.

At the banquet, Brandon and I received plaques from Dynagro. In this picture L to R, Landon Taylor–Nutrien/Dynagro regional wheat consultant, Emily, Brandon, Greg Anthis –local Nutrien crop consultant, Pat, and me.

The trade show on Thursday and Friday was spectacular, like 2023.   It was even larger with more exhibits in a larger exhibit space.  The quality of the exhibits is striking, but even more impressive is the quality of the exhibitors themselves.  If you have a question, you don’t get reference to an 800 number or a website.  The person with whom you speak is knowledgeable and can answer your question right on the spot.  It is very reassuring to have access to these experts.

Here we are Thursday morning about to enter the Commodity Classic exhibit hall.

Of course, the expansive exhibit offered by John Deere was impressive.  They premiered a new 9RX tractor with 830 horsepower, the most powerful tractor ever offered.  They also introduced new S7-series combines for model year 2025 that will replace the current ones.  They had attached to the 9RX 830 a 60-foot drill, and trailing that was a gargantuan 850-bushel air cart.   That big tractor and air drill were interesting but far too big for my interest.  The S7 800 combine will probably be the model we order when we are ready for our next combine.  But my greatest interest was in a new C-series air cart that will replace the 1910 we currently run.  I pored over the C400L cart with a fine-tooth comb, and asked many questions of the expert on hand that day.  He explained the new electric-drive meters (8 individual meters rather than one full-width meter on the 1910).  Also, this new metering system comes with a self-calibrating mode, which will eliminate crawling under the air cart with a fabric bag to capture the seeds during calibration.  This will be much easier on my old knees, and speed the process to boot.

Approaching the expansive JD exhibit

The 9RX 830.

This is the air cart that captured my attention. C400L. 400 bushels.

This is a demonstration set up of the automatic calibration system

This is a demonstration feature of the new electric-drive meters. It was interesting to see how they work.

We tried to take in just about every exhibit, big and small.

NASA had an exhibit about their connection to agriculture

CaseIH’s big new 715 hp tractor

This is CaseIH’s new AF11 enormous combine

The New Holland combine is a a big one too!

The Commodity Classic ran through Friday, too, and we attended what is called the General Session.  There was a very entertaining speech by Mike Massimino, a former astronaut.  Then representatives of 5 commodity groups took the stage for a panel discussion of future ag policy.  Next, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was politely received by the audience and spoke of his efforts to shore up opportunities for small- and medium-sized and beginning farmers.  He was followed by Michael Regan, the Administrator of the EPA.  He spoke of how he worked in cooperation with Secretary Vilsack.  He also announced that he was establishing a new Office of Agriculture in the EPA which will advise him directly on the impact of EPAs policies on farmers.  Very interesting stuff.

Evenings at the Classic this year were different for Pat and me.  Last year, with the show in Orlando, we took evenings to run over to Disney.  This year, we took in the concerts.  Thursday night, Bayer rented out the 713 Music Hall in Downtown Houston, and provided a concert by Big & Rich.  It was a huge event, but Pat and I did not enjoy the show, so we departed rather early.  The next night, Nutrien sponsored a concert at a place called The Rustic, and this one was super fun!   There was an opening act, then Eddie Montgomery performed.  The headliner of the night was Lonestar, and we found ourselves really enjoying that music!  This evening was far superior to the previous night.

Bayer’s concert was held in this large venue about a mile from the Convention Center and our hotel Thursday evening

Here’s the venue for the Friday night concert sponsored by Nutrien.

Lonestar was a big hit!

On Saturday, Pat and I went out to the Johnson Space Center.  That particular place is too extensive for a single-day visit, but we enjoyed our several hours there.  The exhibit of past and future space exploration were intriguing.   We made it back to our hotel, Four Seasons Houston, in time to get ready for dinner.  Our meal that night at the hotel’s premier restaurant, Toro Toro, was splendid!  Great food and impeccable, attentive service.  We retired back to our room just in time to watch the Michigan State at Purdue basketball game.

We had a great time at the Space Center

 

We flew home on Sunday, arriving back in Indianapolis at about 4pm, and we got back home at dusk.  We were quite tired, but so happy for the Commodity Classic experience.  Next year’s show is in Denver, and we hope to be there for it!

Today, the guys are preparing the sprayer, the blue NH3 applicator, and the field cultivator.  In between showers of rain, they work outside to help get these machines ready.   We got word that the new corn planter is going down the assembly line today.

#plant24 is not far off!

 

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Roller coaster weather

Posted on February 26, 2024 by casifarm

Monday, February 26, 2024

High temperature today is supposed to hit 73ºF (23C).  It is a sunny day with a clear blue sky.  On Wednesday, there is a chance of snow!   The temperatures are really on a yo-yo this month.  We’ve had a big weekend of snow on the 16th, and now it’s a t-shirt day!

The builders are getting about finished with the fill task inside the new building.  They’ve hauled in lots of truckloads of fill material (I’ve lost count of the number) and now they are smoothing out the final top coat of crushed stone.   The progress is at the stage where you think the structure looks small, but it’ll gain some apparent size once the walls go up.  I understand there will be a different crew arriving soon to erect the wood frame and steel skin.

Pat is working this morning to set down the top coat of crushed stone.

Bill is here today to take some loads of corn to GPC.  Brandon is also on the road to GPC with the Tony truck.  They have several unload appointments today.  As I load the trucks here, it is my observation that the corn dropping into the trailers has a high-quality appearance.  It feels good to be sending good corn to market.  The commodity markets have been decreasing since the new year.  It is becoming quite a concern about the value of the crops we will soon be planting.  The average price of corn for the 23 crop will be above our cost of production, but we do not have a very high percentage of the 24 crop sold.  We are hoping there is at least one more price rally coming.

We will enjoy this fine, warm day.  Hope you will too.

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Back in the groove

Posted on February 22, 2024 by casifarm

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Happy Birthday, George Washington!

Pat and I have been down south visiting some family in Jacksonville, Florida and then we spent about a week at Disney.  It was really great!   We celebrated my 71st birthday (which was on the 19th) each day during our Disney stay, and it was a very relaxing time away from the farm.  The food was wonderful… we probably ate a bit too much… but it was so very good.  Disney hospitality is superb.  But now we are back, and getting into the daily routine again.

We enjoyed exploring many new things at Epcot on this visit, including this new PhotoPass ‘Magic Shot”.

Most days at WDW were a bit cool, but still pleasant to be out and about.  We did have one day worthy of wearing shorts! 

It took most of the day yesterday to catch up on the mail, the bills, and the paperwork that accumulated while we were away.  John handled the specific farm bookkeeping in my absence, and kept that current.  I got through a big stack of personal mail, and now I’m feeling a bit more “on top” of all that stuff.

While we were gone, the crew from Hendrixson Construction started the new building.  We had signed the contract back in early December, and now this new storage barn is under construction.  It’s always interesting to watch these professionals go about their work.  The site is has a bit of a slope to it, so that required some special foundation work.  This building will be built on top of a concrete foundation, with no poles set into the ground.  That should give it a much longer useful life.  We plan to place our combines in this new barn, and a few other machines.  Our goal is to get all our machines here on site, bringing home the items currently stored in old sheds at remote locations.  It’s just more secure here.  We certainly don’t like for any of our machines to be stored outside where the sun can fade the paint.

The footer went down first. Lots of rebar in it.

The foot-thick foundation walls were poured next.

The forms came off, exposing the foundation on which the wood-frame and metal-skin building will be built.

This will be a 40′ x 104′ building with a 16′ x 24′ overhead door and a single walk-in door. It will have a compacted stone floor. We think this will be the storage home for the combines and headers.

Another load of stabilizer to fill the interior.

From the west side, it looks like the site will finish off nicely. We are eager to get the fescue established on this new slope.

The Volvo is in the shop today for routine maintenance– oil change and lubrication.

Brandon is servicing this Volvo with an oil change and greasing the chassis.

 

Next week, the  trucks will be running again to deliver corn to market.  The remainder of the 2023 wheat crop stored here was delivered last week.   Now, only corn remains here in our bins.

Wednesday was a very pleasant February day, 66ºF (19C), brilliant blue skies, and a gentle breeze.  It was really nice to be outside.  Today, the clouds have rolled in, we are expecting rain in the afternoon.  But it is warmer than an average late-February day, in the upper-50s.

Have a great day.

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Special Visitors

Posted on February 21, 2024 by casifarm

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Pat and I have been away for a few days, visiting family in Jacksonville, Florida… and then we spent about a week at Disney.  While we were away, very special visitors came to the farm.

Coming last Thursday the 15th, Andy Pasztor from Tilsonburg, Ontario, Canada visited with John and Brandon at the farm.   Accompanying Andy were his dad and uncle.  Andy is rather famous on X (or at least the farm-related part of the social media formerly known as “Twitter”).  He is a farmer in Ontario and he gained fame as a guy who likes his equipment to be spectacularly clean.  He came to be known on X as #Andyclean.  He eventually turned this notoriety into a business, marketing a line of special soap through many John Deere dealerships.  You can read about his story at his website.  The Pasztor guys came through SWIN on their way back home from an appearance at the National Farm Machinery Show  (NFMS) in Louisville, Kentucky.

Andy’s Dad Arpad, Brandon, Andy, and John… here in our farm office

John and Brandon gave the Canadians a tour of the farm, and then took them to lunch at Pub ‘n Grub in Vincennes.  They had a very enjoyable time together, and Andy has posted many kind remarks about his time here on X (scroll down to his posts for Feb 15) and on Instagram (account:  iamandyclean ).

The sad part for me was that I was not here to enjoy this visit.  But I am hopeful that one day I will meet this talented and pleasant farmer in person!

 

 

 

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