Plant 2019...The Elephant

This planting season has definitely been one for the books and I mean record books for sure. My husband has been farming all his life and has never seen a season like this. I have never either but he is older and wiser so I used him an an example..lol.  

 By this time of the year we should be enjoying knee high by the 4th of July corn height and green leaf soybean plants popping up through the ground.  However, with the intense rains here in Indiana everything has been turned upside down.   

The only thing in our fields this year that look good and give us a little hope is our wheat fields.  

Which by the way ironically this year was the first time we have planted any wheat in years.  

And so happy we did. 

Family and friends have asked every day how do you handle this spring and how is everyone doing.  We are doing fine as there are others in our area who have suffered major family losses this year and are facing much worse. 

Whether it was a light, brief drizzle or a heavy downpour, it rained 17 more days this spring (March 20-June 21), than it did last season, according to a data tool that theNational Weather Service uses to get climate information. And these are peak days to get the crops in the ground. Central Indiana received nearly 19 inches of rain this spring. 

https://www.indystar.com/story/weather/indianapolis/2019/06/25/indianapolis-weather-how-spring-rain-compares-to-past-years/1526543001/ 

Some days its hard to be positive and optimistic but we all just take it one day at a time. Most days I find our family practicing our favorite family saying...Unfortunately we came upon this saying when our grandson was fighting his battle with Cancer.


                  How do you eat an elephant?.....ONE BITE AT A TIME.

And that is just what we have been doing this spring by knocking out each day ...One bite at a time. And also maybe with lots of prayers....cigars....beer...wine and an occasional Starbucks!

4-H Safety Day

4-H Farm Bureau Safety Day 

It's that time of year again for the annual Hancock County 4-H Farm Bureau Safety Day.  This event is held every year at the  Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds in the exhibit hall.  We take the 4-H kids  thru several stations of activities and topics that affect the safety of our youth of today.  The age range of the children are from kindergarten sometimes all the way to High School.  This annual event has been a tradition for 8 years and the kids look forward to it every year.

Last year the kids learned some basic first aid from our local Greenfield Fire Department.  They did some one on one activities and showed them how to set basic band aids.  One of the kids even got to wrap one on one of the firemen.  

 

Some of the other topics that were covered were bicycle safety and weather safety.  We had an officer from our local police department that is the traffic officer and he rides a bike everyday on his job. One of the most important topics he covered was the importance of wearing a helmet while riding a bike. We also had a representative from the national weather service and he gave helpful hints on what to do when a storm hits in your area.   

Grain bin safety was also covered and they showed the kids a slide of some very important information to watch out for when they see a grain bin around their home or at a friends/family property.

At the end of the event the kids were treated to pizza party and also they each received a free safety day t-shirt.  These items are sponsored by our local Hancock County Farm Bureau.  Also, the 4-H club with most members in attendance received money for a free pizza party for their club at a future meeting.  

This years Safety Day will be held April 8, 2017.  We have several wonderful topics this year too and are hoping we have several returning members and some new too.  

Earth Day Activities

Grain Safety

Home Invasion Safety/Internet Safety

Food Safety

Fire Extinguisher Safety

Farm Equipment Safety

Weather Safety

Have you discussed Safety with your kids lately? 

I am 3

Cooper came today to have his 3 year photo session today.  I've known Cooper  since he was born  as his Dad was one of my boys basketball coaches from High School.  We have enjoyed watching Cooper at the games and sharing popcorn.  

Cooper wanted to play with the Firetruck first.  He remembered it from last year.  We let him play for a while before moving on...(we didn't want to get him bored) 

Then we wanted to display his name and his mom liked the antique chalkboard I had.  You can use any type of chalkboard that you have around too.

This was my favorite part of the session.  I found this on Pinterest and I thought it was so cute.  We used my boys old Hotwheels and Matchbox cars to make a 3 which is how old of course Cooper is.  He had fun picking out the ones we used out of the big storage tote.  We sure got a great smile out of him too.

Finally, we were able to go outside and shoot a few photos today. The weather was great for the first of February too.  Cooper sure did like our old truck too and what little boy wouldn't. I think he looks older than three in this shot too...Thanks again Cooper for spending your morning on the farm with us! We will see you at the games and share some more popcorn soon!

It's that time of the year again...

Yes, its that time of year again where all the leaves are starting to change and all the colors are starting to look really pretty for fall.  One of my favorite times of the year because I do love the change during the fall. But another main reason is we get to start HARVEST.  

My mom asked me the other day...(as she does every year) when will you guys be in the field?  Well that can be a million dollar question..If I was a betting person I could win if I could correctly predict that day.  However, what I do know is when Farmer Rog tells me he is going to start on a Monday or a Tuesday it will almost always be two days prior to that.  Always and I mean always be prepared a few days early...Cause its going to happen! 

Now back to the million dollar question.  When are you guys gonna get in the field?  In case you haven't noticed  some of the bean fields have started to turn yellow and some are even ready.  I know for sure four farmers in our area that have already started cutting some early beans.  A sure sign for us is that when these leaves start turning it will be about four weeks before you can cut them. However, with this drier August it may happen to only be 3 weeks this year.  

The other morning our son flew over one of our bean fields with his drone and took some aerial shots.

Now to us this field looks perfectly normal...the right side has started turning and the left side has barely started to turn.  Now you ask...Why are they so different?  Isn't this the same field?  Yes it is the same field.  Well what happened when it was planted we had to use to two different numbers on the type of beans.  The one on the left is a 35-which just simple means longer days to maturity.  Then the one on the right is a 29-which simple means shorter days to maturity. Just a cool shot and thought we would share.  Enjoy your fall and don't forget to check out all the colors of it too.  

This was  few years back but still one of my favorites.

The good...the bad....and the UGLY

The Good...The Bad....and The UGLY

Don’t all farmers name their corn crop every year?

Yes this just happened and Rog named his fields for 2015....The Good...the Bad...and The Ugly. It's  the name of one of his favorite western movies that he feels like he is living out for sure this year.

We have had an overabundance of rainfall that has caused our corn, and even our bean fields, to look well...not so good. The pictures below happen to be some of the "good" fields.  However, these pictures were taken on June 29 after all of the rainfall in June.  We had well over 8.56 inches (normal: 4.76 inch for the month of June) according to usclimatedata.com.  Unfortunately, we have gotten a lot more rain in July which has made the “bad” look even worse.

The Good.......

I asked our Agronomist Kyle Brooks at Harvest Land Coop about yield loss at this time and why our corn was yellow.  I knew why it was yellow but me explaining that...well, let’s just let Kyle do the talking since he is the expert!

"It's hard to say what the yield loss to this point is but especially with the rain today (June 26) we could start seeing significant losses. The yellow corn can be caused by many things. I really believe at this point we are looking at slowed root growth caused by anaerobic conditions within the root zone. This decreased root growth then causes nutrient deficiencies, not because the nutrients are not there but we don't have the infrastructure to take the nutrients up. However, with nitrogen’s mobility in the soil, this rain has no doubt potentially caused some problems depending on the program.

The Bad....

  Sadly, the "bad" have only gotten worse.  We are very thankful that we only have about two hundred acres like this and not our entire crop. Some farmers in Northern Indiana don't have anything in the fields now but standing water.  If you ask Rog how long he has been farming he will tell you since he was 4…when his Dad put him on a 8N Ford Tractor.  (He also started driving a self propelled Oliver combine at 9 but that's a story worth telling some other time.)  This year is one for the record books and in his opinion one of the worst due to the impact over the entire state and not just in certain pockets.

Now for the UGLY.....

We hope you have enjoyed DRW Farms episode of "The Good...the Bad and the Ugly Corn Crop 2015."

As the Plot of the movie states...The Good, The Bad and The Ugly must all battle it out to get their hands on $200,000 worth of gold. Mother Nature is our battle this year for sure!

The Future of our Agriculture

I hear people talking and asking lots of questions worried about the future of our Agriculture. What will happen? Who will take over the next generation? How will these young kids ever do what I do on the farm? How will we raise enough food to feed the World in the future. Guess what I'm not worried one bit!! We have the best of the best coming up in the future of our Agriculture right here in our very own Hancock County. We have a great school system that supports our Agriculture program and I feel one of the best if not the best in the country. The teachers also run a very impressive FFA. This year two of our FFA officers are running for the Indiana State FFA office right now. They are on the final day of their three days of interviews and practicums. The interviews are to determine which candidates possess certain competencies critical to being a state officer. The other rounds will be on Ag Issues, Ag Education, a quiz, and group facilitation. I was very fortunate to photo these gals this year for their senior pictures and they rock their FFA Official dress too.

I asked our FFA Advisor if I could send them some questions about their FFA experience and also about running for State Officer.  Here are a few of the questions/answers.  I thought it was so awesome that Eastern Hancock High School had not only one candidate but two.  I was a district officer years ago in FFA (no old jokes please) and always dreamed about what these gals are actually doing. 

So here you go.. love these ladies answers and their enthusiasm towards the future of agriculture. And did I also tell you I just love these ladies!!  

What is FFA? And when did it start?

Annalee-FFA is the largest student led youth organization in the world. It's intercurricular rather than extracurricular, meaning it works with the Agriculture Education in the classroom. The main purpose is to develop personal growth, premier leadership, and career success in students. It was started in 1928 by a group of young farm boys, and at that time was known as the Future Farmers of America. However, since then the name has been changed to simply the National FFA Organization. The acronym is still there; we just don't go by it anymore. This is because we want to represent agriculture as a whole, not just farming.

What does FFA mean today?

Leah- Many see FFA only for individuals who will be farmers, but we are much more than that. In 1988, FFA changed its name from Future Farmers of America to the National FFA Organization to reflect the broader scope of our organization. FFA today is not just future farmers, but future entrepreneurs, scientists, and business people as well.

How did you get involved in the FFA?

Annalee- I got involved in FFA because it's a family tradition. My dad was an Ag teacher and FFA Advisor. My mom worked with State FFA Officers at the Indiana  FFA Center and took me there often when I was little. I always knew I would be in FFA. It was a natural decision for me. 

Leah-My Dad is our FFA advisor, so I have been around FFA for as long as I can remember.  With that being said, it was natural for me to join FFA my 7^th grade year. Even though I had seen the blue corduroy jacket transform the lives of Dad’s students, I never realized how it would change my life. I dove in during 7^th grade, getting involved with many different aspects of the organization. I have continued my involvement and am so thankful for everything FFA has given me.

What impact do you feel FFA has on our community and EH?

Annalee-FFA impacts our community and our school because it impacts our students. When we encourage students to go outside their comfort zones and be leaders, our community and our schools benefit the most. 

Leah-FFA has significantly impacted our community and Eastern Hancock. We are very fortunate to have a supportive community that allows Eastern Hancock’s FFA Chapter to thrive. Eastern Hancock is known for its competitive FFA chapter and I am fortunate to be a part of it.

What is the most important trait you have learned in your FFA Career?

Leah- FFA has taught many skills throughout my involvement. Hard work and diligence have both definitely been reinstated.  I have had many successes and failures, but all have reminded me the benefit of hard work and never giving up. 

Annalee- I have learned the importance of humility. FFA gives you many chances to be successful, but you can't win everything. I've learned more from the times I've lost a contest than when I won. From FFA, I've come to the understanding that my place in the world is to help others, and that's the most important thing I can do. This maybe cliche, but I've realized titles and banners are meaningless if you don't have friends at the end of the day. 

 What year were the blue and gold jackets created?

Leah/Annalee-In 1933 the blue corduroy jackets were adopted. Members from the Fredericktown, Ohio, FFA chapter were wearing similar jackets at the National FFFA convention, which inspired convention delegates to adopt this blue jacket.

Will you be continuing FFA in College?

Annalee- I could definitely see myself being in collegiate FFA, especially since I'm majoring in Ag Communications and Ag Sales and Marketing. 

Leah- I do plan on continuing my FFA involvement. I am going to Purdue and majoring in agriculture education. I hope to one day become an FFA advisor and get my own students excited about FFA. I also plan on getting involved with collegiate FFA so that I can give back to the organization.

 Good luck ladies as you finish up your last day.  I hope everyone now can rest easy cause the future of agriculutre is strong and great people are coming forward to lead us!  

It's spring sport picture time again

Had the awesome opportunity to take the 7th and 8th grade girls softball photos the other night.  Those girls are such a blast...thanks again!!

As always the link to all the photos are on the School's website along with order form. If you would like to look at them I've posted the link again below.

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: softball

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252335

Please don't order on the website as my prices are cheaper on the price sheet.  I will be posting the rest as we take them...Please check back soon...

We also did the JV Baseball(which everyone knows I'm a little partial to HS baseball).  This guy couldn't keep it controlled thanks to the whole team behind me...I thought it was pretty funny myself!

 Here are a couple of my seniors this year posing for their special photos because after all they are SENIORS!!

Very excited about this JV crop of players coming up!! 

 Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: baseball

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252336

With sickness, SAT's and scheduling issues this year it took a while to get all the Varsity Baseball pictutres completed.  Here are a few samples of some of the boys photos.  Glad we were able to finally get everyone together and get their team photo completed.  Thanks EH Baseball for your patience!  Go Royals!!

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: baseball

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252563

We also were able to do the JV and Varsity Softball girls.  I love how the girls have fun and choose their own poses..

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: softball

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252337 

This gal is always messing with my pictures...She decided to Photo Bomb me...which is something she is known for...She is the best.  The MS track teams are full of energy this year!

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: track

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252576


We have also completed the MS Golf pictures too...

Here is their link:

Click the link below to access your event.

You will be required to login with the following password: golf

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252364

Here is your MS Baseball team links.

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: baseball

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252578


And we finally got the boys and girls track done tonight.  Despite the wind again we were able to work around it.  

Click the link below to access your event. 

You will be required to login with the following password: track

Link: http://www.pro-album.com/index.php?f=event&r=252644

Wishing everyone a great spring season!!