Week ending April 28th...

Still no corn planted.  And the temperatures and rainfall continue to delay our planting progress.  The 10 acres of "practice" corn we planted on April 5th has now emerged, although it is extremely yellow and the stand is sporadic.  We have caught up on most jobs and are now working on jobs we would normally work on during the summer. 

The forecast doesn't look promising and we are planning our next move to get corn in the ground quickly when the weather finally allows.  The prevent planting date for our area is June 5th which is still a month away, but we will need some very warm temperatures for extended periods of time to get our corn planted before the deadline.

Our "practice" corn has emerged - although it's very yellow. 

Picking up the old fence we tore out on our Greenfield farm.  Thanks to our neighbors Mark Twitchell and JL Ford for the use of the skid steer.

Elizabeth & Owen after they ran the Christie Clinic Illinois Kids Marathon.

 

 

Week ending April 20th...

Rainy, wet and cold can easily describe how the last two weeks have been.  There has been zero additional corn planted in our area and 100% of our corn remains in the bag waiting to be planted.  Last week we received 3" of rain, but we feel fortunate as areas to our West and North had upwards of 6-8" of rain.  We even had a light snow shower on Saturday morning just to remind us that Mother Nature isn't yet ready for spring.  The forecast is calling for a 70% chance of another 1-1.5" of rain on Tuesday which should solidify no corn planting at all in the month of April. 

Meanwhile we continue to work on projects like switching out the tires on the planter tractor and retrofitting one of our semis with a wet-kit.  We have also gotten the combine out and are working on taking our add-on equipment off it and getting it ready to head back over to Cross Brothers in Mount Pulaski where they will clean it up and deliver it to the next owner.  Hopefully, this week the weather will be a little warmer and we can start to find morel mushrooms in the woods - those are a spring delicacy...

Adding ultra narrow tires to the planter tractor to ensure they will roll between the 20" rows 

Splitting one of the fuel tanks on the semi so we can add a wet kit 

The boys and I at Memorial Stadium for the Illini Football Team's Open House

Week ending April 6th...

Planting season is upon us - finally.  Towards the end of the week the weather turned warmer and dried a few fields out enough to allow us to work with the field cultivator.  On Friday we were able to get the new planter in the field and work the bugs out.  Thank you to Brad Bishop and Matt Aper from Cross Bros. for coming over and helping us.  We did not plant much though because the forecast is calling for significant rain totals and colder temperatures in the coming week.  Very little field work was completed in our area this past week as the ground in most places is still damp to wet 2-4" underneath the dry surface.  Saturday's 30-40 mph winds helped dry a lot of those fields however.  I imagine that if Sunday's rain does not amount to much, we will see a few neighbors begin planting their 2013 corn crop. 

This past week David also got the seed trailer put together and when the weather straightens out we are ready to begin planting in earnest.  We also worked on a few last minute spring jobs such as changing filters on the fuel tank pumps and trimming some trees that have over-grown into the field edges. 

The new planter finally makes it to the field 

Making the final pass before the planter - the tile is working great 

 Spreading urea and ESN for our National Corn Growers yield contest entry

The boys in their Easter clothes - ties are a very rare occurrence with these two...