Corn Harvest: In the Bin

Another harvest is in the books. It seems kind of anticlimactic. We started corn harvest on August 27 and finished on Tuesday, September 15, with lots of starts and stops along the way. We only had 243 acres of corn, so it is not a primary crop here on the County Line.

The last load, September 15, 2015

This was our third corn crop. It was not a banner year for corn for us. Our highest yield was 73.7 bushels to the acre, but that was only a 17-acre field. The next best was 55.8 bushels per acre on a 50-acre field. The worst yield was 23.5 bu/acre on a 29-acre field. Overall yield average for 2015 was 43.88 bushels per acre.

All our corn is dryland. We had hot weather and no rain during the critical stages of corn development. We also had trouble controlling herbicide-resistant weeds.

So, how does corn harvest 2015 compare to our first two years? Our first year of corn production was 2013. We had an average yield of 57 bushels per acre, with a low of 18 and a high of 78. Last year, in 2014, we had a great year. Our average was 108 bushels per acre, with a low of 82 and a high of 145.

Here's a photographic look back at Corn 2015, with links to the blog posts telling about each stage of the crop's journey:

PLANTING

Randy initially started planting April 11, but we got rain that night and the next day, totaling 1.50 inches. Then, we got another 3.10 inches on April 16 and 17. A week later, April 23, a couple of fields had dried out enough to plant more. But when Randy about got the tractor and planter stuck after moving to another field, he took another hiatus. He started again April 28.

 

 Just getting started

GROWTH

June 1, 2015

 

June 7, 2015

June 27, 2015

July 13, 2015

 July 27, 2015

HARVEST

August 27, 2015

Truth in Labeling?

For the past several few weeks, we've had the opening act, but no main attraction. Lightning has flashed outside the windows, and booming thunder has jolted us from our chairs with a resounding crash. But it's been all show until this morning. So far, we've had 0.60" of rain, and it's still falling gently.

It should help our dryland corn crop a little, though it would have been more beneficial a few weeks ago as the corn cobs were beginning to fill. But, regardless, it should help bolster our alfalfa fields, silage crop and our pastures.

With the summertime temperatures hovering near the 100-degree mark for the past two weeks, Randy says we are going to find out "drought resistant" our corn crop really is. (We are looking forward to more moderate temperatures for the next few days!)

This is our third year of growing corn on the County Line. One reason Randy made the decision to switch to corn from milo was because it has more drought resistance bred into the seeds. Additionally, corn is Round-Up ready, and milo is not. We had been having trouble controlling weeds in milo. If there are weeds and grasses in the corn, we can spray with Round-Up without harming the growing plants.

Since recent rains have gone north or south of us, our corn is looking stressed. As we walked through the field, the dry rustle of corn stalks sounded more like stomping through leaves in the fall than a lush green canopy for growing corn.

The proof will come when it runs through the combine in a few weeks. 

As for today, I'll just enjoy the rain and the cooler temperatures.

Smut on a Family Blog

I know this is a family blog, but I've got to talk smut. What is the world coming to, when a farm wife from Central Kansas is putting smut out there on the internet?

Believe me, I'd rather not. But before you call the Morality Police, I'd better 'fess up. Yes, smut can mean "obscene or lascivious talk, writing, or pictures."

And these photos are obscene all right. But they fit a different definition:  a fungal disease of grains in which parts of the ear changes to black powder.

It kind of looks like aliens invaded a few of the corn ears.

I emailed my brother, who is a lot more experienced with corn than we are. He sent me a 22-page PDF from researchers at the University of Illinois and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, called "Common smut of corn." There's nothing common about words like "ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and oomycetees." Thankfully, he also sent me a 4-page Reader's Digest version, "Common Smut and Head Smut in Corn" from AgAnytime.

What is boils down to is this: Yes, we have some smut in our corn fields. Common smut in corn is caused by the fungus Ustilago maydis. They are greenish white or silvery white in appearance as they develop. As they mature, the fungal tissues begin to turn black with the development of teliospores. Head smut is caused by the fungus Spahacelotheca reiliana.

And if these researchers find it hard to distinguish one from the other, I will just say I'd rather we didn't have it. Nobody needs smut in their life. I'd rather I didn't have to talk smut on a family blog. But if one of my goals is to chronicle our farm life, I need to be real. And that means talking about smut.

Thankfully, it doesn't all look like that. We also have normal looking ears developing.

We got from 0.10" to 0.20" of rain a week ago. We could have used more on the corn and less on the hay that Randy put down. The corn has not flourished with temperatures above 100 degrees every day this week.

But such is life on a Kansas farm.

Where's Randy?

When the kids were little, they liked the "Where's Waldo?" books. They'd be occupied for quite awhile searching for Waldo. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to find a guy in a vivid red-and-white-striped shirt. And Waldo had big, black Harry Potter glasses long before JK Rowling ever thought up the wizard boy.

Illustrator Martin Handford is a pretty talented guy.

However, I don't need an illustrator to lose Randy in the corn field these days. (See the photo at the top of this post.) On Saturday morning, we returned to our customary measuring spot. In just three weeks, the corn has had phenomenal growth. Below is the photo I took on the evening of June 7.

If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is.

The corn is starting to tassel.

 A corn tassel is the male flower of the corn plant. The tassel is a group of stemmy flowers that grow at the top of the corn stalk.  Each corn plant will grow this tassel on top when it is time for the ears of corn to begin growing.

The silk is the female flower of the corn plant. Some of the corn is starting to silk (below). The more silks that are fertilized, the more kernels there will be per ear.

An earlier-planted field has even more of the tassels and silks showing.

Soon, the tassels will pollinate (see 2013 photo below). The pollen is what causes the ear of corn to grow and ripen. The pollen falls off of the tassel and is blown by the wind to reach the silk of the ears.

While the rain we had Thursday night and early Friday morning stalled wheat harvest, it helped the 2015 corn crop. And that's a good thing!

***

We are still cutting wheat, but I thought I'd take a brief timeout on Kim's County Line to give a corn crop update. 

Measuring Up

Marking milestones is part of our family tradition. In our dining room, a handmade wooden growth chart recorded Jill's and Brent's height each birthday. Kinley's measurements have now been duly recorded for posterity, and Brooke will join the brood come September, when she turns 1.

We don't have a growth chart available in the corn field across the road. But my trusty human measuring stick provides a benchmark for the ever-changing 2015 corn crop.

I spent last Wednesday through Saturday at the Great Plains UMC annual conference in Wichita. I couldn't believe the difference when I returned to the County Line. The combination of sunshine and rainfall seemed to kick the corn into high gear. Above is the photo from June 15.

Just a week before (June 7), the corn didn't cover nearly as much of my lovely model.

And here he is, back on June 1. That quite a difference in half a month, don't you think?

The corn crop is getting regular doses of rain and sunshine, which seems to be a good prescription for growth. Pretty soon, maybe that line from the musical "Oklahoma!" will come to pass: "The corn is as high as an elephant's eye. And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky." It seems to have a good start anyway!

Out Standing In His Field

My farmer is out standing in his field.
He's also outstanding in his field. 

That's my "corny" joke for the day to go along with my update on the 2015 corn crop. The corn has certainly gotten its feet wet in its first month. But it's amazing what a little sunshine will do to go along with the moisture.

I took the photo at the top of the post on June 1. I took the photo directly above Sunday evening, June 7. Use Randy's knees as a measuring stick: See the difference in the height of the corn in just one week of sunshine and warmer temperatures? It's almost as if the corn grows overnight after a little bit of solar energy.

Here's another comparison: The photo above was taken June 1, and the one below was Sunday evening.

Randy started planting our corn crop April 11, but we got rain that night and the next day, totaling 1.50 inches. Then, we got another 3.10 inches here at home on April 16 and 17. A week later, April 23, a couple of fields had dried out enough to plant more. But when Randy about got the tractor and planter stuck after moving to another field, he took another hiatus. By the end of April, we still weren't quite done.

I'm constantly amazed at how much a baby changes in a year. But the corn crop even has that beat, I think.

It's already come a long way in just a little more than a month. And, in a total of five months or so, it will be ready to cut. There's a song from the musical "Oklahoma!" that claims: "The corn is as high as an elephant's eye." We're not quite there yet, but just give us time - and some more sunshine and rain in perfect quantities. (We don't want much, right?!)

What a Difference 3 Weeks Makes!

Babies are amazing beings. The first year of life is one miracle after another. When I saw Brooke just three weeks ago, she was getting up on her hands and knees. You could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She was efficient at getting from place to place by rolling, but she wasn't getting brain, hands and feet to work together at the same time for an official crawling motion. 

But, in just a short time, her little brain clicked into place, and she's crawling - quickly! - to explore her world. She's pulling up to toys and furniture. An open pantry becomes a playground. She can empty toy boxes and cabinets faster than you can chase her down. We are all betting that she follows in her mommy's footsteps and starts walking early. (Jill walked before her 10-month milestone!)

Big Sister has shifted her Magi-Clip princesses from the floor to the TV stand, where Little Sister just can't quite reach - though she'll stretch and try anyway.

I treated myself to an early Mother's Day gift by going to Topeka for a short visit last Friday and Saturday. I kept hearing about all of Brooke's new tricks, along with her new teeth. And I just had to see for myself.

Also in that time period, Kinley has learned to write her name, all by herself. And I love listening to her make up imaginary stories for her princesses. She'll gladly give Grandma a role to play, too.

Three weeks makes a difference on the farm, too.  After multiple starts and stops, we finally got the corn planted a week ago.

It's all coming up, so the march toward corn harvest 2015 is now officially underway.

I just love a good miracle or two, don't you?