Beans have really started to turn in our area in the last week, and the corn is drying down very fast compared to prior years. The custom silage chopping crew has been busy. They stopped by our farm Sunday afternoon and put up a 150-foot bag in just a couple of hours. Impressive to watch their teamwork! We are grateful to have the silage done since it looks like a rainy week ahead. The rain is pushing back our potential start day for harvest, but we are excited to get in the fields after seeing the yield estimate from the silage. Most of our major preharvest shop projects have been completed, but we always have plenty of rainy-day shop projects and fences to work on while we wait for the fields to dry. Last week, I was saddened to hear of the passing of an amazing farmer. I met Ray Gaesser many years ago while working as a field manager for an on-farm research project he participated in. I learned a great deal from the whole Gasser family and my thoughts are with them in this difficult time.