February 9th...

What a long winter it is becoming.  Rather than bore you with the usual activities of us hauling corn and moving snow, I thought I would include photos from years ago. Also, my father is a well-disciplined historian and he gave me some interesting factoids looking back on the "4" years.

10 yrs ago....2004

• Corn price was $2.60 per bushel
• Soybean price was $8.19 per bushel
• Across our farm the corn yielded 205 bpa while soybeans were 61.5 bpa

20 yrs ago...1994

• Corn price was $2.50 per bushel
• Soybean price was $6.70 per bushel
• Farm yield averages; corn 187 bpa & soybeans 55 bpa
• Operating note interest rates were around 8-9%

30 yrs ago...1984

• Corn price was $3.17 per bushel
• Soybean price was $7.50 per bushel
• Farm yield averages; corn 164 bpa & soybeans 46 bpa
• We also had 22 acres of wheat that yielded 76 bpa on flat, black ground
• In 1984 we had 10% of our corn base acres in set aside growing alfalfa
• Operating note interest rates were around 12.5%

31 yrs ago...1983

• very large and wide-spread drought in our area
• corn yields were 111 bpa and soybeans only 37 bpa

The new 4320 tractor arrives on the farm.

4630 outfitted for fall tillage

March 1976 - our 4630 tractor with mounted tanks so we could apply herbicides while we ran the field cultivator in the spring.

January 1977 - snow drift taller than the pickup.  This drift was out in the middle of the prairie...

Playing in the snow this past weekend.