Mid August...

Summer is flying by. The boys summer baseball season is over and school will be starting soon. We are putting the wraps on summer projects and moving on to getting things prepared for harvest. Originally we would begin harvest Tuesday after Labor Day, but due to the cooler temperatures we may begin a week later. Our area continues to remain extremely dry. Our latest yield estimates indicate we will be 25-30% under last year's corn yields. As far as the soybeans we really have no clue on yield projections on those yet. They look like 70 bushel soybeans, but given the dry weather they may not be as good as they look. 

Stock-piling finely ground limestone to apply to a few of our farms this fall. We do this to adjust the soil pH down. 

You're not seeing things, that's white corn we are growing this year. It will be harvested and put on a train bound for Mexico to be made into tortilla chips and taco shells.

A plant from our soybean planting population trial. This came from the 85,000 plants per acre area. Due to the spring rains, it was thinned down to 50,000. Look how it has branched out to compensate for the extra sunlight it has.

Raul Santos speaking to our Farmer to Farmer Peer Group we are a member of. Raul is a farmer from Mato Grasso, Brazil. He operates Lagon Dourada Farms. They primarily raise cattle, but are starting to grow soybeans. It was interesting listening him discuss the challenges they encounter raising the 5,400 acres of soybeans they grew this past year. 

This summer we are monitoring adult corn rootworm beetles in soybean fields. By knowing the populations we can make better corn seed decisions this winter. This yellow card is sticky and traps anything that lands on it. We switch these cards out weekly and keep a tally on what we catch. We will do this through mid September to ensure that the beetles aren't laying eggs in our soybean fields. If they lay eggs in our soybean fields, the odds are high that we will have corn rootworm larvae in the soil next spring. Those chew on our corn roots and cause yield damage.

Cleaning out the last of our grain bins.