Soybean planting

We did not have any rain Saturday so Quentin and Paul started back in the fields yesterday afternoon.  Quentin planted a couple small fields near our house and then moved over east and did Osterloh's beans.  Today, he will be planting on Rose Marie's fields all day.  We will be keeping an eye on the forecast for tomorrow, particularly tomorrow night, to see what storms may threaten the area.  We could use a nice shower since it is becoming dry and dusty quickly, but any heavy or hard rains would not be welcome!

Rolling

The planter was rolling all day yesterday.  Quentin planted Kenneth's, Marilyn's and two fields of Paul's.  Paul kept the sprayer going right along behind him.  Today, the forecast called for possible strong storms so they did not try to plant.  (There is always a high risk of the ground crusting over and preventing the soybeans from emerging with heavy rains.)  It is also Yates Center Days and the men both have class reunions so the timing was good for a short break.  So far, the storms have missed us.  If we stay dry, the planter will be going full force next week.

A little wet

Quentin tried planting some soybeans yesterday.  He did a couple rounds on Kenneth's south of the creek before he decided it was a little wet still.  He is heading back out late this morning to try it again.  Hopefully, the sun and wind yesterday were enough to dry out a few fields.

Switching gears

It is time to switch to soybeans around here!  The corn stands have been deemed "as good as they are going to get".  The corn stands look good overall, except for the wet spots, and those areas are not big enough areas to warrant a replant, especially this late in the season.  Quentin switched the planter over for soybeans and is anxious to get started as soon as the fields dry out again.  We had 1.5" of rain the end of last week so everything was saturated again.  We have had some chilly weather this week so it has been slow to dry out.

Lots of good help

Caught up on spraying

The men were able to finish prepping (spraying and fertilizing) all the soybean fields today.  More rain is coming in tonight so it may be awhile before they actually get any seed in the ground.  In the meantime, they are happy to be caught up on spraying.  I took this picture of a neighbor's corn field that had not yet been sprayed.  It is pretty ugly what can happen when you cannot get your fields sprayed on time!

Yes, there is corn planted here

Done!

Quentin was able to plant the last few acres of corn yesterday afternoon.  It is good to be done!  The corn planted last week is just starting to emerge so we will soon see how good of stands we have.  Hopefully, there will be no need to replant since it is already late in the spring for planting corn.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all!  I was very excited this week. We were able to celebrate both our anniversary (15 years!) and Mother's Day since the fields were wet.  Quentin was not quite as excited.  He would like to get in the field and get those last few acres of corn planted.  The weather has been good for drying this weekend, and he may be able to get in there before the next rain.  Paul will be anxious to finish spraying that last field, as well.  It will be time to plant soybeans before we know it!

It's a...

Tie?  Quentin is finishing up the last field of corn in the rain.  He's been dodging showers all day, but is almost done with corn planting!  He came home for a few hours sleep last night, and then had to do a minor repair on the planter.  Unfortunately, the small delay allowed the next storm system close in.  As he finished the first of two fields left to plant early this afternoon, we had a shower of about 0.1".  With a little sunshine and wind, the top dried out enough that he started on the last field, but the rain is coming in fast now.  We hope he can finish before it gets too wet!!

Update:  Rained out with 3-4 acres left.  I think we'll still chalk this one up in the "win" column considering it's better than the 400 acres he had left a few days ago!!

Planting marathon

The planting marathon continues!  Quentin has been planting over 24 hours straight and is making great progress.  He finished on Chambers' and Street's, and he stopped by to fuel up and grab some snacks early this morning before heading over to do Steeby's.  If all goes well, he should finish that up easily today.  Then, he only has a couple fields of Paul's remaining.  We'll see how far he gets before he falls asleep or gets rained out.  There is a chance of storms tonight and a bigger chance starting tomorrow afternoon.

Paul has been spraying bean ground and is now doing corn ground after the planter.  If the wind stays down, he'll be able to cover quite a few acres today.  Between the morning dews and the midday winds, sometimes spraying days get short.  Luckily, he can go a lot faster than the planter!

Better than bags!  Some of the corn can be brought in bulk to the planter.  It beats hauling bags up and down the ladder.

Planting again!



After a long hiatus, the planter is back in the field!  Quentin found one mostly dry field to start on this morning, and the sunshine and wind continue to help dry everything out.  There may be some low spots to avoid, but hopefully he can get a lot more corn in the ground!  Paul was out catching up on spraying before the wind came up and hopes to get another good day in tomorrow.  They are racing the next storm system, which is due here on Wednesday.  It may be a long couple days on the farm!

 

Meanwhile, the corn is growing well in the fields already planted.  It is struggling in the low areas, where water stood after the rains, but the rest of the field looks good.

Corn trying to come up in the low areas

Crazy kids!

This "kid" just had to squeeze out of the pasture fence, but when he realized mama was still on the other side, he was not too happy.  Mama is trying to convince him to squeeze back through!

Wheat headed out

The wheat is soaking up the moisture and sunshine!

A reminder...

Because sometimes we need a little reminder...

Genesis 9:15b  Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

Another 1.3", but dry weather in the forecast for the rest of the week!

Sunshine at last

We saw another 3" of rain over the weekend.  While we are happy not to be completely flooded, it would be nice to be able to walk across the lawn without stepping in puddles!  The sunshine and wind came out today, and the weather is great.  If only we could get a couple weeks with weather like this, we might be able to get some work done in the field!

Blue skies