Applications

Application as a verb is the action of putting something into operation, into use, or into practice. Sydnie, Jayden, Malaki, and Jackson are pretending to be bank robbers. Interesting.

I'm sure most of you in Iowa would agree it's been quite a winter. This is the 6th weekend in a row with a weather advisory for snow or rain. On this last Sunday in February spring seems months away.

Application as a noun is the process of applying. Like a sprayer application or a fertilizer application or a manure application. As we have visited before we have attended several such related classes as the state requires. As some of you know we have weeds becoming resistant to our current herbicides and not being controlled meaning weedy bean fields at harvest. Biotechnology has made corn and bean crops resistant (meaning they won't die when sprayed) to more effective herbicides which in my opinion is a good thing. The down side is we need to be very careful when we make these spray applications. Below we are in a conference room at Prairie Meadows being reminded of the current rules and guidelines for spraying these products.

On a more personal note our crew met with Russ, Mike, and Brent with Nutrien Ag Solutions (new name for CPS) at Smoky Row for breakfast one morning to go over the details of our crop spraying plan and the folks we custom spray for.

On Thursday I was a participant on a 3 member panel at a seed and management meeting also at a Prairie Meadows conference room where we were asked questions. We discussed crops, spraying, effectiveness, timeliness, and planning this coming crop year. Farmers have many things that may hinder them this spring such as compaction, ruts, wet tight soils, disease possibilities, little fall tillage, a possible late start, and low grain prices. Ben Franklin said "failing to plan is planning to fail". Also when we plan we need to keep our goals or the end in mind.

ADM, a soybean processing plant in Des Moines, was slow in receiving soybeans because of lack of farmer selling due to poor markets and bad roads. So they put out an incentive saying any soybeans that came in during the next 10 days could be priced later with no storage cost. Wilson, who we custom farm for, took advantage of the offer and had us deliver his soybeans.  

My sister Donna, her husband Roger, and son Devin came for a visit this past week. A big thank you to Roger and Devin for cutting and splitting this load of firewood.

With the equipment getting so muddy last fall we've been having to clean out our washroom sump every month. Below Pablo is busy washing.

Next week is heavy equipment week. It's when we gather Mike, Mark, and BJ's Cats in the shop, take off the belly pans, clean out, service, and have Chuck, a Caterpillar mechanic, come and run diagnostic and pressure applications to check for possible trouble areas that require small repairs. If you ever want to see a big repair bill, just run a dozer until it stops.

One application in farming folks don't often see or remember is the time spent in the winter months evaluating the past year and being intentional about the coming year. Applying a plan helps one be a leader rather than a bystander. It takes optimism. It requires a positive attitude and working at continuing to improve. And yes, it takes relationships with those you work with and work for.

Equally true and more important is to follow the operators manual (Bible) and to apply the plan laid out for us on how to live.  What are your goals? Who are you serving? What values are important to you? How are you doing on relationships? What legacy do you hope to leave?

Today is Sunday and many of us will go to church. We will honor God and fellowship with friends. We will sing. We will pray. We will give. We will listen. And then we need to apply. Pastors, please continue to help us with this. A relevant and practical application to the message. Remember application as a verb is to put into use or practice. A few of you will still remember as I do "the fork and Sunday dessert".

Jan and I left Friday afternoon for a week in Arizona. We flew to Phoenix and then drove to Yuma. Phoenix and Tucson had snow with temps in the 30s. We must have taken some Iowa weather with us. Yuma is farming country and I love to visit.

This valley grows 175 different crops 12 months a year however this time of year it's known to be the lettuce capital of the world. Yuma has 9 lettuce plants and 23 cooler warehouses. Lettuce can be harvested here in the morning and on the dinner table in the Phoenix valley by evening. It gets to the east coast in 3 to 4 days. With less than 3 inches of rain a year all crops are irrigated from the Colorado River. All the fields are laser graded for irrigation purposes.

Yesterday morning we had coffee with Pastor Tom and Erin. This neat couple pastored at Pella II for two years where Kurt and Emily and family attend. Tom and Erin, thanks for your friendship. Thanks for your fellowship. And thanks for praying with us. Tomorrow we visit Old Mexico and then to Tucson.