Had Some Hail

These pictures aren't very good, but that's ok. We have some crops that went from looking really nice to crap in about 15 minutes. Softball sized hail will do that.

It will be interesting to see what the adjusters say. The beans are looking really rough. The ears on the corn are dented in places where the hail hit them. Not many leaves left either.

In other news, that same storm dumped 2" of rain on our crops, so that was a big help. I had been irrigating for almost a month non-stop, so the break (and saving some cash moneys) is nice. I have noticed some ears that pollinated weirdly, what with the cloudy and cool weather we had during pollination, but a lot of stuff I've looked at looks very good. Could be an interesting harvest with the way they are knocking down the price of corn and soybeans, but it is what it is.

Picture Day

 Took this at sunrise while irrigating:

Randy Rogers Band at Adams County Fair:

Stine 9732VT3P:

An "oh shit" moment I had last week:

An ear of Stine 9737VT3P:

Another ear of 9737 (which of course will not be available next year. Heh.):

Driving back from Dannebrog after getting pizza at the Danish Baker:

Beans!:

More beans after a little bit of rain:

I was shredding weeds last night and took a few pictures:

LG2642VT3P:

Just ignore the bug on the glass:

Wordless Wednesday (I'm Lazy)

Ryan Wanted Me to Write

"Some shit about some shit." Apparently, he is furious that I haven't blogged since February.

Here it is.

A quick rundown of what has happened since February - it rained, it rained some more, it snowed, started planting May 5th, finished planting June 3rd (had to replant some beans), it quit raining, it got hot, we started irrigating, we're still irrigating.

I have a lot of pictures on my phone, so maybe I'll share some tomorrow. I probably should blog again. It's good stress relief.

What's Been Going On

Been busy, that's what.

Hauled high amylose corn. Just in time, as we have new windows in the house to pay for.

The calvies were curious:

Tore a couple of Row Stalkers apart:

To build a big-ass one (of which I have no finished pictures. Whoops.):

Helped Dad get set up to haul corn:

Went to visit the in-laws last Thursday, got back Monday. A good time was had by all. Our dog, Hannah, had puppies last night. We're getting new siding on the house and garage starting tomorrow. Supposedly. Going to look at a planter tomorrow. I have a couple of auctions to go to in the next few days, where I will most likely not even bid on anything because guys with a net worth many zeros more than me will inevitably want the exact stabilizer disk I need for the new 40' wide male row planter they're building. Or that 6" tee that I need for the discharge on my well at home. But, hey, I like Polish dogs, and there's an endless supply at every auction I go to, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

After Much Contemplation

I've decide to switch 40 acres here at home from soybean to corn production this year. I've done all kinds of math, and I can make quite a bit more raising corn this next year. You know, provided we don't get hailed out or have greensnap or we don't raise 160bu/acre corn on 99 million acres this year. But, at worst, I'll make the same amount as beans would've, and corn is just a lot more fun to harvest.

I convinced myself today while sitting on my arse waiting for the window guys to leave. I believe they are finishing up the last window now, so I got that going for me, which is nice. No more banging on the house when I'm trying to look at tractors I can't afford or while I try to take that afternoon nap I desperately need after my caffeine high from the morning goes away.

Every year I'm ready for winter, and every year at this time I go stir crazy. I'm not ready to start the year, but I'm ready to start the year, you know what I'm saying?

Yes, I do believe I know what you are saying. <--------------------------- For the South Park fans.

Sometimes...

Once in awhile, I get down about farming. Not so much about the work itself, but the idea of staying in business. It's been difficult to find land to rent. If it weren't for my Grandpa and Dad, I would  probably be a clerk at the nearest gas station. I rented my first ground 50/50 with Grandpa and Dad and I currently rent a farm 50/50. There was another place that Dad and I rented. For a year. That was a learning experience. It was so sandy Sam (my brother) and I had to put socks on every gate that we opened. A sock is, well, a sock. It's a piece of canvas probably 3' long that clips onto the irrigation pipe. The water flows into it, so you don't create a gargantuan hole in the ground right in front of your pipe.

Anyway, I ramble. 

So I was doing my quarterly freak out about how I'm going to get left in the dust by all the megafarmers around here, when all I really want to do is farm enough that I'm busier than crap, but I don't have a hired man. And I don't see how this is possible. I want to own 800-1,000 acres by the time I'm 60, and I want a lot of it to be within 5-6 miles of home. And I don't see how this is possible, either. 

At the same time, I'm freaking out because Grandpa and I are taking cattle into town today, and I am nervous about how much they weigh, because I need to buy a grain trailer and I need to pay for the windows that were installed in the house and we just ordered siding for the house and garage and I need to put a grain bin up by harvest. And I need these cattle to do well and I don't know where I'm going to find a trailer and why is everything such a pain in my ass sometimes?

Then I see an ad on Craigslist for a 32' DMF grain trailer, which is a little shorter than I want, but is priced right. So I call the guy and he tells me how clean it is and it has almost new brakes and a good tarp and that it's always been shedded and has no rust. To which I reply:

"How much do you have to have out of it?"

"You just need to come look at it. It's a real nice trailer."

Right. 

So, I go look at it. And you wouldn't know it's a 17 year old trailer. It really has good brakes, a good tarp, and no rust. And I pay $1,500 less than he was asking for it. 

Also, the new door for the corn stove showed up today, which was ideal, because it's 6 degrees right now. So I installed said new door (I broke the glass out of the old one and the handle was jacked up), started it up, and headed to Grandpa's to load cattle.

We got our second load in around 6 tonight, maybe a little later. We unloaded and Grandpa headed to the scale house while I waited in the pickup. And waited. And waited some more. And waited so long I had to water the parking lot. Right when I was getting to the good part of my solitaire game, Grandpa opened the door, scared the piss out of me, and handed me the ticket.

Our heifers weighed 1,395 pounds. They are the heaviest cattle I have ever sold. 

See what I'm getting at? Life is good. Things happen, plans come together or fall apart, and I'm still above ground. 

Matthew 6:34 - Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.