Waiting For It To Quit Raining
Machinery Ready for Spring Planting
Trent Brandenburg has his machinery ready to roll. “It’s all pointed in the right direction. I’m just waiting for it to quit raining so I can drive it out of the machine shed.” Trent wonders if he will have another wet spring like last year. He is more concerned with the national virus panic than with the markets, even though corn and soybeans are at contract lows on this, the first day of spring. “We’ll get through it,” he said, with the farmer’s eternal spring optimism.
A week of steady, and at times, heavy, rainfall has thoroughly saturated the soil. A quick warm-up would help dry the cultivation zone enough to plant, but warm days have been rare this month in central Illinois. Temperatures in the 60s would be great if they weren’t accompanied by steady rain. Trent’s up-to-date equipment lets him make maximum use of every “planting window”, which fuels his optimism.
More from The Field Report
From Drought To Ponding And Replanting
In barely months, Trent's challenges have gone from extreme drought to repeated ponding and replanting. Trent has replanted some corn and soybeans twice, only to have the ponding return yet again. "I don't think I will try to replant corn [...]
Corn And Soybean Planting Done, Some Germinated, More To Come
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have completed his corn and soybean planting by the 15th of May. "It's slow," he said, commenting on the germination delay by the recent cool temperatures. Moderately heavy rains the last few days have caused [...]
Worked Some Fields, With A Sunny Day Could Begin Planting
Trent Brandenburg has "worked a couple of fields, they're barely ready" after several days of rain last week. "If we get a sunny day tomorrow I could plant some," Trent continued. The long-standing extreme drought in central Illinois has been [...]