I know our posts have been a bit on the sluggish side lately, but we're still here and still thriving. Over the past 2 weeks we've been busy with planting season and all it's preparation. In order for us to begin planting there's a certain number of boxes that need to be checked. Some of our fields are no-till, some minimal till and some conventional tillage. It all depends on the crop, the soil and the farms conditions. A few of our employees have been busy with prepping the seed beds, pulling different tillage equipment. Justin and Uncle John have taken their turns of spraying burndown on the fields. We also had to wait for the soil temps to reach the optimum planting temperature of 50 degrees. Normally, this isn't an issue for us but this year Mother Nature had a different idea. We started off around Easter with weather that was 80 degrees and sunny. That quickly turned to 40 degrees, cloudy and rainy. Not ideal planting conditions!
The weather finally started to warm up a bit, so Justin continued to spray burn down and Uncle John started planting soybeans. Soybeans can handle the cooler soil temps better than corn can and I think this is the first year we've ever put all our soybeans in before starting corn planting! Uncle John also helped me put in a couple of my soybean plots. We will watch these throughout the growing season to take notes on the different hybrids to see what is a best fit for our area.
This past week, we finally started planting corn along with everyone else in the neighborhood. It's been a busy week for me of running extra seed to customers, helping them fix any monitor or planting issues they had going on and sometimes even just offering moral support. Grandma Sheryl and I take turns providing meals for the field. This is a standard thing around our farm, where we provide a lunch and supper for everyone that's out working. I sometimes enjoy seeing what new recipes I can come up with that are "Field Approved" or "Tractor Approved". They're all very appreciative of receiving a hot meal. While the days are busy, they're still a joy. I love watching the sunrise early in the morning with a cup of coffee in hand knowing that it's going to be a beautiful day. I especially love the sunsets at night, particularly out in the field. There's just something about all the beauty that mother nature has to offer that makes those long days worth it!
On Wednesday, we put in our big family soybean plot. My sister-in-law is also a seed dealer, for the competitor! Every year we team up and put in a big family plot where we compare our different hybrids. Putting in this plot is a big team effort for all ages. I love the excitement and joy the kids bring and especially their willingness to help out!
Have no fear though, it hasn't all been work. We took advantage during the rainy time frame to head out for a big family meal to celebrate Grandma Annette's birthday. We were only missing Uncle Darrin & Uncle Romelle, as they were off site seeing in Paris. (Super jealous of them by the way!) Justin enjoyed teaching our nephew Wyatt, that before dinner roles are a requirement to keep the hungry bears away. Ha! We both enjoyed snuggles from our niece Emmerson. For some reason, we're both like the baby whisperer. Every time Emmerson started to throw a fuss, if one of us took her in our arms, she instantly quieted right down. It was a wonderful night with everyone where we were all able to enjoy each others company and catch up one more time before we all started getting busy in the fields.
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