Old Wives' Tales and Newer Technology

  

My Grandpa Neelly believed in the Old Farmer's Almanac. While many people might put their stock in old wives' tales, Grandpa paid more attention to what I'll call "old farmers' tales." Since he lived to age 100, he had plenty of time to accumulate such wisdom. (One that has nothing to do with farming seemed to be that Cramer's Analgesic would fix almost any ailment, but I digress.)

My mom, my Great-Grandma Neelly, Grandpa Neelly and me at about 2 months

 

He planted potatoes on St. Patrick's Day, and he consulted the moon for other planting decisions. We'll again test out one of those old farmers' tales this year: It's said that wheat harvest will be 6 weeks after the wheat heads.

Randy and I scouted wheat fields on May Day and found that the wheat heads were beginning to emerge. Our son-in-law says he's going to give those "old wives" a test and mark June 14 on his calendar.

Eric's response triggered a friendly family wager about the start date for harvest. For posterity, here are the guesses:

Jill, June 13 

Eric, June 14

Randy, June 16, 3:32 PM

Brent, June 17

Susan, June 18

Kim, June 19 (Just like a good mom, I waited 'til last, so I took June 19 by default. With our cool temps this week, I may luck out anyway!)

 

(I need to figure out a prize for the winner. ... I've got it: A ride on the combine!)

Anyway, we shall see. But the 2021 wheat crop is definitely working its way toward harvest.  

As we checked our fields May 1, Randy was evaluating whether or not to apply a foliar fungicide to the wheat crop. Scouting efforts from across Kansas reported several new occurrences of stripe rust the last week in April.

This shows some rust on the leaf on the righthand side.

Stripe rust is most yield-limiting when it advances to the upper canopy, particularly the flag leaf, according to K-State Research and Extension. In a report issued on April 29, K-State gave a stripe rust risk assessment;

Here we integrate current stripe rust reports, risk due to recent weather conditions (relative humidity and rainfall), and crop growth stage to assess the current risk of severe stripe rust in Kansas (Figure 2). The high-risk regions (dark purple) correspond to regions where weather has been particularly suitable for stripe rust establishment, and where the pathogen has been detected for sufficient time. The risk in other parts of the state may change as the season progresses and as more favorable weather events accumulate.

K-State Extension report, April 29, 2021

Figure 2. Estimated risk of severe stripe rust as of April 29, 2021. Map takes into account the current wheat growth stage, stripe rust observations, and recent weather conditions. Map created by Kelsey Andersen Onofre, K-State Research and Extension.

The decision to apply a fungicide should be balanced with the yield potential of the crop, variety disease rating and current grain price, according to K-State. Fields with the potential to yield greater than 40 bushels per acre should be prioritized for a fungicide application.

 

Randy decided that it is cost-effective to spray with a fungicide this year. He says that the application cost is about $9/acre. If we get a "bump" of even 2 more bushels per acre, the fungicide will pay for itself.  

In several years of field trials at Kansas State University, the application of fungicides between the flag leaf and flowering stages of wheat development resulted in a yield boost of 4 to 14 percent.

It's kind of a calculated risk: Will the cost of the fungicide pay off with a better crop? Only time will tell.

A foliar fungicide application will not make a 40-bushel crop into a 60-bushel crop, but it will prevent a 60-bushel crop from being reduced to a 40-bushel crop by foliar disease.

Bob Hunger, an Oklahoma State University wheat disease specialist,
and Jeff Edwards, an OSU Extension wheat specialist

So, is your bag of flour safe after farmers spray fungicide on the developing crop? Yes, as long as farmers follow the restrictions on when to apply it and how long after the application the crop is harvested.

Believe me, farmers and their families want a safe and affordable food supply, too. We buy bags of flour at the store. We buy that loaf of wheat bread and feed it to our families.

We went to one of our fields and talked with Joey, who operates one of the Kanza Co-op applicators. He was waiting for the tender truck driver to return with more water for the sprayer. 

In scare tactic memes and articles, I read about "evil farmers" dousing the food source with tons of chemicals. But here's the reality.

Only 4 OUNCES of active chemical is applied per acre. That is 1/2 cup per acre. The bulk of what is being sprayed is water. 

The two 2.5 gallon jugs of active chemical (Tebuzol Fungicide) that Joey put in his rig were combined with 1,400 gallons of water from this tank. 

The tender truck driver attached a hose to the spray rig to transfer the water.

Once the water and chemical are in the tank, the rig operator can adjust the spray nozzles for the various chemicals being applied. For Tebuzol, he'll spray 140 acres with that load (5 gallons chemical in 1,400 gallons water) with 10 gallons of the water/chemical mix applied per acre.

Then there was no more time for chit-chat. (Thanks to Joey for answering all my questions while he waited though!)

He climbed into the rig and spread out the 120-foot boom, kind of looking like the Transformers that Brent loved in elementary school. It's quite a wingspan when fully unfolded!

The rig is equipped with GPS, which Joey uses to make sure he's not overlapping where he's spraying the field. 

These photos were taken looking into the sun, but it did show the stream of liquid being applied.

And, below, a different angle - as Joey traveled west

There is a withdrawal time between the time a crop is sprayed and the time it is harvested. (In this particular case, it's 30 days.) As long as that is observed, the wheat will have benefited from the fungicide application, but there will be no residue in the mature grain.

We did another scouting trip yesterday afternoon.

May 10, 2021

The wheat is more fully headed out and is looking good after 0.60" of rain last week. We won't turn down a little more, and we do have chances for rain for much of the week.

May 10, 2021

The wheat is also pollinating: See the little yellow flecks on the wheat head? That's pollen. Having the cool weather for pollination is also good news.

There is still a lot of time - and uncertainty - between now and harvest. 

 

Weather, hail and disease could conspire against us, too. But, as usual, my farmer is a glass-half-full kind of guy. So, he's betting that the investment will pay off.  

Gratitude

  

You could look at an overgrown lawn and think about another task that needs doing.

Or you could find a memory nestled among the dandelions and such. So it was last week.

Randy called me and told me about little purple flowers he saw at his old childhood home. It's where we have our shop and the bulk of our farm tools and equipment. 

It had been years since he'd noticed them. We're not sure whether that's because we don't usually let the lawn get that tall or whether weather conditions were just right for its growth. (I use the term "lawn" loosely in this instance.)

"They're where the wash house used to be," he told me.

"O ... kay...???" I replied. "... That was WAY before my time."

"It's where the clothesline and sand pile were," he further explained. (Same answer from the wife.)

Last fall, when Randy's brother Lyle died, I found this photo of Randy as I was looking at an old scrapbook. I thought of that photo as Randy was describing his memory of childhood.

"Would you please take a picture?" Randy asked. (People are always remarking about how cooperative Randy is with my blogging and the constant photography. He is. But he also prompts a fair number of the photos himself.)

I snapped a few photos of the purple flowers before taking off to Hutchinson for planter parts. 

Later, I asked my friend, Diana, who's a Master Gardener, if my identification of the plant as a grape hyacinth was accurate. It was. 

But for Randy, who spent a lot of hours in the tractor cab last week planting corn, I figure that glimpse of pretty purple flowers in an overgrown lawn was about a lot more than that.

  It was a portal to remembering his mom hanging clothes on the line while he played nearby. 

It was about playtime in the backyard with his brother.

Maybe those memories were further prompted by the recent placement of Lyle's stone at the Stafford Cemetery.

 

Our friend and funeral director, Jay, told us it was in place, so we drove out to the cemetery after church. (He also told us Fritzemeier was spelled correctly, so we wouldn't need our WhiteOut. What a relief!)

Later last week, an email devotional arrived from Guideposts.

A Time to Think

The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see. 

—Robert Holden, Ph.D

A Time to Act

Recognize the infinite possibilities of God’s work.

A Time to Pray

Dear Lord, when I am focused on my problems, and most likely making mountains out of molehills, guide me to go outside, look upwards and have faith in Your omnipotence.

I got another reminder as I glanced out our window at sundown. Yes, there were those infernal dandelions in an overgrown lawn - at our house, too. But the light was causing them to glow as if they had halos. I was drawn outside for a closer look and heard the birds serenading me as the sun went down.

The complexity and delicacy of a dandelion is amazing - even if it is a weed.

 There's always something to be thankful for and something at which to marvel.

It may be as close as just outside our door if only we look at things in a different way.

 Maybe it's worth making a wish that we have eyes to see.

***

As we approach Mother's Day this weekend, I figured this was a fitting tribute to Marie, Randy's mom. I didn't appreciate her nearly enough when she was still here. 

 

Mom & me - 1957

And an early "Happy Mother's Day" to my mom! 

Randy and I were both blessed with wonderful moms! I'm fortunate enough to still be able to celebrate with my mom. And after a year of pandemic, it was good to get together for an early celebration yesterday.

 

It's definitely not a professional decorating job, but it tasted good. If you have ripe bananas on your counter, this Banana Sheet Cake recipe from the County Line could be a contender!

Wishing our daughter a wonderful Mother's Day, too! We're so proud of all the hats she wears - including amazing mommy!

Corny Analogies

I've found a few of these hitchhikers lurking on the floor of our farm house lately.

Thankfully, most of its buddies ended up in the ground. 

It's corn planting time in Kansas. In the scheme of things, our farm is kind of like that single grain on the kitchen floor. The 294 acres we planted this spring on our dryland farm don't amount to much in the overall statistics of production for Kansas.

However, only five states produced more corn than Kansas in 2020. USDA estimated the 2020 Kansas Corn Crop at 766 million bushels, with a yield of 134 bushels per acre and 5.72 million acres harvested. Last year's crop was the second largest in Kansas history, falling only to the record 2019 crop of 801 million bushels. 

According to the Kansas Corn Commission, a third of our corn stays in Kansas to feed livestock; a third is made into ethanol and dried distillers grain at Kansas ethanol plants; and a third of our corn leaves Kansas to be used in other states or exported overseas, along with corn products. 

Since our primary crop is wheat, we don't contribute much to that total. For us, corn is one of the crops used in our rotational program to keep soil quality good and weeds down. For my brother and parents in a neighboring county, corn is a primary crop.

 

We began planting corn on April 26, a little later than our normal plant date. However, in mid-April, we had fairly chilly weather, so the soil temperature wasn't conducive for growing anyway. Plus, we had some cattle-moving tasks to complete first. (And, it allowed a visit with the granddaughters before we began the new task - bonus!)

Today, many farmers plant RIB corn (refuge in a bag) - whether it's irrigated or dryland.

The green-colored seeds have a different genetic make-up and are treated with a different insecticide than the purple-colored seeds. The purple seeds are a refuge for several different insects in a field, giving them a habitat to satisfy EPA rules. Before RIB technology was available, farmers had to plant so many acres in a field to a corn that wasn't resistant to the bugs and the rest of the field could be resistant. With RIB technology, farmers can plant it all at the same time, without changing seed and figuring acreage requirements. 

 

Randy adds a seed talc - or lubricant - to the planter boxes to facilitate the seed's journey from planter to soil. 

 

He also applies a starter fertilizer to promote early growth. The make-up of the starter fertilizer was determined after Randy did soil testing before planting. 

 

It included nitrogen, phosphate, sulfur and zinc. After planting, the co-op is applying more nitrogen, along with herbicide 

The fertilizer is in the tank pulled by the pickup. First stop is pulling up to the scales at the elevator to weigh the empty pickup and fertilizer trailer and tell the scale operator what kind of fertilizer we want. (There's another stop after the tank is filled for a final weight.) I also let them know how to bill the previous load of fertilizer.

Then, it's off to the fertilizer shed, where an employee fills the tank with the "recipe" Randy has ordered. 

I stand around and take photos of our prairie skyscrapers and the clouds. (What else is new?)

 

This year, we again picked up the seed as we need it at Zenith, so on some trips, we also get the bagged seed from another building. 

Once back to the field, Randy can then use the fertilizer in the trailer to refill the fertilizer tanks on the planter, attaching a hose. 

He starts a motor to pump the fertilizer to the planter.

He runs the motor until the tanks are filled. (You can see it's only about one-third full in this photo.)

 And then he's off to make another round. 

  

As always, we're "keepin'" it rural, just like our ancestors did.

 Corn was a primary crop in this area when it was settled. The 6th Biennial Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture of 1888 reported that corn was the main crop for Stafford County, covering 48,030 acres. Oats were grown on 10,849 acres, while the winter wheat crop totaled 8,717 acres. Pasture ground was tallied at 13,446 acres. Other crops in 1888 were millet, spring wheat, rye, Irish and sweet potatoes, sorghum, castor beans, cotton, flax, hemp, tobacco and broom corn. Swine outnumbered cattle in livestock. (Information taken from Stafford County History: 1870-1990.)

We got done planting our 294 acres of corn on Saturday evening. We still have a small food plot to plant as a custom farming job, but we are at a pause because of about 0.60" of rain we've received over the past two nights. We are thankful for the moisture.