Rain for Christmas?
Please Santa, Send More Rain
Trent Brandenburg has, of course, been a good boy this year and would like very much for Santa to bring rain to his fields before the soil freezes hard. After the soil is frozen hard, any winter rain or snow-melt will mostly run off, not recharging the soil moisture which is still depleted from the 2012 drought.
Trent has observed the drainage ditches and farm pond water levels are lower now than they were at this time in 2011. Soil moisture recharge may be a limiting factor in the 2013 crop, because predictions are for the current dry cycle to last into the new year. Selecting drought-tolerant hybrids may help yields again next year.
Trent is celebrating the growth and success of his farming operations by putting up a new machine shed which is twice as large as his original, which remains in use. “I just need more space to put equipment,” Trent said, noting that tillage equipment keeps getting bigger and bigger. More shop space makes maintenance easier and faster, minimizing down time.
Trent looks forward to the new year. This year’s crop was off to such a good start when the drought came, but yet by the time harvest was complete the crop ended up better than August’s worst fears.
More from The Field Report
Replanting Done, Corn and Beans Look Good
Trent Brandenburg has replanted his few ponded field "wet spots" as many as three times. The replanted areas are "thin," Trent observed, because "It has been too wet. But at least [replanting] will keep the weeds down." Trent is now [...]
First Round Of Planting Done, Ponds Need Replanting
Trent Brandenburg is done with his "first round" of planting, as he puts it. The corn and soybeans he planted in April are up and growing in excellent condition. Trent's later-planted crops are germinating but not as far along as [...]
Not Much Field Work This Week
Trent Brandenburg does not plan on much fieldwork for this week, starting April 29, 2024. The huge squall line that extended from Texas to Green Bay, Wisconsin, over this past weekend, was far enough west to spare central Illinois from [...]