March

One more day of March! The year is a quarter over already. March has been a rough month around here. I called crop insurance today and got in line with all the farmers who are concerned about their wheat crop.

The adjustor said file the claim, I am not sure when I can get there. The problem with that is it could be planting time before they decide to destroy my wheat. Everything is timing isn't it?

I keep looking for frozen plants or dead centers but it is just cold enough the degradation is slow. What looks good today could be bad in a week. That is kind of like life, isn't it?

As soon as it warms up and dries up farmers will be chomping at the bit as they say. I think we have moved up planting dates with all the agricultural improvements from drainage to seeds to implements. There is so much big machinery now, millions of acres are planted in a day across this country at prime planting time.

We would like to be finished planting in early May. May 1 is our goal. With this weather and moisture, that may be postponed but we are close enough on moisture and temperature it could still happen. You never know what the best planting is until you harvest it but we do better planting earlier than normal.

You have to have the right setup to do it from soil to seed to planter. Labor per acre has dropped from the over 10 hours per acre per crop to closer to 2 or 4 hours per acre for the whole year! The American Farmer had to get more efficient to stay competitive.

I just got another call from a farmer in Butler County who is seeing the same thing I am and needed some clarification. He has seen notill really increase his yields and decrease his cost of production and soil erosion.

I think I better post the notill sign from Kentucky again. It really makes me think and remember.

Ed