Being Short Is No Joke

Being short is no joke. Our 2015 wheat crop is "height-challenged," due to lack of moisture through the fall and winter.

And while we benefited from 3 inches to more than 8 inches of rain during the past few days, depending upon the location, the moisture likely won't make the crop a whole lot taller. The shorter crop means the combine header will have to stay closer to the ground, making it a little more difficult to harvest the crop when the time comes.

The rain came with some hail at one of our fields north of Stafford. Hail stripped part of the stalk, revealing the wheat heads in boot stage.

We must not have gotten hail on the west end of the same mile-long field. At that end, the head was still in the "boot," where Randy is pointing in the photo below.

Below, he used his fingernail to break the stalk and reveal the head. It won't be long before all the wheat will be heading out. 

The rains brought some relief to the state of Kansas, 93 percent of which has been classified in some form of drought. Some 70 percent of the state is listed in moderate to extreme drought.

As with most farmers in the South Central part of the state, we had enough moisture to get the wheat up after it was planted last fall.

Planting the 2015 wheat crop, September 2014

In fact, we had a nice 3.20 inch rain soon after planting, giving the crop a good beginning boost.

Early October 2014

However, we had very little snow or other moisture this winter, and the spring had been dry before the rains that fell, starting last Thursday.

“It’s definitely a million-dollar rain. Unfortunately, not everyone got it. One rain isn’t going to save the wheat crop. It is sure welcome, but this crop isn’t made yet.”

Kansas State University agronomist John Holman

in The Hutchinson News

The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported last week that 28 percent of the state's wheat is in poor to very poor condition. The agency rates another 46 percent as fair and just 28 percent as good or excellent.

Time will tell.
We shall see.

Choose whichever worn-out axiom you'd like. But for now, we're thankful for the rain.

The Circle of Life

Randy examines part of our 2012 wheat crop, Saturday, May 19, 2012

2012 forage sorghum (silage) crop, just emerging, May 19, 2012

 As one crop nears harvest on the County Line, another begins. Does anybody else hear "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King soaring in their brain? It's probably just me.

Randy just called and said someone had test cut a wheat field north of Stafford. Evidently, it was too wet to cut, since just a small strip was gone. But, ready or not, harvest is coming. The guys got the combine and the truck out of the shed yesterday. I got some cookies made, packaged in twos and in the freezer over the weekend. They are handy to grab to put in lunches during the busy harvest time.

The weekend also brought some hail to our area. We had pea-sized hail at the house on Saturday evening, so as the sun began its descent toward the horizon, Randy and I made a crop condition tour in what real photographers would call "the golden hour." The golden hue was also a product of last week's southerly winds that continued to push the 2012 wheat crop toward harvest some three weeks ahead of schedule.Those winds are set to make their return today after a couple of pleasant, more seasonal days.

The weekend hail damage varied from field to field. Here, Randy found a few wheat stalks broken over. However, south of the farm headquarters, Randy estimates a 25 percent loss in one field. Friends south of Zenith and north of Stafford had even more damage from hailstones the size of golf balls.

The forage sorghum (silage) plants that were just emerging appeared to weather the hailstorm relatively unscathed. The plants seem to march down the rows like tiny green soldiers, still standing strong despite being pelted with small hailstones.

The quarter to half inch of rain we got along with the hail will help give a growth boost to the silage crop, which we'll harvest for additional winter feed for our cow/calf pairs and feeder calves.

It's hard to believe that these little plants will tower above Randy's head later this summer - if we get the rain to make it grow. (Considering last year's drought, that's a big "if.")

September 2010

Silage harvest is our version of the movie, Jaws. Read about it while I contemplate all the ways I'm not ready for wheat harvest 2012. Maybe instead of The Circle of Life theme song, I'm hearing that suspenseful music that the shark is about to attack ...