Martin Family Farms

Thank you mother nature !!!

It is hard to believe, but we are once again being blessed with a wonderful stretch of fall weather. After receiving about 1"-2" of rain last week and cooler temperatures, field work and anhydrous application is in full swing. Soil temps are in the mid 40 degree range which is perfect for fall nitrogen application. We are currently running two applicators trying to cover as much ground as we can. This is the second year we have owned our new strip- till bar, but the first year we have gotten any use out of it. So far it is doing an excellent job of making strips in our corn on corn fields.  The RTK auto steer on the tractor and the I-Guide on the toolbar seem to be keeping everything on track. As expected though the ground is hard which does cause some variance between the rows, but overall I am pleased with how things are going.  As of tonight there is no rain in the immediate forecast which means we might have a chance of getting done in the next 2 weeks. Let's keep our fingers crossed...

Downtime in October????

One of the reasons that I love farming is because of the challenges it presents and the fact that you never know what each day is going to bring.  This past weekend was one of those things that no one can predict.  A late October weekend with beautiful weather and no one was in the field.  All of the crops are gone, a lot of the fieldwork has been done and the soil temp is too warm for anhydrous application.  All of this added up to a couple of days off and some R & R. Since we started harvest on August 28 we have worked every day but 1 0r 2 in the field. Last night we finally got some measurable rain which was much needed.  The temperature is supposed to cool down the end of the week so it looks like we will be able to start with anhydrous application.  Hopefully mother nature will continue to cooperate fore 2-3 more weeks so we can get all of our nitrogen on. 

Catch up time....

Wow.. what another busy week on the farm. However, it is not been busy doing what we really want to. With the warm and dry weather we are having fall nitrogen application has been put on hold. A lot of the other fieldwork we had to do is done and we have been doing a lot of catch up work that has not been done for several years on waterways, gullies, etc.  A lot of the ground that got chiseled is extremely rough and will require a decent amount of rain before any anhydrous will be applied.  We hate to not be putting on nitrogen with the good weather, but soil temperatures are still in the upper 50 degree range with warm weather predicted through the weekend.  All of the crops in our area are gone and it almost looks like a ghost town because everyone is done with harvest and fall tillage.  We are also making a lot of plans for the 2011 crop. The recent market rally has afforded us the opportunity to sell corn at a profitable level for next year. Between the market and the nice fall weather we are having we are sticking with our plan to raise a lot of corn this year just like the last 4-5 years. 

Here we go again..

With the 2010 harvest officially over, we are gearing up to get the fall field work done so we can have a good start to 2011. The combines are put away, the heads and trucks are washed and put away and the tractors and tillage equipment are rolling.  We have been chiseling some ground that still showed some of the effects from the 2009 harvest and we are getting the anhydrous toolbars hooked up and ready to go. Anhydrous application probably will not start until the soil temperature gets below 50 degrees. Hopefully, it will cool down next week so we can get started.  I have even had a little time to get some paper work done.  After this week I do not think there will be any harvesting left to do in our area.

Exciting week....

Harvest on our farm should officially be over on Tuesday this week. Mother nature has provided us with beautiful weather to finish up the 2010 harvest. I think we have only had 2 days we did not work since we started on August 28. Even though the yields were down it is still exciting to get finished up this early in the season.  It has been even more exciting watching the markets rally the past few days. Last Friday in the October crop report the USDA lowered the national yield by seven bushels per acre.  This was way more than most people thought and we have had limit up markets on Friday and the Sunday night trade. This will give us some good pricing opportunities on the  2010 and 2011 crop.

This past weekend the kids spent a lot of time on the farm trying to soak up all of the "field time" they could before harvest is completed.  Drew is old enough now he likes to get up at 5 a.m. and head out with me and do the daily maintenance to the combines. Luke and Alec usually like to switch between the combine and the trucks.  It brings back a lot of memories watching them do the same things that I loved to do growing up.

 
 
 

The end is near....

As we enter the first full week of October it is hard to imagine that this will probably be the last full week of harvest in our area. A lot of the corn fields have disappeared this past week and several people will be finished with soybeans this week. We were joking yesterday that it almost seems like  a"ghost town" at the elevator this year. With all of the dry corn and lower yields the elevators are not very busy at all, but when you make 60%-80% of your expected trips that is what will happen. However, a lot of the elevators are scrambling trying to make room for the last acres of soybeans. With the good soybean yields we are having several elevators are running out of space for beans. We are still seeing a wide range in corn yields, and moisture is in the 14%-15% range.