From the Pastures

The mill and store are very busy getting ready for Small Business Saturday. This special shopping day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a chance to support local businesses.

My philosophy is I need something to get me motivated every morning. What do all you grain farmers use as motivation after harvest?

It’s been a beautiful dry fall, almost too dry. With all the talk about an El Niño weather system, I sure hope we get a lot of moisture this winter because we need to recharge the soil moisture. But you make your prediction. What do you think?

Finally there’s no more talk of drought. The recent rains have kept the pastures looking good. Harvest in this area is probably on par with other years — many finished with beans, but not so much here.

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a lot of fun this year. Great to see old friends and to meet new ones. Just a note to follow up on the items I discussed in last month’s column. The wool coasters were well received.

September already! Have you had your first pumpkin spice latte? I have not, but I did enjoy a pumpkin spice cream cheese muffin. I saw a funny advertisement for pumpkin spice oil change for your car.

I imagine some of you have started harvest by now. Not me, though, but that’s normal. Our double-crop beans are getting really thirsty since we’ve only had a third of an inch of rain in over six weeks.

Well, I’ve just returned from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival and it was entertaining and very informative. On Friday was the Sheep 101 classes and Saturday was the Profit Workshop classes.

Summer is flying by, as usual. With so many things going on this time of year it seems to pass too quickly and now school starts.

Can we have a “spring flush” in August? After the rains we have had, it sure looks like that in central Illinois. I didn’t get one this spring.

The summer has certainly been speeding by. Always seems like summer is so short and winter so long. We have been blessed with great weather so far in August.

The rain in the past few days has really helped all plants and crops here in northern Illinois. June was very dry. Hopefully, the July rains will be enough to get the crops growing again.

Well, I think we may have a crop after all. I hope everyone got their much-needed rain by now. Since I plant later than most, none of my crop had seen any rain except a couple half-tenth events until the end of June.

Well, I finally got some rain and the pastures are responding nicely. The corn and beans jumped overnight and so did the weeds. I’ve decided to trailer the ewes and lambs down the road to a farmette that I have not grazed in two years.

Luckily, the hay at our farm grew well this spring and was baled the first week of June. The yield was three more big square bales than last year. I am thrilled because now it has been really dry.