StillwatersIowa

Over the years at our home we've often used the statement, "no buts". Following a comment with "but" negates the first thought. For instance as a child, "I'm sorry, but he hit me first". Other words that change the direction of the conversation are, however, nevertheless, yet, and on the other hand. We prepared ground for planting this past week. Chiseled cornstalks going back to corn is the driest in most areas. Southern Iowa could use a good inch of rain. The planters are hooked up. Should one be planting? It's still March. On the other hand, the 4 inch soil temp is 50 degrees. On the other hand, there are cooler temps predicted. On the other hand, dry soil in southern Iowa at planting time is always a gift. Mark and his son Ethan have been keeping their dump truck busy. In a conversation with a lender recently everyone agreed that crop farming needs another "gig" these days to cash flow. That means diversification like: trucking, c...

Hard times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men. Weak men make hard times.  7 strong young men (grandsons) came to help Grandpa yesterday. Lane's cousins are explaining to him that some old folks still write in cursive, as he looks at his paycheck for the day. Cursive writing is a dying art for most anyone under 40 years old. The people we spend time with have an influence on us. Our character and actions are often shaped by those we associate with. Our help is good company, and we had a busy week wrapping up the last 7 NH3 jobs. On Wednesday morning Dean, Kasey, and I loaded up skid loaders and went to pile brush. Afterwards we stopped at Applebees in Pella for a late lunch. With the rest of our crew preoccupied, two older fellows (Dean and I) worked together to put in a string of tile. Mike came to build the terrace before we even had the tile ditch filled. Mike and brother Doug donated their time, equipment, and fuel to do clearing and dirtwork f...

Every couple of decades, just as sure as the seasons; families, communities, and cultures, do a generational shift. When our children start having children. When new young business leaders emerge. When teenagers that used to say, "You just don't understand", think back and say, "You were smarter than I remember". Below, Uncle Mike stopped in at Sully Locker and Market, to visit with new business owner and nephew, Gideon. Thanks for the picture Kasey. A generation ago Mike was grinding feed, helping his father. Mostly because he was the oldest. Once in awhile as a learning experience for not listening or obeying. 😊 The shop crew worked on getting sprayer tenders ready. Spraying pre (1st pass pre-plant) on ground going to soybeans often starts in just a couple of weeks. On Tuesday, after Alex's grandma's funeral on Monday, everyone helped Alex tear-off the old roof on his house getting ready for new shingles. Thanks for the picture. First thing yesterday ...

During the frontier times of the southwest, pioneers would often only travel during the daylight. Many felt safer together when they formed and moved to a town. However crime and fights became a growing problem, particularly at night. Street lights changed everything. Folks felt safer. And commerce exploded. Today Yuma, Arizona, has around 100,000 permanent residents year around, and 250,000 during the winter months. Yuma, AZ is an agricultural area overlooking the Colorado River valley, next to California and Old Mexico. The Colorado River irrigates close to 6 million acres of crop land! Agriculture and the military bases are the 2 largest segments of the economy. Russ is the voice of conservative talk radio in southwest Arizona. He has a daughter in the valley with 6 children whose husband is a helicopter mechanic for the US border patrol. His son is a squadron commander in Sicily. I was fortunate enough to meet and visit Russ. We enjoyed conversations about Yuma life, state and nati...

What 5 things did you get done this past week? This question was asked to federal employees from Elon Musk working on DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). A number of employees have not been back to their workplace since Covid. The question set off a firestorm.  Back home our crew worked on finishing the Hybrid, putting it back together after painting. They also worked on Flames, our dump truck. Replacing an air cylinder, new brakes, and an oil change. Kasey and Dean are building metal pallets to store sprayer tires on. In the spring we run floater tires before the crop is up. Then run skinnier tires in the summer during poast spraying.  Kasey and Kurt have been mapping field borders with our Ranger. They also border terraces and waterways. Like we talked about last week, this allows the satellites the responsibility of turning the spray on and off when spraying crops.  The 5th thing they worked on was emptying the shop across the road so Elliot could power wash th...