“We’re Passengers Along For The Ride”
Trent Brandenburg is very happy to look back on a crop year that was much better than expected. A long stretch of wet weather during planting time made Trent plant his soybeans before his corn because some cornfields were too wet to work. As the season progressed, a remarkable series of almost perfectly-spaced rains caused corn ear-fill and soybean pod-fill to exceed early-season predictions. Trent’s yields were very good, but not quite record-level.
Trent is now done with his harvest and fall tillage. “I’m just cleaning up equipment,” he reported. His problems are the weather and the low market prices. “Can’t do much about either one,” he said. “We’re just passengers along for the ride.”
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 [...]