Moving!

Do I have your attention?  Do not panic.  WE are not moving, but the BLOG is. The developers no longer support the Blogger app, and it has become increasing cumbersome to blog from my phone, where all my pictures are stored.  Therefore, we are making the move to Facebook.  We can be found at Stoll Farms KS or this link 

https://www.facebook.com/Stoll-Farms-KS-639715246416769/?ref=bookmarks

Many of you are on Facebook so this will be an easy transition for you.  For those of you who are not, the page is public. You do not need to have a Facebook account to view it.  However, you will probably get pop-ups asking you to join. If you have problems, let me know, and we can try some other methods to let you view.

We hope you make the "move" with us!!

Looking to bean harvest

We had a total of 1.7" last week.  Now we wait to see whether the beans or ground dries out first. The beans may be getting close, but there is another chance of rain in the forecast along with some cool temperatures starting tonight. Quentin has been working hard getting the combine, header, tractor and grain cart all ready for the next wave of harvest.

Finished!

Corn harvest is over! Just in time, too. The rain moved in this morning. We were happy to be able to finish despite several minor mechanical issues that seem to plague us the last few days. The soybeans are quickly dropping their leaves. The men might have just enough time to fix all the equipment before it is time to harvest again!

Full trucks, empty fields

Just what I like to see...a full truck and an empty field! We finished all of Rose Marie's corn by late afternoon and moved on to the LAST fields of corn. Quentin was able to get a start on them this evening.  If all goes well, we will finish corn harvest tomorrow. There is a good chance of rain starting tomorrow night so we will be glad to finish before that moves in!

Where is that truck??

The red truck had ANOTHER flat tire...well, the same one actually.  We were down to one truck for a while last night, which meant some wait time.  Luckily, not too much!

Waiting on a truck...

Stalker(ish)

I felt a bit stalker-ish today in the corn field. We finished up on Steeby's and started the outside rounds on Rose Marie's last corn field. It is a large one, and I had to follow the combine around and around and around...

Back in the field!

It was dry enough to get back to corn harvest this afternoon.  The men started on Steeby's.  We had a small hiccup with a flat tire on the red truck, but hopefully, we can find someone to fix it in the morning.  Paul was able to keep up pretty well with the other truck so we could get at least a good start on that field.

Cover crops

The rains have been good for the cover crops.  The first field of rye by Paul's house looks great!  

Wet weather

We had a couple days of wet, cloudy weather. Monday night we had 0.5" of rain and then another 0.1" of light rain yesterday.  We are out of the fields for at least another day, but will wait to see how much sunshine we get today.

Long day

It was a long day of farming!  Quentin planted rye this morning while Paul hauled the grain trucks from last night to the COOP.  Around 11am they started cutting corn and finished the field at Leisure's around 7:30pm.  Whew!  There is rain on the radar making its way this way so it is nice to be finished with the whole field.

Dry enough!



The corn was dry enough to start combining down at Rose by mid-afternoon yesterday.  We were able to finish that corn today.  On to the next field tomorrow!  There is a good chance of rain beginning tomorrow night so we will see how much we can get done before that.

Wet corn

Quentin tried a test cut on the corn yesterday, and it was still a little wet.  We have had some good drying days with sun and wind so it may be ready to try again by tomorrow.  In the meantime, he is back to planting more rye cover crop on the corn ground that has been harvested.

Air seeder

Quentin has a couple fields enrolled in a cover cropping program through the NRCS.  To meet the planting deadline, the cover needed seeded before the corn was ready to harvest.  As a result, we got to watch a little airshow this morning as an airplane seeded the cover crops for us!

Stormy weather

There has been a lot of rain in the area, but we have only racked up about 1.4".  We are very thankful for it!

The front rolling through

Rain!

We spent a little time dancing in the rain this afternoon! It was just a small start (0.25"), but we are hoping for more accumulation as the full system moves through tonight and tomorrow.  It was good to see the dust settle and smell the rain! I have not counted myself, but another local said we had been 26 days without rain.

Turning beans

There is a little rain on the radar and an even better chance in the forecast!!! We are certainly ready for the moisture. It might be a little too late for some of the soybeans as they are drying up and turning yellow in many spots, but it may help some of the greener fields finish filling out pods.  I am afraid the dry weather the last month was bad for yields. The corn looks as though it may be time to get back in the field with the combine, but the rain may delay us a bit there.  Eyes on the skies!

Yellowing beans

Nose to the grindstone

We were not playing around today...we were just checking fields from the air!  After some morning rides from our favorite uncle, the men actually did buckle down and get a little work done today.  Paul was busy spraying corn stalks, and Quentin got the drill ready to plant a rye cover crop on those acres.  It is very dry now, but he will dust it in and hope for a good rain to get a stand.

Kenneth's plane

Wet corn

Quentin did a test cut on the later planted corn this morning.  As expected, it was still too wet.  They will put harvest on hold for a few days and work on some other jobs around the farm that need attention.

Short day

My co-pilot and I had a short day in the tractor and grain cart today. Quentin finished combining the remaining early-planted corn by early afternoon. Then, he brought the combine home for some servicing before harvest hits with full force. He will have to check fields to see if anything else is near ready to cut. There are a few slight chances of rain popping in and out of the forecast. We will hope some of that reaches us!

Say cheese!

Still dry

The dry weather continues in Kansas. Good for corn harvest, bad for soybeans. The beans have lots of pods, but need a good rain to fill them out. There are not even any good chances for rain in the forecast, unfortunately.  Meanwhile, corn harvest continues.  Quentin has been cutting on Chambers' ground and finished a few smaller fields there.  So far, he has only cut the earlier planted fields, but the later planted may not be too far behind with this hot and dry weather.

Podding beans