Capitalizing Trust

Mark Twain once said, "Worrying is like paying a bill you don't owe". I've shared with you all before I often write about what's on my mind. And on this last day of July it's hard not to think about the dry weather and the crop.

We pretty well wrapped up 3rd pass soybean spraying this past week. On this custom work farm near Deep River I was spraying the beans while the helicopter was right next to me spraying the corn.

 

Dry weather brings stress spots in the lighter soils of a field. And bugs and insects like to congregate on those stress spots for some reason. Notice the grasshoppers in the pic below.

3rd pass corn and soybean spraying is optional. It's insurance against diseases and bugs. One could ask why keep putting money in a crop when it isn't raining. I think it's in a farmer's DNA to grow the best crop possible. And then there is that trust factor that things will be ok.

I've always said that by fair time one can separate the men from the boys when it comes to adequate nitrogen in any particular corn field. And by late July there is really no correcting a lack of N. With nitrogen prices quadrupled this past spring one might get tempted to cut back. However I feel you lose your potential in yield when you do. I took this picture of N deficiency on a farmer's field south of Barnes City.

Adequate nutrients including nitrogen create a healthy plant and help push maturity. A clean field doesn't have weeds robbing water intake from the crop on a dry year. And more often than not early planting helps with grain fill while water uptake is still available. Variable rate planting is also a big deal this year with less population on the lighter soils. Our sweetcorn crop has been outstanding this year. With so much family on vacation this past week, a huge thank you to all our help (Jim, Dean, Elijah, Kasey, Layton, Matt, Pablo, Ryan, Trenton, and Mike) for helping pick, shuck, and silk ears.

Jan cuts the corn off raw and then cooks the kernels before cooling it and putting it in freezer bags. She did over 100 quarts for our family. We also gave corn away to over two dozen folks by the dozen as well as by the load. Four different times we loaded the Ranger, drove to town, and gave it away to whoever we happened to find. Friends and strangers alike. There is still corn available. If you would like some, get a hold of us.

Jan tells me we have enough sweetcorn for the year. However I'm watering a second small patch for later corn.😊

Some of you do business with a Mennonite family at Dutchman's Grocery Store in Cantril. Well, along Highway 2 just on the north edge of town, their new store is going up. Thanks for the picture Jan.

Mark, Mike, and I spent a couple of days volunteering at Lakeview Bible Camp this past week with our heavy equipment. Kudos to all the volunteers including Bob and Dort who tirelessly give of their time. Thanks for the picture Mike.

We have one more combine to get ready for fall. Pablo came before 5am one morning and worked on cleaning this one up.

We are also starting to clean up our trucks and will be soon servicing them for fall use. Most of our corn crop goes presold to Cargill Eddyville. Many of our soybeans go to Des Moines or Burlington.

Capitalizing is to make the most of something. It also means to put it on an asset list. In business, if I capitalize an asset, I put it as a value on my balance sheet. Rather than expensing it just once.

Trust is a confidence and security in the character, ability, strength, and truth of someone or something. We have a choice. When we only put trust in ourselves, it's like expensing something, one and done. However when we put our trust in God, who created us for a specific purpose, that's capitalizing. That's giving us a value bigger than ourselves. And that's how we get through dry summers.

Congratulations to Ben, Trent, and Kyah who professed their faith in our church last Sunday. They publicly said they are capitalizing their trust in their Creator.

Pastor Jon had a good idea. He had the congregation write their names beside their favorite verses in each of these young peoples Bibles. Now when these kids read their Bibles they will remember the value of the fellowship of folks that care about and pray for them.

Crisis and complications create character. Character creates courage. And courage is contagious. And that doesn't just apply to a dry summer. That applies to families. That applies to a "what about me" culture. That applies to a wayward country. Let's trust the One in charge. And then add value to those we interact with by capitalizing courage. Blessings. Thanks for the picture Mark.