Bidwell Ohio

LuAnn is going to Verizon'e Blackberry school then we are heading down to my sister's place near Bidwell Ohio. I think I remember how to get there! You get off US 35 before you get to the Ohio River in a little town called Rodney, where Linda and listen both go to church and got married there.

We were there for Lisa's wedding last year and went down to Gallipolis to meet her new baby boy Joshua this summer. It sure is different down there than here, mainly pasture land and some tobacco.

My sister still teaches elementary school and now Lisa Jo does too. You how valuable good teachers are and how important they are to society. I call it our Christian mission and many days it is a challenging one.

We were like dad, loved kids and would do anything to help. You don't want to harm or impede children but today's parents need to do a little better job and a lot more discipline. The neighbor has nine beautiful kids, why can't they all be raised like that?

Rodney is also home to Bob Evan's Hidden Valley Ranch and his first big restaurant. We were passing through one day and stopped for breakfast and LuAnn said shouldn't you call your sister? I said no, she will be here. About that time her and Fred walked in and LuAnn looked at me like how do you do that?

Fred did an excellent job running Bob's 1700 ac ranch all his life, usually running 500 registered Chaolais. In 1985 Bob and I were part of a 30 person agricultural delegation to China for 30 days. I still have the slides somewhere, gave that talk over 100 times to thousands of people.

Fred is a farmaholic, worse than me. I can walk away but he rarely does. He sure built the finest ranch and cattle operation I ever saw. It wasn't a tax write off, they made money.

Can you imagine palpating hundreds of heifers by yourself? Fred did it. I think Linda married him because he was so much like dad.

He just had a successful trip taking Charolais bulls to Florida. He drove through what was left of Hurricane Ida. That thing did us a favor and sucked our moisture out of the air Tuesday so we could harvest all week. Another really good we of harvest.

Farmers could start finishing here but the bins are full, the elevators are full and there is no where to haul it. Farmers are starting their own piles and the big one in Melvin, a million bushels outside is full! I will have to get you a picture.

Speaking of which I have a big bin for sale that will fill a big machinery shed if anyone is interested.

Ed

3800 bushels off end rows!

Can you imagine that? That is what Les shelled tonight.

I walk down to the grain pit and there is my brand new corn shovel smashed flat. Brad must have ran over it with the semi.

I held it up with a sad face.. First Jonah looked at it and thought Oh My God, did I do that? Ed just bought those. He is going to be
PO'ed.

I showed it to Les and he said they straightened it so I won't hurt my back. We all just laughed. Small potatoes in this year!

The corn is down to 16.9% moisture so we are really fortunate. All our sorted plans came together.

Darn good thing we had Bare Necessities and Rowdy Red come in here all haul the grain we did. The elevators are filling up, the bins are filling up. I don't want to be caught red handed with grain left out in the field with coming storms.

Today we test another corn plot to see if Pioneer is as good as they say it is. I think their one number will win the plot. But it is all so good this year, the numbers are close and it doesn't really matter. It is a very unusual year and the race horse corns are winning. Plenty of rain and not too much heat.

Usually my Bird Hybrids B-81D wins but not this year! It is not a workhorse hybrid year but you cannot judge a seed by one year. Then they go and drop the thing and try to sell you something new and improved!

$200 for a bag of seed corn? Grandpa and dad would shudder.

This might be the year you can throw some yield data out the window. It was a very unusual year. However, the yields are so close between hybrids and varities we learned what they are really capable of and not capable of producing.

Now I am thinking, what will next year be like?

Ed

Short rows got shorter

Thanks to a neighbor the short rows got shorter last night. We finished soybeans after the sun went down.

That old wet farm yielded pretty well, good thing we paid attention to the nutrient needs. That is the farm where the wife said Ed you have the best crop here we have ever seen.

All of the non GMO soybeans got trucked to the Ohio River market. Those things are a challenge, I cleaned up some weeds, brought out new ones and thinking of going all Liberty Link soybeans next year.

Now we can concentrate on the last 240 acres of corn going into our home bin system. What I thought was impossible a month ago has become realty. Our poorest farms are our best and our best are not quite that good!

I know we are fortunate compared to farmers out west who are struggling with their harvest. We struggled too, maybe not as much. I am thankful for that.

I am already picturing in my head the crops in each field next year. My soil tests and tissue tests are invaluable to me to make the best decision.

The market seems to want corn, soybean and wheat. So do I follow the market or stay in rotation? I am in a good position to flex acres. I could kill the wheat and go to corn or beans if the market wants them that badly. There are not near as many wheat fields in Ohio though this year so I imagine the wheat fields will stay in wheat.

Rotation of crops and chemicals as done well for me. The soils just keep getting better and better.

The world oilseed shortage makes me lean toward soybeans but the little bit of soft red winter wheat makes me favor it on eroded hillsides.

I always need a field of corn or two. If I had the capacity I would plant the whole thing to corn. I love growing corn but we are on the margins of the great corn belt and it costs so much money to plant corn. Harvesting and hauling all that corn this year has been a good challenge.

This year I had one field of corn by my house. I could have made more money in soybeans but I do love walking and learning in corn fields. Paul Butler called me the Corn Whisperer until he heard me speak, now he calls me the Corn Yellar.

I don't know what I will do yet but I know I can flex my acres into another crop in no time.

Farmers need to be adjustable and flexible.

Honey I do know we need a grain leg and a new bin, please don't shoot me yet.

Ed Winkle

Short Rows

Farmers around here are getting down to the "short rows." That is our term for the end of harvest. It always feels good to finish.

Farmers have had their share of breakdowns around here. The soil and the crop was just damp enough put that extra strain on machines. Actually I don't see how they hold together as well as they do sometimes.

We are in the enviable pain and trying to find a place for all this crop. It was a good year. Getting it out has been a whole different story. Last year's harvest was so smooth but this one was so challenging.

I know we set new yield records on several fields. They never did that well before. I tweaked the fertility program and the rain really made it work. It never got hot this summer, most people did not use their AC. We had just enough sunshine in southern Ohio to raise a pretty good crop.

Today we try to harvest my last 50 acres of soybeans. I was all set to go before we got the 2 inch rain a couple of weeks ago so we have been patiently waiting so we do not destroy the field with ruts. I think we should be OK.

At least today is sunny. Yesterday was cloudy all day but that Hurricane Ida sucked enough moisture off us to keep it from raining here.

I am already thinking about next year. I think I am going to plant LL soybeans and give up the non GMO soybean premium for the Japan market. I think I can gain enough in weed control to make up most of the difference. The LL beans look good around here, but that program is just getting started.

The 500 acres of wheat is starting to look like something. Now if I can just sell it for a profit. I do have bids in and they are about a dollar off the current market.

Next I will have to focus on my winter talks and come up with some good graphics and ideas.

There is always something going on around here.

Ed Winkle

Picking Corn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jio1T1qdBfk

Yesterday was another good day to "pick corn." That is what they call shelling corn in parts of the country, I call it shelling corn. The header picks it and the separator in the combine shells it off the cob.

Dad still picked corn the old fashioned way with a corn picker clear up into this decade. He had good corn cribs so we would fill the cribs and shovel it out just like at been done on that farm for 100 years.

We raised a record 224 bushels in 1971 after the terrible corn blight in the midwest in 1970. N cytoplasm worked, the new T cytoplasm failed. Dad had some of both.

I came home from college one weekend in April and there was dad dumping seed corn into the planter with his winter coat and hat on. We planted that field beside the loafing shed and it snowed on it. The soil was very dry.

That corn came up and made the biggest ears you ever saw. They were so big they destroyed dad's old Oliver number 4 mounted two row corn picker. That one went into the ravine near Slab Camp Creek and he got another one just like and we finished picking corn. The old picker was worn out after 20 hard years of picking.

Us kids would ride the wagon and kick the corn back so he could fill the load. You had to duck ears flying out of the elevator but every once in awhile one would hit you in the head. A one pound ear flying out at 20 MPH makes a pretty good smack.

When I got bigger I got to pull the loads from the field with the other tractor and unload it into the elevator into the crib.

The last time I picked corn there was 2002. Mom just had to have some ear corn candy for her cows. I had a heck of a time getting everything running but I filled a crib for her, even though it was one of the worst droughts I can remember. That corn was shriveled up all summer but still made corn.

That is how we harvested corn for 60 years. Before that it was the same, just husked by hand and thrown into the crib. Dad and grandpa did 100 acres each year.

Can you imagine?

Ed Winkle

The video is a good little youtube on picking corn just like we did, looks like our rusty wagon!

Let It All Hang Out!

Remember that old rock song? Let it all hang out!

Lots of people are doing it this days but the ones I respect the most are the American Farmer. Well, all farmers if you want to be more accurate. Many foreign countries read this blog and they know I believe in them, too.

When farmers get finished harvesting, they are offering combines and trucks to other farmers who are not finished.

Local farmers are letting it all hang out by trying to finish harvest. It takes a concerted effort.

Elevators are filling, Cargill turned away trucks full of grain yesterday, wow, that has to hurt.

My buyers are still taking in grain if and when we can get it there.

Machine breakage has been an issue in this mud and heavy fodder. Fortunately in notill, we have little mud but we are leaving cleat marks we will deal with next spring.

Farmers are doing their best with the weather we have this year. I must admit motorists have been courteous, no shaking fists or fingers, many pull off and let us through.

I think they realize for once what we are trying to do. Feed them, clothe them, shelter them.

Provide them with alternative fuels. Our goal is plenty of food and fuel for everyone but we must make a profit.

Sable greeted the meter reader this morning. He is afraid of her. I told him to just do your job and let her sniff you and she will see you are of no harm. He said a Chihauha bit him in the ankle and a Golden Lab bit him with two other dogs like pack dog behavior.

Expect a $1000 electric bill LuAnn, we have 5 fans running full bore!

With 40,000 bu or so in here and another 20,000 bu or so back out, we have another 40,000 bushels to fill it for winter delivery.

Now I can just walk to the old barn and see our new barn quilt and think about how blessed we are after 200 years in this county. It is beautiful!

Let it all hang out!

Ed Winkle

Our New Barn Quilt

It happened! We got our new Clinton County Barn Quilt installed on the old barn we almost tore down when we moved here in 2004!

Here is what LuAnn wrote on Women's Talk:

http://dgroups.agriculture.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=agwomen&tid=5349

Here is what Dan Liggett wrote about the county project:

"First bicentennial barn quilt to go up this weekend. (Not sure what weekend that was, maybe a year ago or two)

The first quilt of Clinton County’s barn quilt project is scheduled to go up on the horse barn at the Clinton County Fairgrounds this weekend, and the project committee is working to have more quilts completed and installed in the coming weeks.

The barn quilt project is being done in conjunction with the Clinton County Bicentennial celebration, which will be observed in 2010.

So far the committee has received commitments to place a quilt on approximately 20 barns in various locations of Clinton County, Diane Murphy, committee co-chair, said.

The quilt to be placed on the horse barn at the fairgrounds will be visible from West Main Street. The official unveiling of this barn quilt is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, the first day of the Clinton County Fair.

Murphy said the goal of the committee is to install at least one barn quilt in each township of Clinton County. Commitments have been received from barn owners in the majority of townships, but the committee is hopeful to reach agreement to display a quilt on at least one barn in each of Vernon, Adams, Washington, Marion and Jefferson townships.

"We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positive response received so far,” Murphy said.
The barn quilt project was initiated as a way to show all who travel around the county, including visitors and tourists, the pride that Clinton County has in its agricultural history, families and land. Other counties in Ohio and other states have organized successful barn quilt projects, stirring interest among tourists to travel to those counties to view the barn art on display.

The committee seeks a business or organization sponsor for each barn quilt to help defray the cost, and commitment from barn owners to display the barn quilt through 2011. The cost of participation in the barn quilt project is $200 from the sponsor and $200 from the barn owner.
The committee will paint the barn quilts on a regular schedule for three weeks starting Wednesday, June 10, at the Clinton County Youth Council, 302 W. Sugartree St. in Wilmington. The schedule is Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 6 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to assist in painting the barn quilts. No artistic skills or experience is necessary to assist in this effort, as the work will involve applying paint inside lines of the already determined quilt design. Each volunteer may commit for one or more sessions. Or, a group of friends could commit to paint together for one or more sessions.

“We invite local residents to join in the fun of painting these quilt block designs that will be seen throughout the county and enjoyed by many for years to come,” Murphy said.
All designs will be painted on 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets of plywood."

Our is called Optical Illusion and it looks different at every angle. It is a tribute my Dutch ancestors and my career in agricultural education and FFA all my life.

It is so good you want to pinch yourself!

Ed Winkle