StillwatersIowa

After 7 to 9 weeks of long hours, depending on the operation, most folks have finished harvest and moved on to the "what's next" projects we visited about last week. Our team finished up late Friday night in Jasper county.   We picked up 11 "to go" meals of burgers, fries, and onion rings at Iowa's Best Burger Cafe near Kellogg on Interstate 80. On the way back to the field we made a Caseys stop in Sully for a bottle of ketchup. I wished the Lynnville/Sully folks well as many were preparing to attend their playoff football game against Wapello.  Twenty years ago there was a television series adapted called Friday Night Lights. It featured a football team in a close-knit community in rural west Texas. It was about a community, a team, and a dream, that depicted the trials and triumphs of life. While finishing our last farm we listened to the Pella Christian game. They finished the regular season with 2 wins and 6 losses. At their playoff game Friday night the...

With the end of harvest in sight, what's next? Well, there's cover crop to seed on tougher acres, hog manure to apply, anhydrous (N) to put on for next year's corn crop, seed to sell, tillage to finish for corn on corn, field edges and waterways to clean up, soil tests to take, dirt work including dozing and tiling, tons of bookwork, and bins to core. With our local corn processor on shutdown for repairs, we used our bins this week. We have just over 200,000 bu. of storage in smaller bins on farms we own or rent. We have also started a newer bin site as a family with one larger bin so far. With five helpers with commitments yesterday, grandsons Elijah, Eliott, and Jackson ran the graincarts, keeping corn away from BJ and Kurt, who were combining, and loading Caleb, Matt, Pablo, Karl, and myself who were hauling to this bin where Malaki (5th grader) was in charge of unloading us in the pit as we rolled in. We had several breakdowns this past week. In all cases our crew would...

We live in a world today where it seems easier to accuse people for doing things wrong rather than complimenting them for getting it right. Acknowledging folk's efforts help them feel good about themselves. Folks that feel good about themselves produce results. Ten year old Malaki is unloading corn. Last Sunday Omega Church recognized and thanked farmers. We attended and drove the Hybrid to church. After services there was an outdoor potluck and fellowship. Thanks Cyril, Jan, Elliott, and Olivia. Do you consider yourself above or below average in your field? What's your field? What's average? Average is the middle of the best and worst. So half of us are below average and half of us are above. We live in uncertain times. That sounds difficult. However I remember my parents saying they lived in uncertain times. It's part of life. We will fail at every goal we never make. Another thing. Someone famous once said, "What you get by achieving your goals is not as importa...

In the 1970s most farmers were in that 200-300 acre size. This was the era when farms were starting a corn/soybean rotation, which was a change from corn/oats/ hay. In 1973 corn and soybean prices doubled. New farm pickups were $5000. A new large tractor was $10000. Machinery companies were coming out with cabs on tractors and combines. House rent was $75-$90/month. Thanks for the early morning picture Kasey. We use this 40 yr old 400 bushel grain cart for leftovers when finishing a field. I was visiting with a grandson on the 2 way. I told him when I was his age I helped my Dad harvest with an IH 303 and 2 row corn head. I started farming in 1974 with an IH 715. It had a 4 row corn head and 13 ft. bean head. On a 200 acre rotation farm there was 100 acres corn @ 150bpa and 100 acres of soybeans @ 40bpa. That meant our crop to be harvested for the year was 15000 bu. of corn and 4000 bu. of beans. Most farmers can harvest that much in a day or less today. Thanks for the picture. I'm...