Asked what a farmer does when 5.5 inches of rain falls on his place overnight, Trent Brandenburg replied,"Stay in the house!" During the overnight between Thursday and Friday, May 18 and 19, a 5.5-inch rainfall was reported at Cerro Gordo. Trent knew of measurements up to 7 inches.

Trent Brandenburg completed his corn planting April 21. His earliest corn planting is up and growing well. Much of his later corn planting is sprouting, but it has been slower to due to the cooler weather in the past week.

Trent Brandenburg has been getting ready to plant for a couple of months, going over machinery maintenance, seed and chemical orders, and watching the weather. Trent wants to do some spring pre-plant tillage, but needs a little rain first. He does not want to work his soil as dry as it is, because if there is then no rain, the newly-tilled soil will get dry too deep for quick, dependable germination.

The first two items on Trent Brandenburg's Christmas List for 2016 are: better crop prices and warmer temperatures. With the between-seasons farmer optimism, Trent is looking forward to starting another crop year.

Trent Brandenburg has completed his harvest. He is happy for the excellent yields, "not quite as good as '14." The harvest went smoothly. "Nobody got hurt." Trent regards 2016 as "a good year."

Trent Brandenburg is three-quarters done with his corn harvest and one-third done with his soybeans. "I wish it would dry out some more so I could cut beans," Trent said, alluding to recent heavy rains in he area. Overall, Trent sees the crops as well above average, but not record-setting like 2014.

The two-and-a-half to three inches of rain that just fell on the land Trent Brandenburg farms, ensures a good corn crop this year, maybe as good as last year, Trent observed. Then he added the veteran farmer's usual disclaimer, "if we don't have hail or a wind storm for the rest of the season."

Trent Brandenburg has his corn and soybean planting done, side dressing done, corn sprayed and beans yet to spray. Corn is "not so good on some soils," Trent said, noting that poor germination in cold, wet soils, took a toll. "It's not the best, but uneconomic to replant, so we'll leave it," he concluded.

"It won't take long when you get in gear and go!!" Trent Brandenburg is ready to start planting, but it is just too wet and cold. Trent began planting on April 15 last year and was done by mid-May. So he's willing to wait for the warmer temperatures and better field conditions. Trent is following the corn and soybean markets closely as corn took a plunge on the USDA report then went up a bit. Soybeans went up. Trent already has his inputs set for the corn and soybean acres he plans to plant, so he is not shifting acres to soybeans despite the markets' temptation. Trent has his machinery as ready as can be. He observed "It won't break down until you use it." Trent has mowed his yard twice. He says he is tired of tiding his mower and wants to ride a tractor.

Trent Brandenburg was starting to think about planting during the recent warm days, but the big blizzard on Wednesday, February 24, helped him decide to keep the planters and tractors in the shed a while longer. Trent has completed delivery of last year's grain from his on-farm storage. He is now getting his seed delivered and completing the winter maintenance on his machinery. This is the time of year when the input expenses all come at once: seed, fertilizer, crop protection chemicals, and diesel fuel. Hopefully, and farmers have to be hopeful, the yield will cover the crop expenses and land costs...