You Like Tomato, I Like To-mah-to

As we harvested one crop, another was taking root. The milo crop is up and attempting to hold its own during these hot, dry days of summer.

This time of year is always a conundrum. It's kind of like that song, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," written by George and Ira Gershwin in 1937 for the film Shall We Dance?

"You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto"

Not that we can place an order on rainfall anyway. But is a harvest rain good or bad? Thankfully, I no longer have to answer the question. We are done with wheat harvest 2011. (Cue the celebratory trumpets!)

We wanted the hot, sunny days for harvesting our wheat, which is our biggest crop by far here on the County Line.

But the milo, sudan, pastures and alfalfa would flourish with rains and a little cooler temperatures.

Thankfully, Randy took advantage of the 0.30 inch of moisture we got at the end of May and got the milo crop planted.

The 0.70 inch during the overnight hours June 11 gave it a needed boost. Since then, we've gotten about a quarter of an inch of moisture.

It could use another drink of water. I'm sure the farmers along the Missouri River in Nebraska and Iowa would gladly give us some of theirs.

Larry Geiger Photo of a farmstead north of Omaha
from his Picasa web album

Wouldn't it be great if we could order up our rainfall and weather conditions like we order a restaurant meal?

"I'll take a nice, slow 2-inch rain. Hold the hail and the high winds. And I'll take a side order of blue skies for my flooded friends."