Another To-Do Done: Corn Harvest 2016 Report

I like "to do" lists. Sometimes, I'll even add something to my "to do" list after it's done ... just for the satisfaction of crossing it off. (Forgive me my Type A obsessive behavior.)

In reality, I didn't have corn harvest on my "to do" list. I'm a cog in the wheel, but I'm not the orchestrator of all things harvest. Still, I like to think it was more easily crossed off my farmer's mental list with my parts runs and meal deliveries and my help moving from one field to the other. Since those "drop everything" times probably impacted my ability to tick off items on my own list, I guess I should have scribbled them in after the fact - just to make myself feel better.

We're all glad to move corn harvest from "to do" to "done."

This year, we had only 185 acres planted to corn, down from 243 in 2015. (In comparison, we had 1,559 acres planted to wheat this year. As I've said before: We are wheat farmers.) We began corn harvest on September 3 and finished on September 12.

For 2016, our overall average was 71 bushels per acre. It ranged from a low of 61 bu/acre to a high of 97 bu/acre.

This was our fourth corn crop, so it's a relatively new addition to the County Line rotation. So how did Corn Harvest 2016 stack up? 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. In 2014, we had our best year to date. Our average was 108 bushels per acre, with a low of 82 and a high of 145. Overall yield average for 2015 was 43.88 bushels per acre. So, all things considered, 2016 was a relatively good year.

Randy was a bit disappointed by the yield, considering our wetter-than-normal summer. However, we had some weed pressure from herbicide-resistant weeds. Also, some corn was drowned out with rains. (Not enough rain ... too much rain ... rain at the wrong time: Farmers have a reputation for never being happy with the weather. It's probably deserved!)

But, since we are a totally dryland farming operation, we are dependent upon Mother Nature's rains and her heat index during critical times like pollination.

We raised enough to fill the corn contract we had with the Kanza Co-op, so that was a relief. Now, if we could just do something about commodity prices, we could look forward to wheat planting later this month with a little more confidence.

April 23, 2016

Our 2016 corn crop 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 in April. Compared to a wheat crop, corn provides a short time from planting to harvest.

So, all in all, it is good to have the 2016 Corn Harvest in the books ... and crossed off the list!

One Of These Things Is Not Like the Others

Do you remember this song from "Sesame Street?"

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?

If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely right! 

We started corn harvest on Saturday. We also quit corn harvest on Saturday when we had a breakdown. The row headers (those things that look like missiles) are supposed to "float" and flex through the field. However, the cone on this particular header took a dive into the ground instead. The very same row header malfunctioned when Randy tried a test cut last week. He ordered a new one, and we picked it up Saturday morning in Hutchinson.

 

Naturally, it was Labor Day weekend, so the equipment dealership closed at noon Saturday and wasn't open on Monday. Randy plans to be at the parts counter when they open this morning. We'll see if we can get back up and running without having to wait on another part.

After lunch on Saturday, I was on my way to the field to get the first photos of corn harvest 2016. Randy had already cut one semi load of corn, but he wanted me to wait for pictures until we got into a little better corn than he found on the perimeter of the field. But, by the time I got there for the photo op, we were already broken down.

I rode along to Stafford in the semi instead.

Main Street, facing south, as we approached the 4-way stop.

It was only a partial load, but Randy didn't want to leave it sitting in the truck, potentially "sweating" and increasing the moisture reading.

Taken through the back window of the semi as the grain probe dipped down into the truck to get a corn sample.

We take most of our grain to the Zenith branch of the Kanza Co-op, but it was closed for the Labor Day weekend, so we went the extra miles to Stafford.

It's always a little more of a challenge because the elevator is right on U.S. Highway 50.

It requires a bit of maneuvering - and several extra glances both east and west down the highway - to weigh on and then depart after unloading.

But it wasn't that busy on Saturday, so no traffic jams were involved.

There were no traffic jams on Main Street either, even though it was coffee time at Elroy's, the pizza place. Going down the brick streets of Stafford's Main Street in a semi can rattle your teeth a bit.

Sitting up higher gives a different perspective than the one I get in my car. Now, if only the windows had been cleaner, but even if I'd had Windex with me, I don't think my gymnastic moves would have been sufficient to get them cleaned. We already had one breakdown. We didn't need a farm wife breakdown on top of that!

So, we didn't "labor" as much as we'd planned during Labor Day weekend.

I'm As Corny as Kansas in August

Walking through the corn these days is starting to sound like you're shaking cornflakes from the cardboard cereal box into a bowl.

Our 2016 corn crop is beginning to dry down. There's still plenty of green, but it's losing its lush, verdant color as it transitions toward harvest.

 

A corn field nearing harvest looks like it needs an airbrush before a beauty shot. In contrast, I think a wheat field looks pretty from start to finish. Well, except if it gets hailed on or a combine is stuck in the field. OK, I guess there are exceptions to every generalization. But, by the time the corn crop is ready to combine, those dried out leaves and husks just don't look at appealing from afar.

However, all those yellow kernels hiding inside the husks make up for it!

On Friday, Randy picked several ears from the field and hand-shucked them into a bucket.
He was curious about the moisture level.

Our tester showed that it was still 25.4 moisture. It needs to be 16 or lower to cut for hauling to the local co-op.

Harvest of our dryland corn crop is likely a couple of weeks away, depending on the weather.

For a look back at the highlights of the 2016 corn crop, click on this link.

A Corny Post

It's the crop that almost wasn't.

Before last week's 2.80" of rain, Randy wasn't going to plant corn on the 200 acres he'd planned. He'd ordered seed from our friendly neighborhood salesman. But without moisture, it would have been a lesson in futility to plant the expensive seed.

Who knows? It may still be a lesson in futility. Since we are dryland farmers, we need the rain to fall at the right time and moderate temperatures during pollination later this summer.  But the much-needed moisture was the "green light" to start planting the green seed.

God says, "Leave the miracle part to me. 

I've got the seed, the soil, the sunshine, the rain and the seasons.

I'm God and all this miracles stuff is easy for me. 

I have reserved something very special for you 

and that is to plant the seed."

--Jim Rohn, Author & Motivational Speaker

Randy just might have jinxed himself the night before the planting began by saying something like this: "I think we are caught up on repairs at the moment."

At the time that declaration came out of his mouth, I looked at him and shook my head. "You are tempting fate!" I told him.

So guess who was off for parts the next day? I picked up two fertilizer tanks to replace the ones that had cracked during the winter. And $1,200-plus later, I was back from my whirlwind trip to Hutchinson, and the guys got the tanks installed. Randy started planting last Friday (April 22) afternoon.

We got one field planted, but then had another breakdown. (It's just one other variation of the Farmer's Law: "If you're in a hurry to get something done, there will inevitably be breakdowns."

The parts didn't come in until Tuesday morning. Once they were in place, he was off to the field to try and get more planted before the forecasted severe weather came in. (It never did, by the way.)

Randy also applies fertilizer to give the seed a boost of energy for germination and early growth.

Our planter was set at 18,800 corn seeds per acre. Each $205 bag has 80,000 seeds and plants 4.3 acres. By comparison, one bag of certified wheat seed costs $15 and plants a little more than 1/2 an acre. A bag of milo seed costs $100 and plants 14 acres.

And now we'll leave the miracle part to God. We may need some more miracles in the repair department, too. I'm off to Hutchinson again today to pick up more parts. (Farm wife hint: NEVER say you are caught up on repairs.)