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Spring planting 2012

Started by Norm, April 27, 2012, 08:28:34 AM

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Norm

Patty asked the other day if some memo was sent out to all the farmers in Iowa.  :D

You can't drive down a county road without seeing planter after planter running with the tillage equipment one step ahead of them. In two days we've planted 400 acres of corn which isn't great but not bad considering we've been chasing bugs in the main planter each day. We've got 300 acres more to go and then will switch over to soybeans. Weather has been good but there's a bunch of rain predicted with it spitting out as I type this. Hopefully it will hold off until late today so we can get caught up. Then a couple of days of rain wouldn't hurt my feeling or my sore hind end from bouncing around in a tractor.

How's things going for the rest of you guys?

Kansas

I swear the planters just get bigger every year. I suspect about all the corn is in the ground here in the valley. The guy who farms my ground for me sprayed my fields yesterday...not sure what, but I assume Roundup. This is my year for soybeans. I noticed yesterday a few planters in corn stubble. I would guess they started on the beans. The wheat is pretty well headed out, what little is planted around here anymore. Some corn is up now. Seems to me a late freeze would do a lot of damage. They must have faith in whatever forcasters they listen to.

JV

One of our renters planted two of our places a couple of days ago with beans.  He and his two boys roll in and out a lot faster than I could.  He has a no-till drill and a Kinzie 32 row bean planter.  Looking down the lane into the field across the road, all I could see was the nose of a big tractor and planter tool bar stretching across the field.  I thought I was in heaven with an 8 row planter and a 15' no-till drill.  A big portion of the crops are planted here since we haven't had any appreciable rain in some time, which is the next worry.  I'm amazed at the new equipment that comes out each year, especially the prices.  Many of the old farmsteads are now one big field with no fences.  Doesn't take long to knock out a 200-300 acre field a 1/2 mile long.
John

'05 Wood-mizer LT40HDG28-RA, Lucas 613 Swing Mill, Stihl 170, 260 Pro, 660, 084 w/56" Alaskan Mill, 041 w/Lewis Winch, Case 970 w/Farmi Winch, Case 850 Crawler Loader, Case 90XT Skidloader, Logrite tools

sandhills

Just got rained out about 1, haven't started planting yet just discing/fertilizing.  Wanted to be planting by this weekend but I'll take the rain anytime I can get it, I'm all dryland.  Our neighbors are a big outfit, they have 3 different feedlots that probably would average close to 30k head a piece and farm 10's of thousands of acres, quite a few of the sections surround us, it doesn't bother me any they pull in with 4 or 5 four wheel drive tractors and 2 of the biggest planters that JD makes, so I never even see them it's just done and they're gone  :D. 
JV, I finally jumped up to 8 row equiptment 3 years ago and still can't believe the difference in what I can get done, wished I'd have done it 20 years ago!

Don_Papenburg

My corn is peeking out of the ground now.  After spraying for the beans and working it in I decided to wait for the rain . It is real dry around here.
I enjoyed corn planting this year .  Everything went well and I never had to turn on a headlight  ,even took time to b.s. with a friend one afternoon. 
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Okrafarmer

I have a friend up in Maine who used to plant +/- 800 acres of corn with a 6-row planter. Just him, wouldn't let his son, or any help do it. Now I think he does about twice as many acres and uses a 12-row planter. By way of contrast, back when he was doing the 800 acres with the 6-row, another farmer was doing his +/- 250 acres with a 6-row.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Kansas

Sounds like you guys are a little on the dry side out across Indiana and Illinois. been getting some rain here. The lake finally filled back up, so I am guessing there is at least some subsoil moisture here, the lake fills from the bottom mostly. And they are calling for rain off and on for the next ten days. Hopefully good enough weather that I can do better than 32 bu corn like last year, although its beans this year.

Any of you professional farmer types subscribe to private weather forecasters?

Norm

Well I'm not a pro Kansas but we got rid of the premium services for everything ag related a couple of years ago. On weather it just was not that much better than what's available for free now. For the market stuff I've found I do better using my own head instead of someone who's never been in a field of corn.

Well we fought planter problems again yesterday but by late in the day had them whipped and planting again. Around 8PM the rain showed up and chased us inside. Nice to get some more rain so not all to disappointed by that. We run a 16 row JD1770 planter, not a new one but it does a great job and a lot of our fields just can't have anything bigger. I've got a 6 row JD7000 planter for the really tight fields but it's main purpose is planting our sweet corn patches.  :D

All I can say is after 5 days of long hours is thank god for auto steer!

Kansas

I hear you on the market stuff Norm. If they were really that good, they would be investing their own money in futures, and not bothering with farmers. Or someone like Cargill would hire them for huge bucks. But they sure can explain good how the market went another direction than what they said it would do. Come to think of it, they have a lot in common with the weather forecasters.

JV

I have a friend who is a weatherman, he is also a fisherman.   The two must go together.  :D  I will have to say though, he is usually more correct than most.  Next time I see him, I'll have to get his take on the summer's moisture.  We just had a rain, but like the last two, not much, less than a .1".  I planted some garden three weeks ago, including peas and some of them still haven't germinated the ground is so dry.  I figure they will and then dry out an die.  It didn't freeze much last winter and with all the rain during the winter, the ground is like concrete in some places.  Really weird spring.  I still have some ditching to do and hope the old machine will knaw through deep enough to get the tile in the ground.
John

'05 Wood-mizer LT40HDG28-RA, Lucas 613 Swing Mill, Stihl 170, 260 Pro, 660, 084 w/56" Alaskan Mill, 041 w/Lewis Winch, Case 970 w/Farmi Winch, Case 850 Crawler Loader, Case 90XT Skidloader, Logrite tools

red oaks lumber

were dry up here also. wednesday we are hoping to plant. new case ih 24 row planter shouldn't take long.
norm with auto steere can you have the kegerator hooked up? :D :D
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

Norm

Wouldn't that get me some looks and probably more new friends than I need.  :D

The neighbor showed up with a brand spankin new 32rw case-ih planter on 20" centers. The day before he was in there with a 50' field cultivator...talk about equipment envy.  :D

sandhills

We have a couple neighbors with auto steer on their planting tractors and they both told me they've now read every operators manual they have from cover to cover  :D.  Not that I could ever afford it anyway but always figured as long as I have to be sitting in there anyway I just as well be doing something.  It would be nice to have one set up with a guidence system though for spraying and such, I could get a lot more use out of that.  We got another nice rain, anywhere from .9" to 1.5" around here, I sure hope it keeps it up because there can't be much subsoil moisture at all.

Patty

Well with the kegerator and an iPad hooked up, Norm keeps himself pretty busy while out in the fields.  ;D Not to mention Blue Tooth and all the other doodads. That tractor has more electronics than my car.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Norm

But, but I'm still working long hours!  :D

Kansas

Got a nice rain here starting about 3 in the morning through noon. Don't know how much, but a good soaker. They won't be planting for the next few days here. They also have rain forecast for 5 of the next 10 days. Wish I could bank some of that rain for July. I think both topsoil and subsoil moisture are back up good after last summer's debacle. However, they are talking about heat index up to 100 for a couple of those days. I don't know if that is a bad indicator for summer. Difference is what they are calling for is high humidity, rain and temp in the low 90's. Last summer was no rain, and dry hot heat.

Okrafarmer

Quote from: Patty on April 29, 2012, 01:54:30 PM
Well with the kegerator and an iPad hooked up, Norm keeps himself pretty busy while out in the fields.  ;D Not to mention Blue Tooth and all the other doodads. That tractor has more electronics than my car.

Well at least he will still be able to keep the FF updated on his progress, right from the comfort of his mobile command center.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Don_Papenburg

I put in the fourth sweetcorn planting today just after 1:00  .  It was supposed to go in on Monday but  they were calling for rain .  Good thing I did it today , it started raining after I got everything put back inthe shed. hasn't stopped yet .  It is raining very light to a slight drizzle.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Norm

How far apart do you stagger your plantings of sweet corn Don? Do you use different maturities to help out?

chevytaHOE5674

Drilled oats in on Saturday and thankfully we got some rain on them last night. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we don't get too many more frosts and freezes.

JV

Took my wife out to dinner the next town east of us yesterday and on the way home did some "road farming" as my uncle calls it.  Observed several fields of corn popping up with what looked to be pretty decent stands.  If we get the rain and warm weather called for this week, fields will look considerably different by this weekend.
John

'05 Wood-mizer LT40HDG28-RA, Lucas 613 Swing Mill, Stihl 170, 260 Pro, 660, 084 w/56" Alaskan Mill, 041 w/Lewis Winch, Case 970 w/Farmi Winch, Case 850 Crawler Loader, Case 90XT Skidloader, Logrite tools

Don_Papenburg

Norm I plant every seven days .  Use the same all yellow sweet corn . 
I have tried the differing maturity and it never worked out like I wanted.
Every seven works out so i have fresh corn that is not over ripe or not ripe enough. But I still get one planting that will mature at the same time as the previous planting . I will put in ten plantings this year.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Roxie

Don, that is the method that the Amish use to grow sweet corn for the roadside stands and markets.  It's the same seed, but spread out a week apart.   :)

Say when

Norm

Wow 10 plantings, how many acres do you put in Don?

We finished up with the last of the corn yesterday. Fields are a bit damp so the big 4 wheel drive tractor got brought over to do a few acres I was nervous to go through myself. I probably could have made it through but I pull a field prep implement made by great plains called a turbo chopper. It has rolling chopper baskets that look like the old reel mowers on steroids. Problem is it will fill up with mud if you go through it. Not much fun chipping packed mud out of them. The planter switched over to beans but we had problems with the seed tender motor. Finally the mechanic came out only to tell us that it works better if you turn on the gas shutoff switch.  :D

I got to run the planter for the first time this year. Talk about nervous! Fortunately I saw our first seeded field come up yesterday so I must of not screwed up too bad.

Burlkraft

Kinda hard to plant beans when all the dirt is blowing in the sky  :D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

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