The New Normal?

“I Don’t Know What Normal Is Any More”
Trent Brandenburg made this observation while reviewing the strange weather patterns of the last 3 years, including the present unusually warm winter with more rain than snow. Trent believes the top eight inches or so of topsoil are moist and recovered from the drouth of 2012, but the subsoil is still dry. The drain tiles which underlie farmland he has observed, are not “running” very much. Some are trickling and some are not running at all, which means the surface moisture has not reached the subsoil. “Any rain is appreciated,” he continued, “as long as it isn’t in the end of March or early April” when he would like to begin planting.
Trent has his seed orders and crop inputs ready and has not been told of any shortages by his suppliers. He fall-applied his fertilizer after the ground froze, so the implement passes didn’t compact the soil. With uncertainties about farm legislation and crop insurance, Trent is reviewing his available insurance products for the next crop year. He has to weigh the cost of the premiums versus how much risk he is wiling to assume, and then make a value judgement accordingly.
More from The Field Report
Timely Rain Helps Corn And Beans
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have received more than an inch of rain on his dry fields in mid-July. After scouting his crops to determine drought damage, he concluded that the corn pollination hadn't gotten far enough along to be [...]
Corn Leaves Starting to Roll From Lack of Rain
"The corn leaves are rolling," Trent Brandenburg replied when asked about drought effects on his crops. Despite widespread central Illinois one-inch rains Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th, as reported by CoCoRaHS (Community Cooperative Rain, Hail and Snow Network), [...]
Wind And Sun Dried The Fields Fast
This morning (June 6, 2022) Trent Brandenburg was considering if he should start mowing roadsides. Watching the cloudy skies, he wondered if he would be caught in the rain. Trent finished his planting over a week ago. He has a [...]