Spotty rains last week kept some folks out of the fields, but most people I talked to made some progress on planting. The temperature forecast is keeping folks from going all out. Early-planted corn in the sands are up.
Elyssa McFarland is the sixth generation in her family to farm near Columbus Junction in Louisa County. She runs the farm with her husband Dave and parents Tom and Chris McFarland. Her degrees in soil science and soil conservation guide her management of the family’s row crops. The family al…
- Crystal Reed
Drought in the western Plains has some farmers concerned, while the southeast and the upper Midwest is wetter than usual.
Rained out Friday after the ground was fit to plant Wednesday and Thursday. Folks were planting corn and beans and sprayers were running. Rain was variable Thursday night. We only got a quarter inch here and were able to run this weekend. West of us, I have heard reports of more rainfall and…
We’re hoping to get soybean planting started by Thursday probably. It’s been so cold as we got frost over the weekend. Forecast calls for good, dry and warm conditions. That will be a change from the 2 inches of rain received last week.
Elyssa McFarland is the sixth generation in her family to farm near Columbus Junction in Louisa County. She runs the farm with her husband Dave and parents Tom and Chris McFarland. Her degrees in soil science and soil conservation guide her management of the family’s row crops. The family al…
Elyssa McFarland is the sixth generation in her family to farm near Columbus Junction in Louisa County. She runs the farm with her husband Dave and parents Tom and Chris McFarland. Her degrees in soil science and soil conservation guide her management of the family’s row crops. The family al…
Things are slowing down on our farm. We’re mostly getting ready for winter. A lot of pit manure is being applied in the neighborhood. We talked to our drag line operator, and he plans to be here in two weeks to empty our pits. I finalized our seed order for 2026. Cover crops are all seeded a…
Harvest is winding down in Southeast Iowa. I took a 60-mile drive on Friday and saw one soybean field and three corn fields that were yet to be harvested. We finished seeding cover crops and are working on getting equipment put away for the winter. I still need to get the pits pumped and put…
I finished combining both corn and some late soybeans this week. I got the rest of the cover crops planted and had a half-inch of rain late in the week that should get them germinated. I tried to report the cover crop acres to the Farm Service Agency but found that the government shutdown ha…
Rainfall of 0.46 of an inch on Monday did not slow harvest very much. Corn and soybean harvest is progressing rapidly. Cover crops planted a month ago look good. I actually had to mow some yards for the first time in several weeks.
A lot of soybeans were combined this past week. By the time the dew had dried the soybeans were often 10% or under in moisture. Early-planted cover crops look good. Normally the pits in our hog buildings do not need pumping until mid-November. We have taken enough manure out of each building…
With no rain forecast, it could be another busy week. We received 0.6 of an inch of rain Tuesday, which was our biggest rain since July 30. It will be enough to get the rye cover crop germinated. We were still able to combine corn Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. By Thursday most of the neig…
Many neighbors have started combining corn. Yields vary greatly by soil type, tiling, fungicide application, moisture and variety. Several neighbors tried combining soybeans last week but most decided it would be better to wait a few days longer. We did get 0.67 of an inch of rain this past …
Last week, I said yields were similar to last year. I spoke too soon, as we are finding yields on some varieties 30-40 bushel less than the same varieties last year. This is on corn that we had one shot of fungicide applied. Soybean harvest should start in earnest this coming week. Several n…
Southeast Iowa could use a rain. I recorded 0.38 of an inch in August and 0.06 so far in September. Corn is maturing and drying down faster than normal. We wanted to make sure that the harvesting and drying equipment worked, so we combined some corn on Sept. 5. The moisture ranged from 23% t…
Another quieter week on the farm. Serviced the Circ-U-Flow dryer on another bin. I greased the power sweep augers in several bins. I put the auger up to the drying bin. I fired up the burners on two drying bins. Corn is shutting down fast because of disease problems. I have found some ears t…
More diseases are showing up in corn and soybeans. It’s probably too late to do much about them. Only 0.34 inch of rain since July 30, so the lawn mowing has slowed down. I sprayed some field borders with glyphosate and 2-4,D. I got the auger to the drying bin out and serviced it. I greased …
We’re getting ready for fall harvest. I put insecticide in seven grain bins. I checked the tire pressure, brake fluid, greased and power-washed four wagons. We had a service tech here to check the combine and heads and do adjustments on moving parts. We mowed waterways. We also froze another…
I’m loading up some corn this morning to get rid of. We’re cleaning out bins and spraying on field borders. I finished applying fungicide to soybeans last week. It went quick as two drones flew by spraying it on. Corn is pretty well dented, and in a month it should be mature. To get ready fo…
It rained seven days in a row during the last week of July. I recorded 11.05 inches of rain in July, and several farmers in the area received several inches more than that. Most of our corn varieties are starting to or are completely dented, which seems earlier than usual. It’s time to start…
Seems like I spent the week mowing yards as the grass continues to grow. We’re seeing lots of airplanes or drones applying fungicide. I’m doing some spraying with the Gator on field borders and around buildings. Tall waterhemp is growing about 4 inches per day. I’m spraying sweet corn with a…
We recorded 2.10 inches of rain this week and parts of the county received almost three times that much. Hay making was pretty much at a standstill and lawns grew like crazy. We put some planting equipment away and winterized pumps and water barrels. Used the cooler temperatures on the 17th …
We had 2.8 inches of rain last Thursday and Friday. Some areas of the county had over twice that amount. The winds laid some of the corn down and some minor hail also occurred. Sweet corn is coming on strong, and we have given a lot away. Have seen a few planes spraying fungicides on corn. W…
Early corn has tasseled, and the soybeans in narrow rows have canopied. Grass waterways and road ditches are being mowed for hay. We received 1.9 inches of rain on July 5 in two showers and most of it soaked into the ground. Early sweet corn will be ready to pick this coming week.
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