Martin Family Farms

Wrapping up...

    As we enter into the last week of June time is running out for us to do much more for the 2011 crop.  We had about 2" of rain last night which will keep us from replanting any more ponds this year. All we have left to do is spray the post emergence herbicide on our soybeans and then it is down to mowing and cleaning equipment up and catch up on some summer jobs before we have to get the combine out.  This past weekend we traveled to Indianapolis (Kenny Chesney concert for Erin's birthday)  and St. Louis (Drew and I went to the Cards game) and both trips made me feel pretty good about the crops we have at home.  We are not the garden spot by any means, but we a lot farther ahead in crop development than a lot of other areas. However, we have not had any sun the last several days and we are losing growing degree days fast.   It brings back memories of the last 2-3 years looking at those areas and knowing what those farmers are going through. 

 Erin's Birthday Present

Drew with the wiener car at the ball game.
 

It could be worse..

 Grandpa with all the Grandkids on Fathers Day

    Well here we are in the in the last few days of June already. Time flies when you are having fun! Right?  Just about all of the corn has been sprayed and we are waiting on the beans to get a little bigger before we spray them.  Things are looking pretty good.  We were pretty lucky in our area this past weekend with our neighbors about 40 miles west of here getting 8"-10" of rain.  We still have a lot of crop damage in our low lying areas and ponds. We were able to replant most of them, but it is looking like there are a few spots that are not going to dry up in time to get something planted in them.  Overall it is a small percentage of the total acres, but when prices are high we want to get as many bushels as possible.  We did replant some corn on June 7th & 8th which is up and looking good. That is about as late in the year as I like to plant corn , but hopefullywe will be able to get 75% of ouf maximum yield potential out of those acres. 

Baseball season is in full swing with games between the two oldest alternating every night of the week. It makes for a fast and busy summer, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  The rest of the week the weather looks good with a chance of rain mixed in a few days and cooler temps by the weekend.  If we keep on this pace we should have some corn pollinating the first week of July.

 

Being a farm dad

 
 
 
 
 
    Being a farmer offers many unique opportunities that do not come with most professions.  You are able to be your own boss (kind of), set your own schedule (along with mother nature), and usually be able to work with your family.  In our case I  get to work every day with my family. Very few people ever get the chance to experience the relationship that develops between a father and son when they work together especially on the farm. When I was little all I wanted to do was "go with dad" wherever he went.  My dad spent years not only teaching me how to farm, but how to be active in the community, successful in the business, and how to treat other people. All of these lessons I use everyday in life and on the farm.  Now we are at a point in our lives where I am able to take those lessons along with the new ones and pass them on to my kids, and by being on the farm it means that Grandpa is also around every day to help do the same thing just like it was in the previous generations.

However, being a farm dad also means we have to make some tough decisions sometimes. While we all know that the family comes first that is not always the case.  While I make it a priority to try not to miss anything my kids do at school or in sports there are times when the farming takes a little longer or there is too much to do before the next rain and it leaves dad feeling pretty torn up sitting on the tractor or combine thinking about what he is missing.  These moments are few and far between and are all worth it when my kids come out to spend their days in the field, riding in the combine, planter, etc. and just wanting to "go with dad".

 

 

Let it grow...

    Wow! With all of the hot temps we are now having the corn in off to the races.  The sun and heat are exactly what we need so the corn can start growing and overcome some of the saturated conditions it has had to deal with the last two weeks.  However, with all of the hot days we have continued to get the thunderstorms that come with it.  This is making it difficult to apply our second pass of post emergence corn herbicide.  We like to have this done before the corn plant gets big enough that it shades out the rows.  If we do not get this done then we will have to put on drop nozzles that apply the herbicide below the leaf canopy.  Hopefully, this week we will also be able to get in and begin replanting some of the drowned out spots.  It is getting pretty late to plant corn, but we still have some time to plant soybeans in those areas.