Planting Progress 2017

#Plant2017 is officially here! 

I’m struggling to keep up on posting anything on social media because I’ve needed both of my hands for most of my tasks this spring!  We got into the field on Saturday night (4/22).  AJ put the planter in the ground at around 8 pm.  I don’t think I would start as it is getting dark, but I’m not a gung-ho farmer like my husband.  I was also attempting to get the kids fed and in bed around that time (part of my spring role on the farm!).

Part of planting is the prepping the ground for the planter, so we’ve been ‘in the field’ since around the second week of April.  We’ve been spraying our cover crops, spraying some areas where we have extra weed pressure, strip-tilling, and field cultivating. 

So far we’ve gotten about half of our corn in the ground!  Last year we got started about a week earlier (4/14/16) and were done with corn by April 26th of last year.  So comparing this year to last, we are behind, but we still have time!  Ideally (in Iowa) our window to plant corn is from April 20 – May 5. 

We also don’t calve earlier in the year like a lot of cattle farmers, so as the planter has hit the ground, the baby calves are starting to come, too!

It’s been busy so far, but the ‘end’ of spring is still far off!  I’ll try to keep you updated as we continue #plant2017!

Conservation in Action Tour

First, here is an update on what has been happening on the farm: 

1. Planting:  We finished up planting soybeans on Saturday, June 22nd. Thank goodness! It's in God's hands now!
2. We loaded pigs out of our barn yesterday.  340 (not so little) piggies went to the market! :) 
3. We’ve been keeping up on the spraying in between rains.
4. We are finishing up side-dressing anhydrous to our corn.

Yesterday, I got to attend a "Conservation in Action" tour in Kossuth County. The tour was just that: tours of real farmers that implement real conservation practices on their farms. We saw:

• Wetlands
• The wetlands we looked at were in different conservation programs, but the basic concept is that they help create a reservoir to hold water and filter out excess nutrients (so they don’t flow downstream). 

• Hog Facilities
  • The farmers use all of the manure generated from the pigs as their main nutrient source for crop growth on their farms. Along with those nutrients, they also have a plan that shows an estimate of how much soil is eroded off of each field (called the RUSLE2) and the risk of phosphorus loss on each field (called the P-Index). They are required to meet certain levels to apply manure.
• High Tunnel Greenhouse
• This greenhouse was funded through EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) through NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service). Vegetables are grown in it and sold locally. I wish I could grow and maintain a garden like her!

• Windbreaks
  • The windbreaks we saw were mostly used around their livestock facilities. Windbreaks help protect the livestock from wind/snow, create a filter for odor/dust (so it doesn't blow off-site), and (in my opinion) make the farms look pretty!
• Strip Tillage
  • Strip Tillage is a reduced tillage program. It is a combination of conventional tillage (leaving little residue on the top of the soil) and no-till (leaving all the residue on the soil). It literally leaves a strip of soil to plant in, while the inner rows have trash/residue to prevent soil loss.

There were more conservation practices talked about, but these were some of the highlights. On our own farm we have a wetland; we use the same principles and practices as the hog facilities mentioned above; we have implemented windbreaks; and we utilize strip tillage.

Conservation is not a "one size fits all" package. Iowa is diverse in landscape which also means that while some practices work here, they may not work for someone else. We work with others and learn from one another (the good and the bad) because we have love and passion for our land.

This is the Spring that Never Ends….(Name that tune!)

Okay, okay.  It will end.  I have no doubt about that.  However, it seems that planting is taking quite a while this year! 

We started planting corn on May 14th (Three Cheers for Planting).  We finished corn on May 24th and started planting soybeans that same day.  We still have quite a few soybeans left to plant. 

AJ was out today getting random acres planted to soybeans.  There are still a lot of wet areas in our fields, so we are trying to get the dry areas planted at the very least.  This mostly means more driving and turning around than actual planting! 

On the acres that are dry and planted, we are side-dressing anhydrous and spraying both corn and beans (for weeds). 

Of course we are getting in the tractor as much as we possibly can.  I have to compete with some pretty cute kids, and have only gotten to ride a couple of times this spring! 

I know that we are not the only farmers with a long, drawn out spring.  I also understand that it could be worse.  The only way to stay sane farming is to count our blessings every day.  It’s amazing and beautiful to watch them grow.

Preparing for Spring Planting

Planting has been set back a bit this year. But that doesn't mean we are just sitting watching the weather!  We have been out to:

Check soil moisture

We've had a lot of rain/moisture this spring so far.  Our equipment can't get in and out of the field when it is wet.  Another concern is compaction:  corn and beans can't grow in soil that is as hard as cement!

Check soil temperatures.

The soil temperature is important.  For example, if we plant into warm moist soils, corn can emerge within 4-5 days.  If we plant into cool or dry conditions it can take 2 or more weeks to emerge.  This can give pests (insects) and diseases time to eat and infest the seed.  Generally we want the soil to be about 50 degrees for a few days.  A helpful tool that we use is on the Iowa State University website that shows the approximate temperature of soils across the state. http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/npknowledge/soiltemphistory.html. The temperatures have been jumping up and down a lot lately.  3 days ago it was 37 degrees in Webster County.  Yesterday it was already back up to 53 degrees.  Ah…the power of sunshine!

Spray herbicides. 

Thankfully we got this done before the snow.  We have some bean fields that we need to spray prior to planting to keep the weeds down (pre-emerge herbicide).  We also have rye that we plant in the fall that needs to be killed before planting corn.  We planted the rye right after harvest and spray to kill it about 2 weeks before planting.

Check new tile.

Last fall we put down a lot of tile to help drain the wet spots in our fields. However, last fall it was dry! This spring we are able to look at what we did last fall to see if everything is working how we imagined.   

Do chores!

No matter what season or day it is, the animals always need feed and care.

Prep the planter.

Don’t worry, we are ready to plant as soon as it dries up!