April 17

Eight years ago today we planted our first field of corn on this farm. We are trying to repeat that event although the soil is a little heavy in the low spots. The upground is planting nice but it's "cheesy" has my mentor says down below.

I sure would like to repeat the outcome of that event. That was the most corn I ever grew in my life. That field averaged 265 bu and I will never forget the yield monitor hitting 313 in the little sweet spot on it.

I think I had like 30 hybrids that year and the field was a giant research plot. It was record corn growing year here and in most of the nation. The yield never varied more than 30 busehls per acre side to side and that was pretty good considering the soil variation top to bottom and side to side. It got rain all summer and expressed the fullest yield in each hybrid. The hybrids ranged from 100 day to 118 day corn.

This year I have a 115 day hybrid striped beside a 112 day hybrid. I trust both hybrids and think they will help each other rather than one being a dud. I have had a seven percent yield increase doing this over my lifetime and that is what my striped field looked like here 8 years ago.

I would rather have one pretty field of corn that doesn't look like a science experiment but I don't know which hybrid is best this year planted at this date and this is the only way I can find out. I will get more yield from both to boot.

Things aren't rolling hard yet with Sunday predicted at 30 degrees or so. April 22 should be a maximum yield planting day in my studies and calculations. The soil and all the signs are right so it's time to get it done. A few days before and a few days after April 22 should be our best planting date this year.

That was true about half the years in the last decade but last year was June 5-7 which is record late for this area.

I can't find my picture Eric took from the grain bins that summer. It could be on the Internet naywhere or even in my old blogs! Does anyone have it?

Ed