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Spring Planting 2013

Started by Norm, May 28, 2013, 07:50:55 AM

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Norm

We finished up planting a week ago last Saturday. First few hundred acres we got in and it snowed 6"'s of snow on top of it. A week later we started in again and got the next 1000 acres done in record time. Now for the last two years we've been in a drought with last year being the worst since back in the 50's. This year we've gotten nothing but rain and not just small amounts but 1-2 inches at a time for over a week with more predicted this week. I've never seen my farm this flooded since I bought it in 2000. Since I do all corn there's no hope of replanting and it will be too wet to try to go with soybeans so I'll just go with what lives and be glad I do have crop insurance. It's nice to have but it really doesn't cover you as much as a good crop will make you. On the other side I'd rather be doing this than working a 9-5 job and still enjoy the challenge farming gives me.



This is a picture of the field out back of my house. I have two fields next to creeks that were under 2' of water.

How's planting going for the rest of you guys?

ND rancher

Norm,our place looks about the same,about 7.5" in less than 2 wks. more to come this week!We were cold and dry until the rain started.Got 40 a. of oats and peas in.Now to wait to plant corn and alf.I did get most of my cows to pasture yesterday then it poured.Seams like Ag. producers all over the US are having a tough time.I'm afraid we're in for a tough fall in the markets.
TimberKing B-20.  Have been bitten by the bug! Loving life !

chevytaHOE5674

Haven't even started with spring field prep yet. Fields just dried out enough to get working on prep and then we got some rain and snow, then they were almost dried out again and we got 5 inches of rain, now today they are almost dry with just a few pockets of standing water and its raining and supposed to continue raining through the weekend. So with any luck I will start prepping fields next weekend and then get planting ASAP.

sandhills

Slow slow slow!  After have 2 different snow storms in May and then a bunch of little showers we finally got going.  Still have a little corn left to plant (mostly silage corn for feed) and about a hundred acres of beans.  We did finally get a good rain Sunday night an inch thirty, we needed it, up till now all we could catch were little quarter inch rains so at least this time it was worth it. 

Left Coast Chris

Norm,  sorry to hear of your heart ache.  It looks like some rilling and flooding going on there.  Ouch.

Have you had any lightning with the storms?  Maybe more nitrogen.......
Home built cantilever head, 24 HP honda mill, Case 580D, MF 135 and one Squirel Dog Jack Russel Mix -- Crickett

Ed

Most of the corn around here is planted, our property was done a week ago, nothing up yet.

Got 3 1/4" of rain last night, wasn't wanted, needed or appreciated.



 

This was after 2 3/4" of rain....the field is tiled, but it'll take a while to drain, going to be some lost corn.

Ed

Just checked the rain gauge, 3.8" for the storm total....


justallan1

We have everything harrowed and I farmed up about 300 acres of new that the boss planted. It all looked great before this last go around with the rain, now we have rivers carved in a few low spots that we'll have to work around. Year before last we baled right at 5,000 bales, last year was less than a hundred.
I'm going with the hope that the moisture might keep the hoppers at bay. ;)

Allan

Gary_C

This is the second year that I rented out my land and the first year I am happy to have done so. The renter still has not turned a wheel in my fields and the $300 per acre is nice to have in the bank right now.

We had over 18 inches of snow the first three days of May and the lower SE quarter of MN has had between 15 and 18 inches of rain in May. Not a good time to be a crop farmer here.

Here is the first day of May.


 
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Faron

Southern Indiana-  only a small amount in my neighborhood planted, and most of that looks pretty sorry.  We haven't had so many big floods,  just constant small rains that keep fields too wet to plant.  We applied our burndown chemicals in April, but haven't planted an acre yet.  Cool weather hasn't helped either.  We did manage to get 60 acres of hay cut, with each field only getting rained on once.  We are likely going to have to cut some pasture for hay especially if we have to go to beans.  We depend on cornstalks for some of our winter feed.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.  Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote. - Ben Franklin

Randy88

4.5 inches of rain this last week alone, plus the week before that, I've lost count on how much rain we've had this spring, but its broken records in my area since records were kept back in the late 1800's.  I'm done with corn and beans, but in my neighborhood, about 80% of the ground isn't planted yet.   I just need to spray everything yet, which could be a challenge yet at the rate this weather is going.

beenthere

Randy
Where is "your area" ??
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

mesquite buckeye

My sister in central Missouri got her corn and beans in the gap between the last flood and the start of this one. They might just be OK. Lots of washouts though, even over the terraces.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

sandhills

yeah we're pretty much at 80% and holding, believe me I'm not complaining about the moisture I can remember last year way to well yet.  Other than 100 acres of beans or so most everything left will be chopped for feed.

ancjr

Can't speak from first hand here, but I see that all the local fields have 6"-8" high corn in them.  The wheat is green and full, as are the hay fields.

Witnessed a lot of farmers getting the first hay mowed and bailed last week while it was warm & dry.  This week, I know of a few that mowed just in time to get rained on for a couple days.

Last year, the drought turned everything gray & brown... the green this spring borders on surreal.

Randy88

Beenthere, in the hills of northeast iowa

beenthere

Thanks, I prolly asked that before.
Maybe update your profile to include that would help (when referring to what is happening in your area ;)  )
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Sixacresand

For the past 6 or 7 years our part of Georgia did not get any rain in May and June.  I quit planting a big garden 2 years ago because of it. This year we have been blessed with rain 2 or 3 times a week.  This year would have been a good gardening year. The pasture is green and I don't have to put out hay for horses.
"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

ND rancher

Just an up date from me. I just finished planting to nite(mud ed the last 12acres of corn in)  ! This has been the most drug out planting season ever for me, and I don't plant much anymore! We have had 12" of rain in 3 wks. ,lucky to get 1-2 days a week to work.And to top it off the mosquitoes hatched yesterday!More rain forecast the rest of the week! Oh well!
TimberKing B-20.  Have been bitten by the bug! Loving life !

mesquite buckeye

Missouri is having stand problems and drown out spots from all the excess rainfall.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

Gary_C

Here in southern MN, I just saw where as much as 30% of the fields will not get planted this year for the first time because of persistent, but not heavy rains. That could amount to as much as a million acres not planted. And we have even passed the latest date for planting beans. So now those farmers with acres not planted have been forced to find oats at $15 per bushel for a cover crop for their unplanted acres.
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

mesquite buckeye

This is why buckwheat used to be a good crop for northern states. You can plant it late and still get a crop. If this keeps up for a few years there could be a comeback.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

beenthere

Here are corn planting percentages by state, updated every Monday according to the website.

By state, the percentages look pretty good. By locality, apparently not so good as Gary_C points out.

http://www.agweb.com/corn_planting_map.aspx
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

mesquite buckeye

Planted is one thing. Getting good germination and establishment is another. There are lots of disease and crusting (preventing emergence) problems associated with this year's late, wet spring. I suspect the result will be reduced yields throughout much of the corn belt. We also have no idea if we will get rain all summer, or whether we will encounter more drought conditions like last year later in the season.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

chevytaHOE5674

Finally got my oats, wheat, and hay planted in the last few days. Without looking back at records I would say this is one of the latest years to get field work done UP here.

Randy88

Just started replanting beans today, the stands are so bad we had to do something, I sure hope to never see another year like this ever again, this is the first time for me, to have bare spots in my corn fields the size of football fields, from being drowned out.    Anyone who says it goes in faster the second time apparently never had to so much replanting before.    But more heavy rains for the next few days, a neighbor kept track of rainfall in april, may and june so far, 24 inches in those months alone, not to mention snow fall and some rains that came earlier than april.   

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