I bet most of us our enjoying this burst of warm weather. My weekly weather email stated that for our meteorological district to date for the month of April, it is the 14th warmest out of the last 135 years. It is also a bit wet still. Planting will take place soon for corn and soybeans If the rains finally take a break.
On my farm it has been a new learning curve. I am planting almost as many acres of oats as I am corn. This is not a crop I have a lot of experience with so my knowledge of how to maximize yields is still giving me some fits and anxiety.
After planting 40 acres on March 30, I watched 6 inches of rain pummel the field in the next 5 days. The creek spilled the banks, gullies were washed and residue was left in piles by wind and water; the low areas ponded severely. Much to my shock and relief, the seed survived quite well. The field is now dry, and green and growing. I did have to replant about 2 acres to level some gullies and spread some trash piles left in the field. Fingers crossed that any future rains will be gentler.
While I notice that many of my non-farm friends my age posting retirement pictures on Facebook and kissing the 9-5 routine goodbye I have made some major infrastructure investment into my farm. Today the wind was nonexistent, and I was able to use my new sprayer and tractor to apply weedkillers on my field. I will also be using my new 75 horsepower cab tractor to plant corn.
I will finally be protected from the elements like all my neighboring farmers. No more starting the day with 5 layers of clothes when it is 45 degrees and cursing the cold lake breeze in the afternoon. No more sitting in a cloud of dust when planting at 5 mph with a 6-mph tail wind suffocating me in dust. While the incorporation of oats in my crop rotation beckons back to the draft horse era, my new planting scenario is much more modern.
Except for GPS. I still must steer and keep my spacing between passes with skill. This was a huge challenge while spraying today. With a bigger sprayer putting spray nozzles farther from the tractor seat, dust on the windows and my aging eyes I was not certain many times if I was doing things right. Another big issue was going from an old 45’ wide sprayer to a new 60’ width. I was so used to counting 18 rows for the 45’ width I was struggling to re-program all my old habits. Alas, the field was finished and after doing 62 acres my spray solution leftover was within 1 percent of desired rate. Success!
Soon Mother Nature will be done with all her “false springs”, and farming will be full swing. Hay fields are utilizing the rain and warmth with exceptional growth; that is a good thing given the shortage of hay available for sale this time of year.
Watching the fields turn green and grow is my favorite time of the year. Grow baby grow!
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