Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Really Turning Now

The crops are really turning here.  I see my 3.7 food grade beans planted May 21 will be ready to harvest by the end of the month.  I need to get ready for that and get my help lined up.

I inspected a field of food grade soybeans yesterday.  They have to have 70% leaf drop for inspection and they were more like 90 plus percent.  Sable enjoyed running through the beans with no weeds in them.

If I can get my first beans off by then, do I plant wheat on that farm?  You know I like wheat because it throws the pests out of sync with nature because wheat is a minor crop in this region.  I can control Marestail and other serious pests more easily in wheat.

If I plant wheat, I need to get seed ordered now.  I've seen a lot of high yields and a lot of good varieties the last two crops, so which one should I choose?  Thankfully, I have a seed neighbor who raised a good crop of a brand new wheat from Ohio Certified Seed called Lion.  I know I can get that seed at the last minute but I have let him know already.

It may be more important for me to make the effort to spread Cal Phos or soft rock phosphate on my fields.  I could do that after the wheat is planted.  It costs $300 a ton just to get it here so it is a long term investment.  I am hoping potash comes down in price but I don't think so.  I think the Russian potash deal was over blown.

Tonight is Bruce Goodwin's Pioneer Field Day on SR 28.  He always does a great job and tells it like it is.  He is the CCA go to guy around Pleasant Plain, Ohio.  I always laugh at Pleasant Plain because the original name was Plumsock.  One of the original settlers got off the train and sunk to his socks so he named it Plumsock.

I have to include this picture of little Joshua.  Remember him asleep on the seed bags?  I think he left some magic dust where he was sleeping!

You have a great day, "ya hear?"

Ed Winkle

5 comments:

  1. I see the bottom leaves dying off crops and weeds alike around here. Fall is on its way.

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  2. Gorges, we passed through your fair state a few days ago and notice the same thing. The sun doesn't hit the mountains like it did.

    You have a great day.

    Ed Winkle

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  3. Soft Rock Phos. Ed explain the benefits of this product to your soil in you life time please. Curious is all. Will you apply the same year as Gypsum or no? I also agree Russians are getting more press than they deserve.

    Phil A.

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  4. We have some land that can produce continuous wheat/dc soybean. Its sandy and irrigated. There is nothing better in my opinion to build soil structure than wheat/dc soybean. The land is covered the entire year. If you get your shoes muddy and walk around in the dc beans it will clean them. Its amazing how well it protects the soil. If you get a chance to get the wheat in on time I completely agree that wheat is good long term.

    Except for last year with super high corn prices wheat/dc beans has been our highest net income acre irrigated.

    Those beans Josh are holding are impressive.

    David Seck

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  5. Phil, soft rock is a high calcium low phosphorous deposit as I understand it. In my lifetime? That is a good question. Illinois had a program to spread it on farmland nearly 100 years ago and those soils are still very alive active and productive. Not just because of the glaciers, because of the balance of calcium to phosphorous. I don't get that with MAP or DAP, I get more acid which requires even more calcium which is OK, that works too. I walked a farm this summer that uses it and was impressed by the quality of the crop. If you can stop by, I can take you there, too.

    Wheat DC beans has really kept our soil alive and cash flow a going. Those are Beck's beans David, I think 368 but Michael gave a huge list of their varieties he planted.

    Ed

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