Beetles & Celebration

/

Partners,

Fireworks with Friends

We just finished celebrating the birthday of our country last week. What a time to pause and reflect and give thanks to the many who have sacrificed in order for us to enjoy the freedoms we now enjoy. It was good to spend time with family and friends and count the blessings.

Japanese Beetles

Delivering Grain

On the farm we are busy battling weeds and bugs. The dry weather has limited the effectiveness of some of the herbicides used and now we are under pressure from a rather large infestation of Japanese Beetles. There are some trees and shrubs they think are absolutely delicious. They have been in the area for about two weeks and are now moving into the crop fields. We are concerned, now that the corn is tasseling and shooting silks, that they will dine on the sweet tender ear silks. They are also stripping leaves on the outside of the soybean fields and without significant rain we are wondering what the effect on yields will be. We are also delivering grain, sweeping out bins, and still working on drainage projects that can be addressed without harming the growing crop. So for the month of June we recorded .7 inch of rain at Marcus's place, and 1.47 where Phyllis & I live. Forecast for next two weeks looks dry.

State of Illinois budget is making progress, although it is disappointing to see the governor was steamrolled and none of his proposals were included in the package. Democrats say not to worry, we will take them up later--right! American beef is now being sold in China after a 13 year hiatus. 

Ali on left

Softball Moms

Family is doing well. Alison had her last club softball weekend--sad to leave that stage of life. The crew (we managers included) are trying to get some time off in the summer for some fun relaxation. Next week is the 4-H show so time for bucket calves to make their debut.

Fall prices:

Corn 3.65

Soybeans 9.71

Keep in touch and stay cool! Comment & Like below.

Steve

Spring Break

/

Partners,

The recent warm dryer weather has allowed us to work on some significant spring projects this month. We completed a 40 acre tiling project that we have been trying to accomplish since the wet year of 2013 when we had to replant and side dress NH3 on this half of an 80. Our goal is to drain 80 acres a year and we have been sticking pretty close to that the last 5 years. The last nice day this week we were able to get some brush removed from fences, along creeks, and taking out some long unused fence. All the waterway work from last fall is looking good with lots of green as the rye and grass are really growing with the warm weather, and with the light rains there has been very little washing to the vulnerable dirt work. All this taking place while Alison is on spring break from school, so she and her friend Ellie get to be part of the crew!

National scene: we are wondering why, after finally getting a nominee for the Secretary of Agriculture position, now the confirmation process is dragging on forever. After rural America played such a big part in this presidential election it is very frustrating that we have no leadership in the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile the State of Illinois proves how spineless our legislature is by not even being able to vote on a state budget. Oh well--it is only costing us $11 million a day.

Family is doing well. Marcus and family went to see all the princesses at Disney World. We are eagerly awaiting spring planting to arrive so we can put all this planning and budgeting into the real world and await mother nature to show us who is really in charge.

Fall Prices: Corn 3.53 / Soybeans 9.71

Keep in touch! "Like" and comment below.

Steve

Farm Drainage: A History

/

Partners, 

Two weeks have gone by. We have been squeezing in extra projects that often get put off in a normal cropping season. This past week we completed a field drainage project we began over two years ago. Weather and fieldwork demands complicate projects like this, but this winter we decided that we would first complete planting, and then tile if weather and time allowed. Thankfully, both did. This week we installed over four miles of plastic tile on a farm we purchased four years ago that adjoins the Doll Homestead. We have now accomplished our goal of draining the whole western two-thirds of our biggest contiguous field!

Draining the soils of the Midwest has been on going since settlement began here in the mid-1800s. The early settlers actually preferred the hills and lighter soils in order to avoid water problems. Around here the ancestors farmed around "buffalo wallows" - the depressions in the fields that held water, that apparently back in the open plain days the animals would go to to cool off in the heat of summer. Some of the earliest tiling projects here (using clay tile underground to drain wet spots) date back to the late 1800s when all the work was done by hand - what fun that must have been! Some of the earliest engine powered trenchers came into use in the 1920s and 1930s but farm economics at that time didn't allow widespread adoption due to tight/non-existent margins.

I can remember as a boy what a big event it was to hire a contractor to come in to do a tiling project. It always meant we would see a big improvement to the land: drying up wet spots, allowing the building of grass waterways for easier and more conservation-friendly farming, and being able to eliminate open ditches of running water that grew trees and brush.

Seeing the value of soil conservation and surface water management, we decided to purchase our first tiling machine in 1974 to address our water issues. The old 302 Buckeye turned into one of the most important pieces of equipment on our farm - not only on our own land, but the custom tiling I (Steve) did in those early years put me through college! In 1998 we traded up for a rubber-wheeled machine; a Speicher 600, that we still operate today to dig in big mains and assist the tile plow for ease of hookups for pattern tiling jobs. We purchased the Soil-Max tile plow (pictured) in 2010. The speed of plowing the tile in (as opposed to digging a trench) allows for much faster installation of lateral runs.

If you have farmland in Illinois, you undoubtedly have drain tile of some kind on your property. However, the common best management practice now is to pattern tile a field, which means completely drain the property on 30-100 foot centers. Pattern tiling allows the field to dry out evenly which facilitates timely field operations, and reduces soil erosion and compaction. This also eliminates persistent wet areas in some fields which in the past have yielded absolutely nothing in wet years. Additional benefits are more predictable yields, improved field efficiency, and generally enhanced profitability for the land owner.

We truly appreciate all the drainage work our partners have participated in over the past many years, and look forward to more projects in the future. Our goal is to continue to leave a legacy of conserving and improving the farmland of which we are caretakers.