It finally looks like we should have a few slower days. Those days will be welcome as we have plenty to catch up on. Most of that is in the office. And on me. I need to:
- Get yield data submitted for some trials we did
- Tally scale tickets to determine final yields
- Pay property taxes, which are due Monday
- Evaluate bids to replace shop heat and HVAC in my house as both geo units failed after about 15 years. With a cold snap coming, I guess I need to get moving!
We spread manure and worked ground this week. We also spread about 1,400 tons of chicken litter on more than 800 acres. Additionally, we hired a custom applicator to spread hog manure on about 300 acres. It has been several years since we have been able to acquire any substantial amount of manure. Even though the price of manure is somewhat linked to commercial fertilizer, it remains generally economical due to handling difficulties. We chased the manure application with tillage to incorporate the product for better nutrient efficiency.
Limited deep tillage
We did a lot of deep tillage last fall, so we’re not doing as much this fall. We also had generally good field conditions this spring and fall, so we didn’t beat up the ground a lot. We still would like to do some vertical tillage. I probably should have been more diligent following the combine, but dry stalks and dry ground don’t make for the best tillage results.
I am happy that we got everything sprayed that we wanted to.
We recently received soil test results from samples taken this fall. We scurried around staging lime this week. Unfortunately, the applicator was not able to get it spread before the rain.