Wheat Watch: Season 4: Episode 2 - WINTER KILL

Winter kill might sound like a bad horror film but it's actually what happened to some of our wheat.  It occurs when the ground temperature drops below freezing in the root zone of the wheat plant. 

In a typical year with wetter soils the ground insulates the wheat.  When the soil lacks moisture the insulation value goes down which leaves the wheat more susceptible to winter kill.  Quick temperature changes can also be a factor in the amount of damage.  If there is a very mild fall and then a cold snap hits, the wheat doesn't have time to build hardiness to handle the cold temperatures.

As my father-in-law and I were looking at some of our fields he said that sometimes as a farmer all you can do is just close your eyes and hope for the best. 

-Sightless and Hopeful Farmer Ryan

Farmerversary

I became a farmer exactly three years ago today.  It's funny to think back about how green I was when I started: I didn't know how to drive a tractor, I had never worked with cattle and I'd only backed up a trailer one time (unsuccessfully). 

One of the most important things I've learned in the last three years is that if you have a chance to try something new - DO IT!  It is amazing the things you that you will learn when you are outside of your comfort zone.

-Farmer Ryan

Leweasyanna

So what do farmers do when they get away from the farm?  They visit other farms.  My family recently visited the great state of Louisiana and when we were there I was able to see a different type of farm.

The farm we visited raised rice and some soybeans.  I was surprised to find out that they also raise crawfish.  After they harvest rice they choose between getting a second cutting of rice or "seeding" their fields with small crawfish they called peelers.  Either way they flood the field again and wait for their crops or fish to grow.  

In late winter/early spring when the water starts to warm up the crawfish come up from the mud and start looking for food.  That's when the crawfish traps are baited and setup.  Everyday during the crawfish season a boat goes out into the water and checks each of the traps.  The boats use a little wheel that is powered by hydraulics to push the boat around the field to pick up the fish.

One of the first things that we ate when we made it to Louisiana was crawfish.  We bought about 14 pounds of of them from a crawfish shack off the highway (owned by the farmer we visited).  Once we got it home we poured all of them out on the table and started to dig in.  Eating crawfish is kind of an art and you have to learn how to get to the meat.  You pop the top half off and peel the bottom half off.  Being from the Midwest the closest thing I can relate this to is eating chicken wings or BBQ ribs.  I don't know what it is about food like this but why is it all spicy?

-Agrotourist Ryan

P.S. - After being in Louisiana for a week I say "y'all" a lot more.  I'm pretty sure after a year of living there I would have an accent. 

Put It On Black

Grain commodity prices are down and cattle prices are up, so for our farm it's time to change our operation.  Again.  Ogallala Livestock Auction is based in Ogallala Nebraska and it is about 2.5 hours away from our farm.  On the day we went to buy some more cattle they were selling 7000 head in one day.  So we had a pretty good selection for the type of cattle we were looking for.  In my semi-delirious state on the way to the auction I started singing this to myself:

 Sing to the tune of "Deck the Halls"

Time to wake up at 4 o'clock

Oga la la la, la la la 

It is time to buy us some livestock

Oga la la la, la la la

Lets take a look at some bred cows
Oga la la la, la la la
7000 head for us to browse
Oga la la la, la la la

Don we now our cowboy apparel,

Oga la la la, la la la

It's time to put some dollars at peril

Oga la la la, LA LA LA

At the sale our farm purchased some cattle and for the first time I bought some cattle of my own.  With sweaty palms I signed the second biggest check of my life and put it all on black (Angus).  Viva Las Vegas.

-Horrible song writer and Rancher Ryan

So... What would you say you do here?

After our corn has been harvested and our equipment has been cleaned and put away for its winter hibernation, the farm work starts to slow down.  So what do we spend all our time doing?

We still have cattle to manage and they are actually the most work during this time period.  We have to make sure that they have enough to eat and they have the right mineral and protein supplements.  Most cold mornings we spend some time breaking ice that has formed on the top of the stock tanks in order for cattle to have access to water.  We also have to make sure that the electric fence is hot and the cattle are happily inside the fence.

There is a amazing amount of paper work that comes with being a farmer and winter time is when we get to do the most.  We have to account for every acre we farm and ranch by reporting what we planted and where to the government throughout the year.  After we've satisfied Uncle Sam we have to head over to our crop insurance agents and fill out basically the exact same thing for a second time.  The cherry on the top of our paperwork sundae is figuring our yearly tax bill.  Hooray for taxes!

Probably the best thing about the winter is going to farm conferences.  This month I attended the Cover Your Acres Conference.  Cover Your Acres is a Northwest Kansas farm conference that focuses on issues that are affecting our area.  This is important to me because the type of farming we do in Western Kansas is a lot different than the type of farming they do in Iowa.  Surprisingly, many of the big agricultural companies still haven't figured this out and they try to sell us things that just do not work here.  I also attended the Farm Bureau: Young Farmer and Rancher Conference.  This conference brings together young farmers and ranchers from across Kansas.  The main focus of this conference is overall trends in farming and issues facing all Kansas farmers.  It's also just a lot of fun to get to talk to other young farmers from across the state.  I actually met a farmer that farms in Johnson County.  It is pretty interesting to hear some of the issues they face on the other side of the state.  At one point in time he actually said "We do that to burn moisture".  This lead me to the conclusion that the grass really is greener on the other side (of Kansas).

-Winter Farmer Ryan

Happy MOOO Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

-Farmer Ryan

Corn Cam Season 3: Harvest Yield Mapping

This corn harvest I spent my time starting at a guidance monitor screen and operating the combine. 

We installed a 90 foot wiring harness, a moisture sensor and a mass flow sensor (which is a fancy way of saying yield sensor) in our combine.  These sensors combined with our guidance system allow us to map the yields of each of our corn fields. 

After we finished harvest I was able to pull all the yield data off our guidance system and load it on a computer application.  The application allows me to view the yield maps on all of our harvested acres.  I can use it to calibrate the yield data with actual truck load weights from the elevator.  This allows for a higher level of accuracy in our maps.  Another useful feature is that I can pull the US geological survey data about soil types on our fields

The benefit of having all this data is that we can look at how our farming practices, soil types and fertilizer rates affected our yields.  We ran several tests this year varying fertilizer rates and chemical applications.  At harvest time we were able to view the results of these tests when it matters the most - harvest.  

In the future we plan to update our corn planter and we will be able to change the amount of corn plants per acre (farmers call it the plant population) from the cab of the tractor.  We will also be able to create population prescriptions that will automatically change the populations rate automatically according to our predetermined values.  The prescription values will be based on previous years harvest data, soil types, and elevation changes.  The prescriptions can also designate the amount of fertilizer being applied before and during planting.

When we get our yield data from the subsequent years we will be able to optimize fertility and population to each field.  The end goal being that we will be able to reduce our input costs while maximizing our yield potential. 

-Yield Map Nerd Ryan