We finally got the corn planter in the field last Thursday. We started the planter up on 10 to 15 acres of sandy soils. It rained again that night, and we spent all day Friday in the shop making adjustments. It was cold and damp Saturday morning, but by midday the soil was dry enough to get the soybean planter rolling. That start-up went a lot better and we ended up planting about 100 acres.
Since then, we were able to plant on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday was out because it rained late Tuesday. Rain is expected again this weekend. We’ve been pushing the envelope of ground being fit. I think Thursday morning was the first time the overnight lows were warmer than the mid to high 30s. Again, not favorable for planting.
For the most part we are no-tilling fields. If we don’t work the ground, we’re not turning up cold wet soil to plant into. We also have firmer soil to drive on. We’re trying to keep both planters running, but that has been a struggle. Issue after issue becomes magnified by the date on the calendar. For instance, we usually focus on soybeans first, but because of the calendar, corn is our priority right now.
You can easily say stress levels are elevated.
- We ran out of diesel this week and I had to order a thousand gallons to get by. The price was $5.20!
- The preplant spray pass has taken a back seat.
Realigning crop management plans
We can make some minor changes to the corn plan and spray after emergence. However, we’ve now planted all the soybean fields that were treated a few weeks ago. Somehow, we’re going to have to try and find time to get across soybean fields we are now planting before they come up. This will give us the best and most economical weed control program. I’m hoping I can get a few loads sprayed off later today or Saturday morning before the next system brings more rain.