Farm Friday

[Ian & Val Plagge]

I can't believe that it is already Friday!  It has been a busy and fast week.  We got into the field on Monday night, had a little delay on Tuesday from rain, and have been going steady ever since Wednesday.  There is a slight chance of rain tonight, but we're hoping it misses us so we can finish planting our corn.  We are about 80% done planting corn and then we'll move onto planting soybeans.

My Farmer next to our 24 row planter

As you look at the planter, you can see that there are 24 rows and two large tanks or bins on top of it.  These tanks or bins are called seed hoppers.  Each hopper holds 50 bushels of corn, so our planter holds 100 bushels at a time.  We fill those hoppers with our seed tender.  Many farmer are switching to seed tenders from the traditional bag.  Just think, when we fill our planter we could use the seed tender to put in 100 bushels of corn, or we could life up 100 bags.  Which would you rather do???

Seed Tender that carries bulk boxes of seed

I also wanted to give you an update on "my backyard":

As you can see, you can clearly see the corn from a distance now.  The corn is now in the later V1, early V2 stage.  This means the plant has one leaf with a visible collar and is about to have two leaves with two visible collars.  A collar is a light colored collar-like band located at the base of the leaf blade.  The key to determining what stage corn is in during vegetative development is to look for the collars.  First look at this plant and you might say it has three leaves, but when you look closely, you'll notice only one visible collar.

If you enjoy see our corn grow each week on my blog, you might be interested in watching a live "Corn Cam" on the DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) campus.  I heard about it this week on the radio.

Stay safe this spring.  Next Farm Friday I'm planning on talking a little on GPS and Auto-Steer.  If you have any questions email or tweet me!

Click Here for more updates on Val's blog.

[Patrick Mukasa]

Amazing what technology can make you achieve with only one manager . I use tens of workers to achieve less than probaly 5% of what you plant. I also get amazed about how you control weeds those ends yet preserve the soil over the years. I would like to visit farmers to appreciate these issues closely.