Martin Family Farms

A moneymaker.....

After one of the hottest weeks in the last 15 years we did manage to get a little bit of rain yesterday. A rain this time of year is what most farmers call a moneymaker because it will add bushels to the final yield. A range between 3/10ths and 1" covered all of our farms. Although we did need the rain I think the subsoil moisture was in pretty good shape. Through all of the heat last week I really did not see our corn fields all "rolled up" like they usually do when it is really hot. Some of that can probably be contributed to improved genetics in the corn, but we were also probably tapping into some of the moisture in the ground from all of the spring rain. Most of the field tiles dried up last week, but there were a few running which is a good indication of the moisture in the ground. This week looks to bring a little relief from the heat, but the night time temps are still forecast to be in the low 70s which is too warm. Time will tell how the kernels fill out. All of the hot weather did allow for a lot of swimming in the pool and even a trip down the creek for the boys.

A moneymaker.....

After one of the hottest weeks in the last 15 years we did manage to get a little bit of rain yesterday. A rain this time of year is what most farmers call a moneymaker because it will add bushels to the final yield. A range between 3/10ths and 1" covered all of our farms. Although we did need the rain I think the subsoil moisture was in pretty good shape. Through all of the heat last week I really did not see our corn fields all "rolled up" like they usually do when it is really hot. Some of that can probably be contributed to improved genetics in the corn, but we were also probably tapping into some of the moisture in the ground from all of the spring rain. Most of the field tiles dried up last week, but there were a few running which is a good indication of the moisture in the ground. This week looks to bring a little relief from the heat, but the night time temps are still forecast to be in the low 70s which is too warm. Time will tell how the kernels fill out. All of the hot weather did allow for a lot of swimming in the pool and even a trip down the creek for the boys.

Oh no....

Just when everything was looking really good in our area we get another challenge from mother nature. If you guessed too much heat you were right. As of today we have not seen a whole lot of stress to the plants, but with the forecast for continued heat it will not be long unless we can get a good soaking rain. How much damage can be done? Time will tell, but once the plant starts stressing it will start to abort some of the kernels on the ear. Night time temperatures are more important than day time ones. When night time temps fall below 70 degrees it allows the plant to slow down and rest. When temps stay above 70 at night then the plant is forced to keep working which diverts energy being used by the plant from filling the ear to survival mode. I am posting a link to a video done by one of our agronomists last year that describes how the corn deals with the heat. http://youtu.be/3vHS6yeRaBc

Pollen is in the air

A drive through the country will tell you corn pollination is in full swing in our area. The early planted corn started on the 4th of July weekend and the rest of the corn should finish with pollination this upcoming weekend. Although it has been hot I have not seen a lot of signs of moisture stress in the corn fields. That being said we could still use some rain especially with the heat that is predicted for next week. This week on the farm we have been getting a few things ready for harvest, hauling lime,building a shed , mowing farmsteads and ditches, and of course we are going to baseball games every night. Last week the only day we did not have a game with the boys we went to St. Louis to the Cardinals game. Gotta love summer !