Rain Gauge

It's hard for me to put into words how happy this makes me:
 

-Rain Man Ryan

Godzilla the Strip Tilla

This year before we started planting corn we prepared our fields in a different way.  Instead of using a disc and tilling our entire field we used a strip tiller.  A strip tiller is an implement that only tills "strips" about 8 inches wide through the field.  The strip tiller also has metal bars called ripper shanks that go deep into the ground and break up any compaction in the subsoil.

The benefits of strip tilling are huge.  When tilling up the ground the old way the the disc had to till the entire field three times and then fertilizer had to be applied with a four operation.  With Strip tilling all those operations are competed in one step.  This equates to substantial savings on diesel fuel, time and wear on equipment.

There are other benefits to strip tilling that we are looking forward to realizing.  Only tilling the soil one time means less moisture is lost during the tillage process.  There is also moisture savings throughout the growing season.  By leaving crop residue from the previous season on top of the non tilled ground, less moisture evaporates from the soil.

So what's the downside?  In order to be able to strip till you must have an extremely accurate GPS guidance system.  After all the strip tilling has been completed then the corn seeds have to be planted directly in the center of the 8 inch strip that was tilled.  This requires accuracy, which is expensive.  The other requirement of strip tilling is HORSEPOWER.  A good rule to follow is that it takes 25 horsepower per strip tiller row.   So for an 8 row strip tiller you need a tractor with at least 200 horsepower.  Like accuracy, horsepower is also expensive.

Below is an example of one of our strip tilled fields.  You can see the crop residue on the top of the non tilled strips and you can see where the corn is planted right down the middle of the tilled strip.

-Farmer Ryan

P.S. - You might have guessed from the title, I named our strip tiller Godzilla. 

Full Service

Every winter we service all of vehicles, trucks, and tractors.  That might not sound like that big of a task, but I present the below picture.  It is a pallet of filters.

We have checklists that we go through on all our vehicles and tractors.  Depending on what we find wrong, it can take anywhere from 4 hours to a couple days to completely service each vehicle, truck, or tractor.  Every filter we replace on a tractor we write the date and the hours on the tractor.  I serviced the below tractor on 3/14/14.  I marked the filter accordingly...

Below is a picture of all the stuff that I replaced on my farm pickup.  I replaced the spark plugs, air filter, oil filter, fuel filter, front, and back brakes.

When I went to change the transmission filter I hit a snag.  The GM engineer that designed the transmission failed.  In order to drop the transmission oil pan you have to take off the front drive shaft for the 4 wheel drive and a bracket that holds the shifting cable.

The bracket is pretty much impossible to take off.  So we decided to have our local dealership change the filter for us.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who dislikes this design.  When the dealership went to take off the oil pan they broke a relay inside the transmission...

-Grease Monkey Ryan

Gone With The Wind

You might have noticed all the wind turbines that are along I-70 when you were driving through Kansas.  Let me just say this: they are there for a reason.  Sometimes the wind will be strong enough that it actually starts to blow the topsoil off of our fields.  When this happens we have to rough up the surface of the ground in order to stop the wind erosion.  We had a failed wheat crop on a dry land field. Hooray for drought... So I used the below implement to rough up the ground.  

You can see below where a ridge was formed and some dirt clods were created.  We ran about 20 feet between passes and this was enough to stop the dirt from blowing.

When a big wind storm hits our area it can actually make visibility as bad as blizzard.  Below is a picture I took after the worst of the wind had passed.  It looks like there is a cloud blocking the sunset, but it is actually dust. 

I feel fortunate to be able to start farming when I did.  It's hard to explain how nice it is to not have to be sandblasted dustblasted on a tractor without a cab when we were trying to stop the topsoil from blowing.  This storm also made me feel sorry for all the folks that were farming during the "Dirty Thirties".  They didn't have cabs on their tractors, or modern farming practices that eliminate most of the dust storms. 

-The Dusty Farmer Ryan

My Grain Headaches Suggested Viewing:

• The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns - Click the link if you have Netflix and want to add it to your queue:  If you are a fan of historical documentaries or just want to know more I would suggest checking this one out. 

Where The Wild Things Are

One of the perks of being in a tractor all day is the view.  I get to see all kinds of wildlife and scenery.  The problem is actually getting a picture of animals before they take off. Below are the best wildlife shots I could take in 2013.

A fox:

Some Mule Deer:

My favorite wildlife experience this year has been watching Swainson's Hawks follow my tractor around while I planted corn. When I was pulling the planter I would disturb rabbits and mice from their hiding spots and the hawks would dive bomb them.  One morning I saw a hawk grab a mouse off the ground and throw it up in the air and catch it in its mouth.  That pretty much made my day.

Happy New Years from the farm!

-Wild Thing Watcher Ryan

Hi My Name Is...

Hi.  My name is Brisket.  I am a blue heeler, and I like to chase things like tennis balls and cats.  I was picked up from my last home about a week ago.

In the last week I've learned to sit, and ignore other commands. My humans like to put me on a leash to go on walks, which is a bunch of crap; I'm a farm dog. 

Maybe someday I can help my humans herd cattle, but for now I'm pretty happy chasing cats.

-Brisket

P.S. -  I also like to eat cat fur and poo.

Corn Cam: Season 2 - Harvest Edition

The corn harvest of 2013 finished on our farm a couple of weeks ago.  For the weather conditions this year our yields were good and overall our harvest went well.

 

This harvest I spent most of the time driving the grain cart or I like to call it the Harvest Chariot...  The grain cart's main job is to allow the combine to offload on the go.  Most of the time in the grain cart is spent driving back and forth from the combine to the semis. 

 

Depending on the condition of the field there are times the grain cart operator has to wait.  So I brought a long my favorite farm publication along with me.  Farm Industry News focuses on new farm technologies and how they work.  Basically, it is a great magazine for farm nerds...  So I guess you could say it's perfect for me.

Finishing fall harvest feels a lot like the last day of school; excitement, relief, and the beginning freedom.  Once all the crops are out there is great deal less to be concerned about.  The fields are clear the wells aren't running and the equipment is cleaned and put in storage.

After corn harvest we focus our energies on the business side of farming.  Book work, taxes, and tying things up for the end of the year.  We also spend more time with our cattle because they are no longer at there summer pasture and need more attention. 

Throughout the year I also keep a list of all the things that I want or need to learn about in order to be a better farmer.  Obviously this list goes on FOOREVER, so I try to focus on the things that will benefit our farm the most.  You will probably get to hear about some of these projects this winter.

-Harvest Charioteer Ryan