[AT] Weather keeping old tractors parked
Francis Robinson
robinson at svs.net
Wed Jun 13 08:35:20 PDT 2007
The ground here is getting so dry here that if it sprinkles the water
drops pick up speed from the dry dirt sucking at it so hard. It is a little
spotty where a few areas got rain. Some of the area north of Indy got some
big rains. We have not mowed the yard and lots in weeks. Nothing is growing
including hay. Corn is still hanging on but is rolling badly. Late corn and
beans are both doing poorly. South west of me the soil is very sandy and
where they are running irrigation it is beautiful but those without it are
beginning to hurt. I was south of Dayton OH Monday and saw a lot of spotty
fields there but not as bad as here. I wanted to plow a patch last week for
pumpkins but I don't think I have enough rusty iron left on the place to
weight a plow down enough to get it in the ground. :-) I enjoy hooking
my old IHC 2 bottom behind my SMTA to plow for pumpkins. If the way it digs
with a shovel is any indication I would have to blast first... I could
probably rip it up with the 4020 with a semi-mount or a chisel/ripper but if
it doesn't rain it won't matter anyway. Filling the gas tank on the 4020
would probably cost more than the pumpkins would make. :-)
The yard is so hard and rough that I tend to hunt some concrete to stand
on since it is softer.
Hay will be high dollar here this year since hay field after hayfield
has been ripped up to plant corn and beans in addition to the lack of rain.
The fellow that farms the field across the road no-tilled corn in a former
alfalfa field just after it started getting dry. He just replanted it last
week but unless it gets some rain it will not come up either. He said that
his no-till planter has always gone into about anything but this year was
tough.
I did use my Super M with the loader to move some aged manure to a
little garden patch this week and will till it in but there is no point in
planting anything unless it rains. I saw some footage of part of Texas and
Oklahoma that was flooding. We could use some of that but it would take an
awful lot of hose...
--
"farmer"
Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net
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