Mother Nature Throws a Curve
Published: Friday, June 5, 2020
Social isolation due to the pandemic allowed more time to prepare equipment for the spring planting. I was thankful agriculture and construction were deemed essential, as this was the therapy I needed to keep my mind off the coronavirus.
In the months leading up to spring planting I'm usually traveling to FFA banquets, farm toy shows, and educational events such as Ag Days to promote the Indiana Cornhusking Assn. Due to activity cancellations, we had to get creative and find alternative ways to connect with our members and interested folks as we engage in agriculture education and ICA promotion. Our Facebook page allows everyone to get the current information about the Indiana State Hand Cornhusking contest that will be held here at our farm on Oct. 3. We held an ICA plow day at our farm; it was originally scheduled for April 28 but unfortunately Mother Nature didn't cooperate and it was rescheduled multiple times due to poor field conditions. On May 9 we were finally able to plow the remaining 30 acres and had several spectators come out and watch the garden tractors and larger tractors pulling four- and five-bottom plows. This field was planted as a backup field, if needed, for the cornhusking contest.
I was anxious to get a jumpstart on spring tillage because last fall's wet conditions didn't allow for this. I had soil tests done last fall also, so I met with a local agronomist this spring to find the best rate of fertilizer and analysis to apply to my corn and soybean acres. Unfortunately, the first fertilizer buggy that I chose had mechanical issues that didn't allow the fertilizer to flow out properly. And the last batch of fertilizer was clumpy and wouldn't feed out either. Luckily, we still apply pen-packed cow manure to make up the difference so less commercial fertilizer is needed, and hopefully this will help out where the fertilizer buggies let me down.
A month ago we refurbished the old round-rafter chicken house that once housed over a hundred broiler chickens each year. We made the decision to raise 75 Cornish-cross broilers for the freezer and we have several beef that could be butchered, too, if needed. The garden is finally planted. I'm glad we started tomatoes and peppers from seed months prior, since some replanting was needed following the frost and freeze warnings a few weeks ago.
The wild spring weather and temps that hit in late April and early May caught us by surprise. The fruit trees were leafing out and near bloom. Mom was upset that this might be the third year without peaches, so my brother and I built plywood box frames around each dwarf peach tree and set a portable salamander heater near the bottom to blow heat in when the temperature dipped below freezing. I can report the peaches are out of shuck-split stage and Mom will have her peaches. The pears are doubtful. There will also be apples, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, too.
I finished planting corn and I'm 90 percent complete on soybeans. While the days are long, I help my brother in construction during the day and work in the fields late into the evening. Recent scattered rains have limited planting progress, but I hope to finish this week and do some replanting where ponding of water resulted. By the time you read this, I hope to have cut and baled 50 percent of our first cutting hay. Some of the best moments in life are connecting with God while turning circles and appreciating the land that he has provided for raising crops.
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