Sunday, November 11, 2012
2012 is winding down
I'm happy to start this post off by saying we finished harvest! Friday November 2nd at around 9PM I picked the last 8 rows of corn. I have successfully completed my 3rd year of farming! As I look back on this year I realized how much I learned from this historical year. I have dealt with new challenges, people, business, and weather I have never had to deal with before. This will be a year to remember that's for sure.
In the Shop: We purchased our first strip till bar last spring off a friend. The bar was originally used for applying liquid nitrogen. I prefer to use NH3 for our primary form of nitrogen. So we plan on taking off the liquid nitrogen equipment and redoing the bar to be a NH3 applicator. This should be a fairly simple project. Other then that we washing and putting away equipment for the year.
In the Field: Although we plan on doing the majority of our corn next year in strip till, I am wanting to try some full tillage. I have had a later start to fall tillage, and it has been delayed even more by the rain today. Once it drys up enough to get back to plowing, we should be able to get caught up in about a week. After we get the NH3 bar done, I will begin to putting down the nitrogen for next years corn.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, September 24, 2012
2012 Corn Harvest is well on its way!
Sorry I haven't been keeping up on here. Corn harvest has started a couple weeks ago. Since we has later planted corn, our harvest started a little later then most around here. We are probably just under 50% done, and are now waiting for later planted corn to dry down. Yields have been right in line with what we have expected for an average. We had some fields do better then we thought. I felt that we did an excellent job matching hybrids to soil types this year. Even with the drought we could see that the corn "liked" the soil it was on.
It took a few more days and parts then I expected, but I got the new to us Caterpillar 8 row corn head on the the new to us John Deere 9600. Together they are a pretty sweet set up. The Cat does leave a few things to be desired, but all in all a nice setup. I was able to run 5mph and unload on the go, which allowed us to increase our harvested acres per day by over 100% over the 7700. I'm very happy with the combine, only one little break down so far, and that was operator error. I do wish it had a larger hopper, but I may just be used to the 7700 :)
I will be sure to have some harvest pics on here before too long.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Getting ready for fall!
As anticipated because of the drought, and early planting harvest is way early this ear. I took a ride with a friend as he was picking corn on 8/14. Yields were better then I expected, and moisture was 18%. I would say that I'm about 2-3 weeks away from starting. I'm just hoping it don't all get ready at one and start dropping moisture quick. It will be interesting to see how the corn does, some fields I think will surprise us.
In the Shop. I have been working on the combine. I'm about to put cylinder bars on the 9600 and do a few other things with it. The 7700 for the most part is ready to go. Been trying to get the shredder serviced and put a few parts on it. Grain truck is serviced and inspected ready to go. Once I get the combines finished I shouldn't have too much to do in the shop.
In the field. Once the shredder is put back together I will be doing some road ditches for the last time this year. I have a couple grass patches for a landlord that I will get cut, then off to mow 50 acres of CREP before harvest for dad. It will be nice to get stuff caught up so I can go straight in to harvest and not have to worry about doing other stuff.
Just looking forward to fall, hope it will be a quick stress free harvest. Looking forward to getting this drought year behind us, and ready for next year. Have a safe harvest!
Peter Jarzen
In the Shop. I have been working on the combine. I'm about to put cylinder bars on the 9600 and do a few other things with it. The 7700 for the most part is ready to go. Been trying to get the shredder serviced and put a few parts on it. Grain truck is serviced and inspected ready to go. Once I get the combines finished I shouldn't have too much to do in the shop.
In the field. Once the shredder is put back together I will be doing some road ditches for the last time this year. I have a couple grass patches for a landlord that I will get cut, then off to mow 50 acres of CREP before harvest for dad. It will be nice to get stuff caught up so I can go straight in to harvest and not have to worry about doing other stuff.
Just looking forward to fall, hope it will be a quick stress free harvest. Looking forward to getting this drought year behind us, and ready for next year. Have a safe harvest!
Peter Jarzen
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Summer time on the farm
Well its officially summer, sorry I haven't had time to post any planing pics. I will get them on here soon. To summarize 2012 planting season I would say "interesting" sums it up pretty well. With switching the new planter from a finger pickup to a vacuum planter, it brought long some unexpected hiccups. All in all I am very impressed with the system. I was able to planter 5mph or faster all spring and still have a uniform stand. The planter itself has more issues then the vac system. As it is with most planters. The 1 year you have it, normally gives you the most trouble. It took about half the planting season, and 3 set of row cleaners to finally get it worked out. All in all I am very happy with the planter. There is a chance I will upgrade to something different for next year, but that is because our needs have changed for 2013.
In the field. The corn is coming along surprisingly, considering the lack of rain. I was walking our first planted field my the shop this evening, and we are probably 1 week for tasseling. There has been tasseling corn in our area for a few weeks now, but that doesn't concern us too much. I feel we have somewhat of a better chance of getting some crucial rains during tasseling. The stuff that is tasseling now, my not have as much moisture as it may need for a successful pollination. Its going to be an interesting harvest this year. I can't help but wonder what our corn yields will be. I know some areas of the US they are in a lot worse shape then us. I think that we will be in a simmer situation as last year. Not much we can do now, just pray for rain.
In shop. With as hot as its been the last few weeks shop work has slowed down some. I have been getting the combines ready for an inspection. I will have a friend look over the combines really well. He knows much more about these machines then me. He will be able to look at belts, augers, wear spots, etc. This will tell me what I need to fix, replace, or keep an eye on during harvest. I'm just trying to get everything set up for as little down time as possible. To help smooth things out for fall, I have purchased a grain cart. Its just a small 500 bu John Deere 500 cart, but I got a pretty good deal on it. I plan to paint it up for this fall, it will be pulled with the John Deere 4630. Using the cart should mean that the combines shouldn't have to stop as much, as long as I can find an operator to run it and then we can unload on the go.
I will get some Pics on here soon of planting, and a few of custom baling. I appreciate all those who read, feel free to ask questions.
Peter Jarzen
In the field. The corn is coming along surprisingly, considering the lack of rain. I was walking our first planted field my the shop this evening, and we are probably 1 week for tasseling. There has been tasseling corn in our area for a few weeks now, but that doesn't concern us too much. I feel we have somewhat of a better chance of getting some crucial rains during tasseling. The stuff that is tasseling now, my not have as much moisture as it may need for a successful pollination. Its going to be an interesting harvest this year. I can't help but wonder what our corn yields will be. I know some areas of the US they are in a lot worse shape then us. I think that we will be in a simmer situation as last year. Not much we can do now, just pray for rain.
In shop. With as hot as its been the last few weeks shop work has slowed down some. I have been getting the combines ready for an inspection. I will have a friend look over the combines really well. He knows much more about these machines then me. He will be able to look at belts, augers, wear spots, etc. This will tell me what I need to fix, replace, or keep an eye on during harvest. I'm just trying to get everything set up for as little down time as possible. To help smooth things out for fall, I have purchased a grain cart. Its just a small 500 bu John Deere 500 cart, but I got a pretty good deal on it. I plan to paint it up for this fall, it will be pulled with the John Deere 4630. Using the cart should mean that the combines shouldn't have to stop as much, as long as I can find an operator to run it and then we can unload on the go.
I will get some Pics on here soon of planting, and a few of custom baling. I appreciate all those who read, feel free to ask questions.
Peter Jarzen
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Big Changes for 2012
Again, I'm sorry I didn't get around to posing updates like I said I would. There is so much going on, I almost forgot that I even had a blog for the farm. There has been so many changes for the farm this year, that I don't even know where to start. I guess the best place to start would be with how we have grow. Last year we were farming just 100 acres for corn and soybeans. This year with with help a few leases and my first purchase for ground we are farming right under 500 acres. It is very exciting being able to grow that much. With the new acres, came looking at new ideas for the farm. We decided that this would be the year for some big changes on the far.
I would say that the biggest change on the farm, is what we grow. This year is the first year that we will only be a corn producer. In the last 2 years that I farmed I had always grown at least 50% soybeans. I have always had good luck growing soybeans, and have always had good yields from them. That's great and all, but I had a hard time making them show a better profit then corn. I grew an awesome bean crop last year, my corn was not all that great. I marked my beans probably in the top 10% last year, by corn was probably not in the top 40%. With all that said and done, my corn netted much higher then my beans. I'm not saying this is true for every year, but for 2012 we will only be growing corn.
With the extra acres, came the need for bigger equipment. I have been lucky to find some great deals on a few big dollar pieces of equipment that were exactly what I as looking for. For this spring I now have a 12 row John Deere 1770 corn planter. I will be pulling with with my new to me John Deere 4630 tractor, that I bought off a really good friend. I had been looking for a tractor since December, and finally last week I said enough is enough and was able to purchase this tractor just in time for spring. I have also added a John Deere 9600 combine, that I will have a 8 row Caterpillar corn head on. It won't exactly look right, but I think it will be a really nice setup. I was able to get the Caterpillar corn head much cheaper then a same age Deere corn head. We will see how it does this year, but I think it will do great. I have also purchased my first striptill bar. I have been striptilling 100% of my ground since 2011. To me it made the most economical since to bring my cost down by doing the stirptilling myself. I have to change a few things on it, but it should be a fun summer project.
For right now we have been really pushing to get the planter ready for spring. We are changing the 1770 planter from a finger pickup, to Vsets. I was a little overwhelmed on how difficult this project would be at the beginning. Luckily with the help of a few friends it has been a ton of fun. I plan to have the planter and tractor ready to go by April 1st. Lots of guys around us are planting corn, I can't get all that excited. With seed corn in as tight of a supply as it is, I don't plan to plant until I know its time.
Thanks for reading, I will try my best to post some pics of the new equipment on here some time. I will make sure I get some pics of the planter transformation posted once the project is complete.
Peter Jarzen
I would say that the biggest change on the farm, is what we grow. This year is the first year that we will only be a corn producer. In the last 2 years that I farmed I had always grown at least 50% soybeans. I have always had good luck growing soybeans, and have always had good yields from them. That's great and all, but I had a hard time making them show a better profit then corn. I grew an awesome bean crop last year, my corn was not all that great. I marked my beans probably in the top 10% last year, by corn was probably not in the top 40%. With all that said and done, my corn netted much higher then my beans. I'm not saying this is true for every year, but for 2012 we will only be growing corn.
With the extra acres, came the need for bigger equipment. I have been lucky to find some great deals on a few big dollar pieces of equipment that were exactly what I as looking for. For this spring I now have a 12 row John Deere 1770 corn planter. I will be pulling with with my new to me John Deere 4630 tractor, that I bought off a really good friend. I had been looking for a tractor since December, and finally last week I said enough is enough and was able to purchase this tractor just in time for spring. I have also added a John Deere 9600 combine, that I will have a 8 row Caterpillar corn head on. It won't exactly look right, but I think it will be a really nice setup. I was able to get the Caterpillar corn head much cheaper then a same age Deere corn head. We will see how it does this year, but I think it will do great. I have also purchased my first striptill bar. I have been striptilling 100% of my ground since 2011. To me it made the most economical since to bring my cost down by doing the stirptilling myself. I have to change a few things on it, but it should be a fun summer project.
For right now we have been really pushing to get the planter ready for spring. We are changing the 1770 planter from a finger pickup, to Vsets. I was a little overwhelmed on how difficult this project would be at the beginning. Luckily with the help of a few friends it has been a ton of fun. I plan to have the planter and tractor ready to go by April 1st. Lots of guys around us are planting corn, I can't get all that excited. With seed corn in as tight of a supply as it is, I don't plan to plant until I know its time.
Thanks for reading, I will try my best to post some pics of the new equipment on here some time. I will make sure I get some pics of the planter transformation posted once the project is complete.
Peter Jarzen
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