Some Random Saturday Stuff

I should probably be more motivated to do things since harvest is around the corner, but it's too damn hot outside. We needed the heat to finish out the crops, but this 92 degree, high humidity junk is a little out of control. I am currently watching football with all of the blinds pulled and the air conditioner running full blast.

This morning I took the duals off of the 8320 since the silage choppers will be here sometime in the next 1-19 days. I had heard that they ran a steel post through the chopper, but that they were chopping yesterday, so who the heck really knows when they will get here. Probably Tuesday when I want to go to Husker Harvest Days.

I also put some pipe back together (pulled some apart since Dad's pivot was watering them, but it no longer swings that way as his corn is done getting watered.) and contemplated irrigating the beans again, but the soil is still saturated and there is a small chance of rain Tuesday night. I hate wasting water and paying to pump it, so I might try to stretch it out to see if it rains. This is doubtful. I also sprayed some more pipe as the weeds are outrageous this year. I think we are growing the wrong things. We need to learn how to feed the world and make ethanol with sunflowers, giant ragweed, pigweed and velvet leaf. This would require little to no work on my part, no expenses, and I would grow a bumper crop every year.

I stopped to talk to a neighbor this morning and the conversation turned to a grain bin on one of his farms. He said something about selling it, and I offered to buy it. I am also getting a quote to move a bin to my place and add some rings and a new floor to it. This would all be fantastic, as it would take the grain storage on my farm from 0 to about 28,000 bushels at a fraction of the cost. A new bin will cost about $2/bushel by the time you get the concrete poured, pay for the structure, get it put up and run electricity to it. I have a quote from another company for a used 10,000 bushel bin to be put up and made operational on my place for $5,700. A new bin that size would be close to $20,000. So. I am hopeful that all of these things work themselves out. Storage is nice at harvest as you don't have to wait in line to dump. It also expands marketing options, and in my case, would allow me to grow more high amylose corn (if I can get more acres) or attempt growing white corn, which I am interested in, or popcorn, if I ever get interested.

Here's a random picture from the center point of a pivot: