Tile project...

As I mentioned last week Precision Drainage arrived and began installing tile on a 300 acre project that we have been planning for many years. Due to the distance to the outlet and a few neighbors participating in the project we are using a 21 inch dual wall plastic main that runs a half mile then transitions to an 18 inch tile. As you can see from the pictures, the main tile is so big it almost appears they are laying sewer pipe in the middle of a corn field. The tile crew made good progress last week, but recent rains have slowed things. Today, they were able to get back to work laying the laterals and finishing up some of the sub-mains.

We have a few more acres remaining to chisel and hopefully we get a window to wrap that up this weekend. None of our anhydrous ammonia has been applied yet, but the forecast looks promising to get most of that accomplished. If not, we can always apply it in the spring, but we prefer fall applications. Rainy days continue to allow us to work on 2012 crop plans and clean up fall equipment. Last week I was invited to talk with Owen's preschool class about farming and agriculture. Owen helped me walk his classmates through the growing season and explain to them repeatedly that we did not have any pigs or cows on our farm. Owen let me bring in some of his farm toys which they all enjoyed and we even let them play with some actual corn kernels and soybean seeds. It never hurts to spread the message about what we do in agriculture...

The tile machine making a seven foot deep cut to lay the 18" main tile

Our outlet crossing underneath the county road

This is how big the main tile is compared to a five gallon bucket - HUGE!

Talking to Owen's preschool class about farming with Owen's help