Monday, June 20, 2016

For Good Measure

Taken June 8, 2016
I may have my pay docked. As recorder of the goings-on at the County Line, I usually try to document the growth of crops through photos and words. In early June, as I returned home after nearly a week at a church conference in Topeka, I realized that I hadn't yet used my handsome human measuring stick to show our 2016 corn crop's progress.  After generous May rains and June sunshine, the corn was about knee-high on June 8.
June 18, 2016
Since I didn't get that photo shared in a timely manner, I took another one 10 days later -  Saturday, June 18. Even with our extreme 100-plus-degree days, the corn had grown some more and was almost to Randy's waist.
However, some of it will have to straighten itself back up after 58-mph winds Friday night. The storm also brought 1.80" of rain. The big drink of water definitely helped the corn crop, which was stressed after all the high temperatures from last week. It will give a boost to the milo and forage sorghum that Randy planted as well.
A storm that rolled through late Friday night made parts of the field look like the Leaning Tower of Piza, especially along the edges of the field, where it caught the brunt of the wind. I'm told that much of it will recover. We shall see!
April 23, 2016
Here's the journey thus far:  We planted the corn crop in late April. It was the crop that "almost wasn't." A dry spring had Randy considering not planting any corn. But some timely rain changed his mind, and we started planting corn, amid plenty of planter breakdowns. (It's good it's not a major crop because it seemed we were interrupted frequently by repeated trips to the parts counter in Hutchinson.)
May 7, 2016
In fact, Randy had to do some reseeding because the planter wasn't working properly. But some of the corn was already off to a good start at that time.
May 25, 2016
By late May, the corn we'd had to replant was growing next to its "big brothers."
May 25, 2016
And, now, according to my human measuring stick, it's waist high ... and growing. 

***
Before the storm
The 1.80" of rain temporarily halted Wheat Harvest 2016. We hope to be able to get back to cutting later today.

4 comments:

  1. I saw the flattened corn and immediately felt for the farmer. So relieved that it will recover. We had a devastating rain event pass through on Sunday. 4 inches here but other areas 10. One town lost roofs and many many cars flooded, parked in their suburban street.

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    1. Ten inches of rain all at once is too much! Some towns to the east of us got more rain and had some street flooding, but it was short-lived. Your rain storm sounds as though there will be long-term effects, which is too bad.

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    2. The rain event stretched right down the Australian coastline and looking at Country Mum's blog just now, they also got rain from it. Over 1000kms. Our central Queensland farmers are rejoicing as they had been in drought mode.

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    3. I'm glad it broke a drought for some. That is always good news for farmers.

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