March 29, 2024

From the Fields: Eyes on the sky

We cut hay this past week to dry for baling. It did get a light sprinkle on it early this evening. It wasn’t enough to be measurable or to even rinse the dust off of my truck. But it was humid enough that the hay didn’t dry much today. We spent time this week mowing waterways and weeds off that were coming in the wheat fields. Another project is replacing a couple more cattle waters before the cold winter winds start blowing. Spent Friday breaking and hauling cement away and Saturday framing and pouring a new cement slab for the water to sit on. I will definitely appreciate the work come February in the subzero temps when I won’t have to thaw or break ice in waters for the cattle.

I’ve seen combines being prepped at farms along my travels this past week. I have not seen any in the fields yet. I did hear of some that were thinking about starting over the weekend because they thought they had corn with moistures around 26%. We need to chop corn silage for our cattle, but after dad and I checked our fields out, we are waiting longer. We utilize Harvestores for feed and they need lower moisture silage than bunkers and bags. We have some 99- and 105-day corn that was planted early and would be dry enough to chop, but our 111- and 113-day varieties are much greener. With LP costs approximately double what we paid last year we decided it would make more sense to let the early corn continue to dry in the field to combine and wait longer to chop and fill the Harvestores since we aren’t low on feed, plus we can always find things to do on the farm. There is never a shortage of things to do. Beans fields are yellowing across the region and leaves are starting to drop.

We continue to be dry and many would welcome a nice inch of rain or so. I would prefer the rain comes after we have our hay baled and in the shed. A few dairies in the area would like the rain to hold off until they have their chopping done and the piles covered this week, too.

Next Saturday, Sept. 18, we can look to the skies for unique planes in the Freeport area. The Northwest Illinois Airshow is returning at 1:30 p.m. to the Albertus Airport south of Freeport. All parking for the event will be at the Stephenson County Fairgrounds. A shuttle bus will run to get attendees to and from the air show. Parking and the shuttle are free. Admission to the show is $10 in advance and $15 day of. This will be fun to watch as we are located across the river from the airport. I remember watching skydivers from the farm as a kid when the last airshows were held at Albertus Airport. I hope the weather cooperates and this new event is successful and keeps growing in the future.

Kim Meier

Kim Meier

Ridott, Ill.