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
Sunday, June 24, 2012
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
Friday, December 16, 2011
Saying goodbye to 2011
First off I would like to wish everyone a marry Christmas. As we look back on 2011 how stress full of a year we all had with weather. Its a good time to remember how thankful we all should be. This most likely will be my last post for 2011. One of my new years resolutions will be to keep this blog more up to date. I appreciate all those who read the blog in 2011, and I hope you continue in 2012.
We have had a few changes on the farm the last month. We have decided to branch out in to custom hay production. Last week I purchased a John Deere 510 hay baler. I will have some time this winter to replace a few belts and chains. I look forward to using it in 2012. At this point we are shopping for a hay mower. We are leaning toward getting a self propelled haybine. With my limited about of time in the summer, I think it should speed up the cutting. I have a little hay ground that I will bale to sell the hay. I have also talked to a few friends and neighbors about doing some custom baling for them. With how hard it is for a young farmer to find farm ground, I think this will be a good way to "get my foot in the door" and get my name out there.
Also on the farm, we have been getting the shop organized for the winter. We are just moving equipment out off the way that won't be used till fall. We have some work that need to be done on the spring equipment, but for the most part its ready to go.
I have been working on getting more seed sales for Channel seed the last month. I even ran an ad on a local radio station. I have sold some to a a few friends and neighbors, but I am looking to improve my sales next year. Along with seed sales, I am in the beginning stage of possibly selling some equipment also at my shop. I have always wanted to sell used equipment, so I think selling for a few farm implement manufactures would also be a fun opportunity for me. I will be finding out in the next week more details. I will make a special post on here if I get to sell for the companies.
I will be be building a few workbenches for the shop in the next week. It has been long overdue, hopefully I won't have to work on stuff on the ground anymore. I also will be building a few storage shelfs so we can keep all the odds and ends (paint, oil, bolts, cleaners, etc.) off the ground and easy to find. As of now we will be pouring concrete for the shop after planting next spring. At that time I will finish off the shop area by putting in insulation and finishing the wall. I will also be putting in a small office which will be nice for seed and equipment sales.
I also would like to announce that in 2012 we plan to launch a website for Jarzen Farms. I plan to use this as a way to keep people more up to date on the farms activities. I will post pictures and videos of the farm on it. I don't have a set date to get the website launched, but it will be in 2012.
Again, thanks for reading
Marry Christmas!
Peter Jarzen
We have had a few changes on the farm the last month. We have decided to branch out in to custom hay production. Last week I purchased a John Deere 510 hay baler. I will have some time this winter to replace a few belts and chains. I look forward to using it in 2012. At this point we are shopping for a hay mower. We are leaning toward getting a self propelled haybine. With my limited about of time in the summer, I think it should speed up the cutting. I have a little hay ground that I will bale to sell the hay. I have also talked to a few friends and neighbors about doing some custom baling for them. With how hard it is for a young farmer to find farm ground, I think this will be a good way to "get my foot in the door" and get my name out there.
Also on the farm, we have been getting the shop organized for the winter. We are just moving equipment out off the way that won't be used till fall. We have some work that need to be done on the spring equipment, but for the most part its ready to go.
I have been working on getting more seed sales for Channel seed the last month. I even ran an ad on a local radio station. I have sold some to a a few friends and neighbors, but I am looking to improve my sales next year. Along with seed sales, I am in the beginning stage of possibly selling some equipment also at my shop. I have always wanted to sell used equipment, so I think selling for a few farm implement manufactures would also be a fun opportunity for me. I will be finding out in the next week more details. I will make a special post on here if I get to sell for the companies.
I will be be building a few workbenches for the shop in the next week. It has been long overdue, hopefully I won't have to work on stuff on the ground anymore. I also will be building a few storage shelfs so we can keep all the odds and ends (paint, oil, bolts, cleaners, etc.) off the ground and easy to find. As of now we will be pouring concrete for the shop after planting next spring. At that time I will finish off the shop area by putting in insulation and finishing the wall. I will also be putting in a small office which will be nice for seed and equipment sales.
I also would like to announce that in 2012 we plan to launch a website for Jarzen Farms. I plan to use this as a way to keep people more up to date on the farms activities. I will post pictures and videos of the farm on it. I don't have a set date to get the website launched, but it will be in 2012.
Again, thanks for reading
Marry Christmas!
Peter Jarzen
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Harvest is done!
I know it has been a long time since I posted on here. It seems like I just keep forgetting to post something. Well I'm posting now, and that's all that matters! :)
Well we finished corn a soybeans a few weeks ago. The corn didn't do all that great, but it did better then I though it would. I don't know what happened. I question if my co-op didn't spray the corn or if the chemicals they used didn't work. I had some really weedy corn this year. Some areas were better then others, but I found 20 acres that was so weedy, I couldn't even see the snoots on my corn head. I do feel blessed though. For how dry and hot of a summer we had, I sill was able to pay down on my bills. My soybeans did really well this year. I had 5 variates in my bean plot, I don't think I had a number do less then 65. My highest was Channel 3701 and it made 70.7! From this wet spring I was really able to see where I need to put some tile in on my new farm where I put up the shop. My total yield was less then any of my numbers, but not much. Had that farm been tiled, it should have been over 65.
Since my last post, obviously Morton finished my shed. I got everything moved in over the summer. I ran electricity, but that it. I hope that next summer I can pour concrete in a 1/3 of it for a shop. That would sure be nicer then working on the gravel all the time. I do appreciate having gravel, it is a lot better then just working on dirt! I don't know if I will ever get around to it next year, but I would like to run water to the shed. I bought a sprayer over the summer, and it would be convenient to just fill it up at the shop and go spray. The sprayer I bought is a 220 spa-coup. It needs some work, but I got it cheap enough that I can afford to put some time and money in it and get a nice sprayer.
Right now I have been getting everything put up in the shed for the winter. I have also been shredding around the edge of my fields, trying to get it all cleaned up. After I get done shredding, I will keep working on cutting back the overgrown timber from the edge of the field. You can tell the farm had been neglected until I got it. It takes a lot of time, but I bet all the way around the field I can easily cut back 10' of over grown timer from the field. This will let me plant that much more, and hopefully have less shade and root pressure on my crops. I have been saving all the wood that I can when I cut back the trees, I hope that by next year I can sell it to people for fire wood because I will have a ton of it!
Well that's it for now, I will try to get a post on here soon with some pics from this years harvest.
Thanks for reading!
Peter Jarzen
Well we finished corn a soybeans a few weeks ago. The corn didn't do all that great, but it did better then I though it would. I don't know what happened. I question if my co-op didn't spray the corn or if the chemicals they used didn't work. I had some really weedy corn this year. Some areas were better then others, but I found 20 acres that was so weedy, I couldn't even see the snoots on my corn head. I do feel blessed though. For how dry and hot of a summer we had, I sill was able to pay down on my bills. My soybeans did really well this year. I had 5 variates in my bean plot, I don't think I had a number do less then 65. My highest was Channel 3701 and it made 70.7! From this wet spring I was really able to see where I need to put some tile in on my new farm where I put up the shop. My total yield was less then any of my numbers, but not much. Had that farm been tiled, it should have been over 65.
Since my last post, obviously Morton finished my shed. I got everything moved in over the summer. I ran electricity, but that it. I hope that next summer I can pour concrete in a 1/3 of it for a shop. That would sure be nicer then working on the gravel all the time. I do appreciate having gravel, it is a lot better then just working on dirt! I don't know if I will ever get around to it next year, but I would like to run water to the shed. I bought a sprayer over the summer, and it would be convenient to just fill it up at the shop and go spray. The sprayer I bought is a 220 spa-coup. It needs some work, but I got it cheap enough that I can afford to put some time and money in it and get a nice sprayer.
Right now I have been getting everything put up in the shed for the winter. I have also been shredding around the edge of my fields, trying to get it all cleaned up. After I get done shredding, I will keep working on cutting back the overgrown timber from the edge of the field. You can tell the farm had been neglected until I got it. It takes a lot of time, but I bet all the way around the field I can easily cut back 10' of over grown timer from the field. This will let me plant that much more, and hopefully have less shade and root pressure on my crops. I have been saving all the wood that I can when I cut back the trees, I hope that by next year I can sell it to people for fire wood because I will have a ton of it!
Well that's it for now, I will try to get a post on here soon with some pics from this years harvest.
Thanks for reading!
Peter Jarzen
Thursday, June 2, 2011
They started on the shed!
Well yesterday, June 1 they started on the shed. I am really glad they finally go going on it. When we agreed to purchase the shed back in February, they said it should be done by the end of May. They are a little behind, but they say that it should be done in about a week. I won't hold my breath especially with all the rain we got last night, but I think they can do it.
Here are a few pics of what they got done yesterday.
The beans got a little hail damage last week, but I don't think it will hurt them much. They are getting taller!
That's it for now, I will get some more pics up here tomorrow.
Here are a few pics of what they got done yesterday.
The beans got a little hail damage last week, but I don't think it will hurt them much. They are getting taller!
That's it for now, I will get some more pics up here tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Planting is done!
This past week as been busier then heck! I got started on planting corn late Friday night. I didn't quit till 3 in the morning. When I quit I found out my planter was not working right. The day after I found out that the planter was not working right, I went a borrowed a friends tractor and planter to finish planting. I spent all day Saturday planting corn and Sunday morning. I really really really hope it comes up good. I think it will, but with it being my first corn crop I don't know what to expect. The stuff from Friday night, I will have to wait for it to come up then I can go back with a small planter and spot in the stuff that didn't get planted.
I got the soybeans in today. I borrowed the same friends tractor and planter again and got them in. I probably started planting around 9 or so and I finished around 2. Beans went really smooth. That was my fist time planting on good flat ground, and what a difference it was from my corn ground where it seems like everything is on a hill and you are always turning around on steep hills. I also put in a soybean test plot for Channel seed. I have 5 different varieties in it, and I will be really neat to see how each does on my farm.
While I was planting. Morton Buildings brought in 2 semi trucks with the shed materials on it. It was pretty neat to watch them unload with the forklift on the back of the semi.
Here are a few pics of planting soybeans and the building materials.
All in all, planting started off really rough but ended fast and smooth. I am glad I had good friends who were able to lend me their tractor and planter. I can't thank them enough!
I got the soybeans in today. I borrowed the same friends tractor and planter again and got them in. I probably started planting around 9 or so and I finished around 2. Beans went really smooth. That was my fist time planting on good flat ground, and what a difference it was from my corn ground where it seems like everything is on a hill and you are always turning around on steep hills. I also put in a soybean test plot for Channel seed. I have 5 different varieties in it, and I will be really neat to see how each does on my farm.
While I was planting. Morton Buildings brought in 2 semi trucks with the shed materials on it. It was pretty neat to watch them unload with the forklift on the back of the semi.
Here are a few pics of planting soybeans and the building materials.
All in all, planting started off really rough but ended fast and smooth. I am glad I had good friends who were able to lend me their tractor and planter. I can't thank them enough!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Its May already and we don't have a single seed planted!
Well Its May already and the tractor and planter are sitting, waiting for the ground to dry up a little so we get get going!
Since my last post (which was a little longer then I intended) I have 100% finished up the planter. It look a lot longer then I expected, not because it was really hard work, but because I had trouble getting all the right parts from my parts dealer. It seemed like I would spend a week waiting on one part to only find out he ordered the wrong part and then I had to wait another week. I finally got it done and it is ready to go. Here are a few pics of the finished product.
The shed is getting closer and closer to being built. The date for the delivery of the materials will be Wednesday May, 4. Once the materials are delivered they should get started building it with in a few weeks after. We had a nice day last week "not dry enough to plant though" so we decided to put in part of the driveway. I have included photos of us installing the drive way. The first step to put down the driveway fabric. This gives the gravel a base to pack against and not to seep in to the ground making potholes and bare spots. We only put in part of the driveway so the truck can pull in to deliver the shed materials. When the shed is done we will finish the driveway, when we know exactly how much room we will need.
Well that's it for now. I will get some pics later this week of the building materials.
Thanks for reading!
Since my last post (which was a little longer then I intended) I have 100% finished up the planter. It look a lot longer then I expected, not because it was really hard work, but because I had trouble getting all the right parts from my parts dealer. It seemed like I would spend a week waiting on one part to only find out he ordered the wrong part and then I had to wait another week. I finally got it done and it is ready to go. Here are a few pics of the finished product.
The shed is getting closer and closer to being built. The date for the delivery of the materials will be Wednesday May, 4. Once the materials are delivered they should get started building it with in a few weeks after. We had a nice day last week "not dry enough to plant though" so we decided to put in part of the driveway. I have included photos of us installing the drive way. The first step to put down the driveway fabric. This gives the gravel a base to pack against and not to seep in to the ground making potholes and bare spots. We only put in part of the driveway so the truck can pull in to deliver the shed materials. When the shed is done we will finish the driveway, when we know exactly how much room we will need.
Well that's it for now. I will get some pics later this week of the building materials.
Thanks for reading!
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