Crop Watcher 2013 week 2 - still waiting

Todd Easton Coles County May 12 2013: Once again just as we were starting to think about getting to the fields wet weather comes in to sit us out for another week. After trying to dry out the 2" we received last week and weekend fields had just started to gray off Thursday morning (May 11) but just a few hours later the rain gauges had another .75 put in them. The few hundred acres of corn planted in Coles County is entering the V1 stage after a month of waiting for enough warmth to encourage growth. The warmer temperatures also encouraged the wheat to rapidly grow another 6" over the week. So for now the only good news is another week gone by puts us another week closer to planting. In the mean time I hope you all had a good Mothers Day and thanked Mom far all she does.

Crop Watcher 2013 week 1 - no start yet

Todd Easton Coles County May 3 2013: As the calendar page turns it brings another exciting Crop Watcher season to us amid another one of those rainy late start springs that pop up on us semi regularly. First off I'm glad to be back and share our local view of what is an already interesting crop year. So far me and the rest of the Terrydale Farms crew are keeping afloat here in the heart of Coles County right on the new highway that wasn't even here this time last year. That is not the only difference a year has made as the weather pattern and planting situation bear very little resemblance to 2012. The older farmers have been quick to say one extreme follows another, and the current extreme has us too cold and too wet for about all of the last month. Along with regular cold spells April brought us just over seven inches of rainfall keeping fieldwork to a minimum. A very small window in the first week enabled a handful of fields to be planted and they are just beginning to emerge at this point. On Wednesday May 1st conditions finally made it to the point that light sprayers could think about maybe getting into the field and several did. A few tillage tools and one planter that I know of soon followed but it was short lived when pop up showers starting mid afternoon Thursday brought us another quick 1.25 inches of work stopping moisture and the forecast is calling for more. About the only good news for now is the good looking wheat crop scattered about in a few locations around the county including some on my farm for the first time in several years. So right now its keep the fingers crossed that the other crops will soon be in the ground where they should be and the growing season can begin. Like a good friend to the south on the white dirt told me last summer "keep the faith".

Hellooooooooo

Shocking to see that the last post was in 2011. Guess I took 2012 off, it was a good on t to not blog about honestly but lucky 13 will be much better ........... Whenever it decides to actually start. Anyhow enjoy as Crop Watcher 2013 kicks off next!

Harvest Started

Todd Easton Coles County August 26 2011: Harvest is here already in Coles County and much earlier than most would have liked in the sense that the corn crop had to prematurely die off to achieve this. A small handful of producers are getting started on their April planted corn and finding it in the low 20’s for moisture and in the 160’s from the yield standpoint. The elevator said that grain quality was surprisingly good but test weights were low as expected. Hand sampling in the May planted corn fields has been finding them in the low 30’s which means they could be harvested next week if the farmers want to burn some propane to dry it out. Most of the corn crop could be out of the fields before soybeans ripen enough for harvesting. Currently bean fields are still dark green and hanging in there as one chance of rain after another misses them. A good shower on the bean crop would probably improve the final yield at this point but that may not be the case much longer. As we start in on the harvest please remember to keep the safety of yourself and everyone else your number one priority!

08/19/11

Todd Easton Coles County August 19 2011: The drought persists this week with only another small shower occurring in some places and having much affect on the moisture situation. Producers are starting to make their advance preparations for harvest. Most are not anticipating the need to use some of their smaller out of the way grain bins this fall after the yield estimate came out Monday. The magic number that teams brought out of the corn fields was 146.15 bushels per acre. It looks like the southern townships will have a shot at being the high yielder for the year because of more precipitation coming through that area. Another couple of weeks and yield monitors will be telling us for sure what is in those fields. Soybeans are hanging in there and could really use the chances for rain in the forecast this weekend to pan out but seeing is believing this year.

08/12/11

Todd Easton Coles County August 12 2011: It has been another dry week in Coles County with only a teaser shower blowing through on Monday. The good news is that temperatures have cooled down which has been a relief to both crops and people. With the cooler temperatures the die off of the corn crop has slowed down but many disappointing ears are being pulled out of the fields. The Coles County Farm Bureau will be doing a yield check next week and I am sure everyone will be very interested in its findings. There is a significant chance for rain this weekend for a change and hopefully it materializes and puts some pods on the soybean plants that have been sitting in the field waiting for a drink. Keep your fingers crossed.

08/05/11

Todd Easton Coles County August 05 2011: More heat more dryness brought fourth another hard week for the crops in the field. We did once again see 2 to 4 tenths last Friday but this size of rainfall seems to do little to help out the situation. Corn plants are beginning to fire up in several fields some worse than others and without significant rainfall soon will die off before any kernel fill occurs hurting yields even more. The beans are also waiting for some water and hopefully will get some before they just give up on making decent pod counts. We are defiantly in the 11th hour with this crop and hopefully the small chances forecasters are giving us for this weekend develop something to avert a total disappointment at harvest time.