2010-6-28
Looks like we'll finally have some dry weather this week, which will be great. Corn still looks great, except in places where there is significant compaction. I don't know if that is an issue with the roots not being able to go down, or if the compaction had an effect on nitrogen, but it is related to grain cart traffic lanes.
Everyone will be spraying soybeans later this week, since we haven't been able to do that for a few weeks. There is significant weed pressure in the soybeans, and they are also turning yellow in the low areas that don't drain well.
The last corn planted is about a week away from tasseling, so the cooler weather we saw today is welcomed. Also, I haven't seen a significant increase in the Japanese beetle population like I expected.
2010-6-18
We're in a rainy trend. It has been raining almost every data for about two weeks now, and today it rained twice. The noon rain had some wind that took down a few tree branches, and flattened the refuge corn in one of our fields. These pictures are of the second storm that arrived at 6 PM, which dropped plenty of water and some pea to dime sized hail. We'll get an idea of how much damage that did to the crops tomorrow. The crops still look great, but I know the soybeans aren't enjoying the rain. They don't like saturated soil, and the humidity is a breeding ground for fungus and mold. We'll probably see a lot of disease in the crops later in the year due to this moisture. A week without rain would be ideal right now.
2010-6-14
The Japanese beetles are just getting started. I started seeing them on the 12th. Population is still very low, but they seem to be working as a team. I have seen a couple on the raspberries, but in the picture they're working over a weed in the raspberry patch. In other news the raspberries are just starting to turn ripe, and that means raspberry cupcakes.
2010-6-11
