Wow, is it warm outside! -- 66 degrees in Des Moines, Iowa on January 5th -- and no big cold snap likely for at least the next two weeks. I do not like winter; I detest cold weather; my blood turns to sludge at temperatures under 70. Do you get the picture - I am not a winter person, so a year without winter, in Iowa, is almost heaven. Now, don't get me wrong. I can deal with winter okay, I drive in snow just fine, I have cared for cows and hogs through nasty winter weather. I did the winter Klondike Derby with my boys when they were in Boy Scouts and we camped out at 20 below temperatures. But I prefer warm.
October 2011 in Iowa was nearly ideal harvest weather - warm and dry and I finished harvest amazingly early. The nice weather persisted into November and allowed me to get some sorely needed dirt work done with the bulldozer. I was able to fix some gullies that had begun to develop as a result of the extraordinarily heavy rains of 2010 and 2011. And I thought I was done for the year. But now it is teasingly like Spring. I spent some time during late December rebuilding an anhydrous ammonia fertilizer applicator that I bought at a sale. It was quite comfortable working in the shed -- the sun shining on the steel, warmed the shed and made for nice working conditions, especially since I was working with bare hands on steel. (That can be quite miserable if the steel is cold and my fingers are frozen.)
But today it is warm -- and I am enjoying it. The commodity markets are beginning to fret a bit over excessive heat and dryness in Argentina, and there is already talk of it being quite dry in the northwest part of the cornbelt. But those concerns are not my concerns today. Today, I will bask in the warmth (yes I said warmth) of an Iowa winter day when there is no winter.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A Time of Thanksgiving
It's November. Harvest is behind me. The weather during October was terrific and for me harvest went very fast -- I was finished on October 8th. Wow!. Yields were good on soybeans, but just so-so for the corn. In fact, I was a bit disappointed in the corn yield. It looked better than it turned out. In Texas there is a saying, "All hat and no cows." For me, that would be modified to, "All stalk and no corn." But, I don't want to complain too much because 2011 will turn out to be the best year (financially) that I have had farming. High prices overcome a lot of other issues.
As, I mentioned earlier, October weather was terrific harvest weather - warm and dry. It has allowed my to get anhydrous ammonia (nitrogen fertilizer) applied for next year's corn crop. I have done some bulldozer work, repairing the grassed waterways and fixing some gullies that were starting to develop on a few hillsides. We dug out some large rocks that had worked their way up to the surface in a few fields and my son, Brent, has spent a few Saturdays picking up rocks from fields. In addition, it has been beautiful weather for doing some machinery repairs and other maintenance work.
And now it is November - a time of Thanksgiving. I like the Thanksgiving holiday. It is probably my favorite holiday. It is a time of family gathering. It is a time for remembering from whence comes all good things. It is a time for recognizing that I am extremely blessed to live in a free land where I can pursue my dreams and succeed according to my abilities and willingness to pursue those dreams.
I like Fall colors. I like the the reds and yellows and browns and oranges of the trees. But, I get a bit sad when the wind blows and the leaves fall from the trees and the colors fade. I am not a fan of winter. And the leaves falling from the trees is a sure sign that winter is nigh at hand. I believe in evolution, and somewhere in my genetic past is a bear, because I sure have an urge to hibernate through the winter.
But for now, it is November, and as Thanksgiving approaches, I give thanks for all that I have -- and save me a turkey leg and a piece of pie!!!
As, I mentioned earlier, October weather was terrific harvest weather - warm and dry. It has allowed my to get anhydrous ammonia (nitrogen fertilizer) applied for next year's corn crop. I have done some bulldozer work, repairing the grassed waterways and fixing some gullies that were starting to develop on a few hillsides. We dug out some large rocks that had worked their way up to the surface in a few fields and my son, Brent, has spent a few Saturdays picking up rocks from fields. In addition, it has been beautiful weather for doing some machinery repairs and other maintenance work.
And now it is November - a time of Thanksgiving. I like the Thanksgiving holiday. It is probably my favorite holiday. It is a time of family gathering. It is a time for remembering from whence comes all good things. It is a time for recognizing that I am extremely blessed to live in a free land where I can pursue my dreams and succeed according to my abilities and willingness to pursue those dreams.
I like Fall colors. I like the the reds and yellows and browns and oranges of the trees. But, I get a bit sad when the wind blows and the leaves fall from the trees and the colors fade. I am not a fan of winter. And the leaves falling from the trees is a sure sign that winter is nigh at hand. I believe in evolution, and somewhere in my genetic past is a bear, because I sure have an urge to hibernate through the winter.
But for now, it is November, and as Thanksgiving approaches, I give thanks for all that I have -- and save me a turkey leg and a piece of pie!!!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold.
I love auctions. And, I hate auctions. I attended several auctions lately. One was an estate sale with farm equipment and several parcels of farm land. The equipment was nothing special, although I was interested in a corn planter that was on the sale. It needed a fair amount of work, so I did not even bid on it. The real estate sale was interesting. A family member was there and made quite a scene and was very intimidating to the other bidders. Let's just say that the final bid prices were not reflective of the land values of the area, but what is the value of farm land when the winning bidder might fear for ones safety if they actually bid what the land was worth. I like bargains, but not at any price, especially when dealing with a person who may be a bit unstable.
On Labor Day, I attended the annual Chariton Farm Equipment auction in Chariton, Iowa. It is a rather large consignment auction that attracts a fairly large crowd from the local area and machinery jockeys from surrounding states. I consigned two pieces of equipment to the sale -- an International grain header and an 8-row Deutz corn planter. I was pleased with the outcome of the sale, as the equipment brought in total about what I was expecting -- just not the way I thought it would. The grain header sold for $1,250 and I thought it would bring about $500 since the cross auger in it was damaged. The corn planter brought $900, and I thought it would bring about $1,500. So, I expected to get about $2,000 and I actually got $2,150. Not a bad day.
But it is an auction, and I did some bidding as well. I ended up buying a 1983 Wilson Hopper Trailer for grain hauling. I think I got a bargain. It seems in pretty good shape structurally, and the tires and brakes are good. The roll tarp needs some repairs, but Brent and I have already done some of those repairs. I don't know that I need a semi truck to haul what grain I have. But at the price I paid, even if I only use it as a "big wagon" it is cheaper than buying 1,000 bushels of capacity. But it will be handier than a couple more wagons.
But auctions take time. Lots of time for the Chariton auction. It actually is a 2-day sale, although I only attend the second day of it. Even so, it starts at 8 am and runs to nearly 6 pm or later. That is a lot of time to stand around while waiting for a particular piece of equipment to sell. And bidding on used equipment is a crap shoot. You really do not know exactly what shape the equipment is in and there almost always are surprises. But I must say that I think I have been generally pleased with the used equipment that I have purchased at sales.
Acquiring used equipment through auctions and sales is not just a way of life for a Lucas County Land Baron, it is a necessity. Small scale row crop farmers cannot afford to have brand new equipment -- the depreciation costs are just too high to justify. But using used equipment carries a cost -- it comes with a high cost of frustration and aggravation as it often breaks down more than new equipment and the rusty bolts are a real pain to break loose. But I have more psychological capital than I do cash capital, so I make do. But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the adventures of farming in Lucas County Iowa. I would not trade the time on the tractor and the joys of seeing a crop growing for either more free time or less frustrations. I guess once one gets "being a farmer" in their blood, it is very hard to get it out.
On Labor Day, I attended the annual Chariton Farm Equipment auction in Chariton, Iowa. It is a rather large consignment auction that attracts a fairly large crowd from the local area and machinery jockeys from surrounding states. I consigned two pieces of equipment to the sale -- an International grain header and an 8-row Deutz corn planter. I was pleased with the outcome of the sale, as the equipment brought in total about what I was expecting -- just not the way I thought it would. The grain header sold for $1,250 and I thought it would bring about $500 since the cross auger in it was damaged. The corn planter brought $900, and I thought it would bring about $1,500. So, I expected to get about $2,000 and I actually got $2,150. Not a bad day.
But it is an auction, and I did some bidding as well. I ended up buying a 1983 Wilson Hopper Trailer for grain hauling. I think I got a bargain. It seems in pretty good shape structurally, and the tires and brakes are good. The roll tarp needs some repairs, but Brent and I have already done some of those repairs. I don't know that I need a semi truck to haul what grain I have. But at the price I paid, even if I only use it as a "big wagon" it is cheaper than buying 1,000 bushels of capacity. But it will be handier than a couple more wagons.
But auctions take time. Lots of time for the Chariton auction. It actually is a 2-day sale, although I only attend the second day of it. Even so, it starts at 8 am and runs to nearly 6 pm or later. That is a lot of time to stand around while waiting for a particular piece of equipment to sell. And bidding on used equipment is a crap shoot. You really do not know exactly what shape the equipment is in and there almost always are surprises. But I must say that I think I have been generally pleased with the used equipment that I have purchased at sales.
Acquiring used equipment through auctions and sales is not just a way of life for a Lucas County Land Baron, it is a necessity. Small scale row crop farmers cannot afford to have brand new equipment -- the depreciation costs are just too high to justify. But using used equipment carries a cost -- it comes with a high cost of frustration and aggravation as it often breaks down more than new equipment and the rusty bolts are a real pain to break loose. But I have more psychological capital than I do cash capital, so I make do. But don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the adventures of farming in Lucas County Iowa. I would not trade the time on the tractor and the joys of seeing a crop growing for either more free time or less frustrations. I guess once one gets "being a farmer" in their blood, it is very hard to get it out.
Friday, August 19, 2011
How high is high enough?
Corn and soybean prices are terrific this year. Corn prices traded near $8 per bushel earlier this year and harvest prices for this year are the highest I have ever seen. Soybean prices touched $15 earlier this year and are still above $13. It is a great year to be a corn and soybean farmer in Iowa. But, how high is high enough? This is a great problem to ponder, but it is also the source of angst. The current crop fundamentals -- supply and demand balances -- suggest that crop prices could go higher this winter. And, I would like to capture those higher prices. But, I also know that "stuff happens" and these high prices could disappear in very short order if world economic conditions continue to deteriorate. Where is the correct balance between desires for prosperity (greed), horrible hindsight (disappointment at missing market opportunities), and personal serenity.
Now, to set the stage, I have already priced some corn and soybeans for harvest time delivery -- the corn a couple dollars lower, and the soybeans about 50 cents higher than they are now. But there is more to sell and I do grow the crops for the purpose of selling them. But the corn sales I have already made are a reminder that hastiness can be the cause of future angst (worrying about the money left on the table), but they are also a reminder that I have a sound financial base for this crop year and nearly no matter what I do in marketing the rest of this year's crop, it is going to be a very good year (smug satisfaction).
Now, don't get me wrong -- this is one of the "great" problems to have. Deciding how much profit one will lock in is so much better than worrying about whether or not the proceeds from this year's crop will pay the bills. But it is the problem I face and it is one that most farmers face nearly every day. And no matter what one does, it will be wrong! Even if I sell at the top of the market, I surely will not have sold enough of NEXT year's crop, so the dilemma is a never ending story that goes on and on.
Now, to set the stage, I have already priced some corn and soybeans for harvest time delivery -- the corn a couple dollars lower, and the soybeans about 50 cents higher than they are now. But there is more to sell and I do grow the crops for the purpose of selling them. But the corn sales I have already made are a reminder that hastiness can be the cause of future angst (worrying about the money left on the table), but they are also a reminder that I have a sound financial base for this crop year and nearly no matter what I do in marketing the rest of this year's crop, it is going to be a very good year (smug satisfaction).
Now, don't get me wrong -- this is one of the "great" problems to have. Deciding how much profit one will lock in is so much better than worrying about whether or not the proceeds from this year's crop will pay the bills. But it is the problem I face and it is one that most farmers face nearly every day. And no matter what one does, it will be wrong! Even if I sell at the top of the market, I surely will not have sold enough of NEXT year's crop, so the dilemma is a never ending story that goes on and on.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Green But Dry
July has been a very dry month for the Miller Farms in Lucas, Iowa. The farm received about 1/2 an inch of rain in early July and two "dust settlers" since then for a total of about 3/4 of an inch for the month. Surprisingly, the grass is still green and the crops look good. But, stress is beginning to show in the corn with the lower third of some of the stalks now "fired" or turning brown. There are big cracks beginning to emerge in some of the pastures and fields. I noticed some large enough that my whole hand can fit into the cracks in the ground.
Last Saturday, Mother Nature was teasing us with rain. There were some pretty dark storm clouds just to the southeast of the farm, and the radar was hinting that we might get a good soaking -- but that was not to be. About 6 pm, we did get a brief cloudburst that dropped about 3 tenths of an inch of rain, but it was not enough to even stop up from running the rotary mower in the CRP fields where we were clipping the weeds on the grass seedings. It was a bit frustrating since I could see the rain falling a mile or so to the east of the farm. I found out later that a farm just two miles east of mine received almost 3 inches of rain that night. My crops sure could have used an inch or two. But, as I said earlier, I should not complain too much since the crops still have a lot of potential and are in good shape as of the end of July.
Friday night was a bit frustrating. After work I went down to the farm and started the evening by putting a new set of bearings in the wheels of the rotary cutter. It was quite hot outside, and after about 2 hours of work, my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I headed out to the fields to continue clipping the CRP plantings and mowing down the weeds that are growing up in the new grass seedings. Mowing was going well, although the airconditioning in the tractor cab felt quite cold with the wet shirt I was wearing. About 11 pm, the main gearbox of the rotary cutter blew apart. So that was the end of mowing that night. On Saturday, we spent about 4 hours taking the gearbox off the cutter and taking the gearbox apart. It appears that a retaining nut had come off the main input shaft into the gearbox and that allowed it to come apart. Unfortunately, the input shaft appears to be damaged as well as the PTO shaft tubing was bent. It will probably take $750 to repair the gearbox and the PTO shaft..
There are about 55 acres that still need to be clipped so, we used a smaller, 6ft rotary cutter to keep on clipping the CRP ground on Saturday. We did about 15 acres and have about 40 acres to go. The smaller cutter does a very nice job of clipping the CRP ground, but we can only cover about 3 acres per hour with it so it takes a lot longer than when we use the 14ft cutter.
Saturday afternoon, I also did some bulldozing, cleaning out some drainage ditches and waterways. With the ground as dry as it is, I can run over some areas taht are normally too wet even for a bulldozer to run across.
Last Saturday, Mother Nature was teasing us with rain. There were some pretty dark storm clouds just to the southeast of the farm, and the radar was hinting that we might get a good soaking -- but that was not to be. About 6 pm, we did get a brief cloudburst that dropped about 3 tenths of an inch of rain, but it was not enough to even stop up from running the rotary mower in the CRP fields where we were clipping the weeds on the grass seedings. It was a bit frustrating since I could see the rain falling a mile or so to the east of the farm. I found out later that a farm just two miles east of mine received almost 3 inches of rain that night. My crops sure could have used an inch or two. But, as I said earlier, I should not complain too much since the crops still have a lot of potential and are in good shape as of the end of July.
Friday night was a bit frustrating. After work I went down to the farm and started the evening by putting a new set of bearings in the wheels of the rotary cutter. It was quite hot outside, and after about 2 hours of work, my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I headed out to the fields to continue clipping the CRP plantings and mowing down the weeds that are growing up in the new grass seedings. Mowing was going well, although the airconditioning in the tractor cab felt quite cold with the wet shirt I was wearing. About 11 pm, the main gearbox of the rotary cutter blew apart. So that was the end of mowing that night. On Saturday, we spent about 4 hours taking the gearbox off the cutter and taking the gearbox apart. It appears that a retaining nut had come off the main input shaft into the gearbox and that allowed it to come apart. Unfortunately, the input shaft appears to be damaged as well as the PTO shaft tubing was bent. It will probably take $750 to repair the gearbox and the PTO shaft..
There are about 55 acres that still need to be clipped so, we used a smaller, 6ft rotary cutter to keep on clipping the CRP ground on Saturday. We did about 15 acres and have about 40 acres to go. The smaller cutter does a very nice job of clipping the CRP ground, but we can only cover about 3 acres per hour with it so it takes a lot longer than when we use the 14ft cutter.
Saturday afternoon, I also did some bulldozing, cleaning out some drainage ditches and waterways. With the ground as dry as it is, I can run over some areas taht are normally too wet even for a bulldozer to run across.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Let it Grow; Let it Grow
It is the Fourth of July; with bright blue skies, sunshine and warm temperatures today. I am very glad to see some nice growing weather. Saturday, we sprayed the soybeans with the second pass of Round-Up to control weeds. Round-Up is environmentally quite benign and does an excellent job of controlling weeds and lets me grow soybeans with no-till technology. I like no-till for my rolling hills in southern Iowa. Leaving a lot of residue like corn stalks on the ground helps control erosion.
The crops are off to a good start, but June has been wet and a bit cool. We had nearly 10 inches of rain in June, nearly 200% of normal. And we are about 100 growing degree days behind. The corn and soybeans do not need 95+ temps, but a string of mid to upper 80s would be nearly ideal. I think you can actually hear the corn growing on a day like today. It is stretching upward. The old saying for a good corn crop was "knee-high by the 4th of July." But now, I like to see the corn "head-high by the 4th of July." Most of my corn is just a bit over waist high. The color is a good dark green, but too much rain could leach out the nitrogen fertilizer and turn the corn yellowish. I like it when the corn is a dark green. That is evidence that the crop is using the nutrients that we put on the field.
Brent and I worked on the bulldozer on Saturday. We put the main mud shield on the bottom of the dozer. It is a steel "pan" that weighs about 500 pounds and protects the transmission and clutch assemblies from mud and other debris that could get shoved up from underneath when pushing dirt and other things. After we got the dozer running, we did some clean up at the farmstead. There was an old chassis from a mobile home that had been setting in the yard for several years. We moved it to the junk pile and then did some re-shaping of the yard behind the grain bins so that it would be easier to mow. We also swept out the machine shed and did a few other clean-up chores. It seems there is always maintenance work to do. but it feels good to do some hard work and then see the results of one's labors.
The water has gone down in the bottom fields. I don't know how much damage the water did, but I am sure that as high as it got, it had to do some silting in the east field and probably killed out some of the new grass seeding that we did in early June. Hopefully with some hot, dry weather, the grass will come on and I will be able to see whether the $125 per acre of grass seed will take or whether it was all for nothing. It is hard to do a wetlands restoration when it keeps flooding, but it is just more evidence that putting the bottom fields into the CRP is the right thing for that ground.
The crops are off to a good start, but June has been wet and a bit cool. We had nearly 10 inches of rain in June, nearly 200% of normal. And we are about 100 growing degree days behind. The corn and soybeans do not need 95+ temps, but a string of mid to upper 80s would be nearly ideal. I think you can actually hear the corn growing on a day like today. It is stretching upward. The old saying for a good corn crop was "knee-high by the 4th of July." But now, I like to see the corn "head-high by the 4th of July." Most of my corn is just a bit over waist high. The color is a good dark green, but too much rain could leach out the nitrogen fertilizer and turn the corn yellowish. I like it when the corn is a dark green. That is evidence that the crop is using the nutrients that we put on the field.
Brent and I worked on the bulldozer on Saturday. We put the main mud shield on the bottom of the dozer. It is a steel "pan" that weighs about 500 pounds and protects the transmission and clutch assemblies from mud and other debris that could get shoved up from underneath when pushing dirt and other things. After we got the dozer running, we did some clean up at the farmstead. There was an old chassis from a mobile home that had been setting in the yard for several years. We moved it to the junk pile and then did some re-shaping of the yard behind the grain bins so that it would be easier to mow. We also swept out the machine shed and did a few other clean-up chores. It seems there is always maintenance work to do. but it feels good to do some hard work and then see the results of one's labors.
The water has gone down in the bottom fields. I don't know how much damage the water did, but I am sure that as high as it got, it had to do some silting in the east field and probably killed out some of the new grass seeding that we did in early June. Hopefully with some hot, dry weather, the grass will come on and I will be able to see whether the $125 per acre of grass seed will take or whether it was all for nothing. It is hard to do a wetlands restoration when it keeps flooding, but it is just more evidence that putting the bottom fields into the CRP is the right thing for that ground.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Rain Rain Go Away
Man it feels good to be done planting and seeding this spring. Corn and soybeans were planted in late April, early May. And after a bit of cool weather are now up and growing well. Then, I was waiting on approval of my application to enroll some land in the Conservation Reserve Program. In mid May, I received word from the USDA Farm Service Agency office that the enrollment was approved. But in the meantime, it started to rain and about 2 weeks ago we received more than 4 inches of rain.The bottom land flooded, and now it was time to wait for it to dry out before it could be worked up and seeded.
Flooded ground dries out in unevenly. It some areas it crusts over and the top inch dries out, but underneath it is very soft and mushy. Or in some cases, the top layer dries out enough for a tractor to drive over it, but it gets very sticky or gummy. And where the river overflowed on the land, there often are sand and silt deposits. These act like quicksand. They get crusty on top, but when you break through, a tractor can sink a foot or more very quickly.
But thanks to a couple 90+ degree days and some wind, the bottom fields dried out enough that I could start to work up those fields. Brent and I did about 35 acres on Saturday (June 4). And we worked up about all that was dry enough to drive across. On Monday (June 6) I disked about 40 acres and got those acres seeded. That was not without some moments, though. I was working around a wet spot and hit one of those silted/sandy spots. I sink. And the dual tires on the disk start pushing mud, making it even more of a load to try and pull out of the mud. I worked the tractor back and forth about a dozen times, and finally I got enough traction to drive out of that spot. I was sure glad I did not get stuck or have to unhitch the disk from the tractor and "chain" it out.
On Tuesday (June 7) I was able to disk the remaining 35 acres and get them seeded. The last 14 acres had several wet spots and a number of places were the soil was very sticky and would plug up the seeder with mud balls. About every other round I would have to clean at least one or two seed tubes. Not a big deal, just another hassle of dealing with ground that was not "quite fit" but I wanted to get done before the next rain came.
And the rains have come. By Wednesday night, a lot more rain was falling across Iowa. Luckily, the farm has only received about 2 inches. A few miles north of me, they had 6 to 8 inches of rain this week, and it is still raining. Fields that were looking very good, now have large ponded areas. Not good for the corn or soybeans in those fields. But I am glad to be done seeding the bottom fields. With the recent rain, it would likely be a week or two before I would get back into those fields.
Thursday morning saw another weather adventure unfold. Strong storms rolled across southern Iowa. As I was getting out of bed, the TV weather guy reported that there was a strong thunderstorm with hail at the junction of US 65 and US 34 where Whitebreast creek turns north. That's just great I thought -- that is right over my farm. Later Thursday afternoon, I went down to the farm and checked the crops. Luckily, there was no damage to the corn or soybeans from whatever hail or storms that had passed through. It is a long season ahead yet. Many more times to look at the sky and wonder what will come next.
Flooded ground dries out in unevenly. It some areas it crusts over and the top inch dries out, but underneath it is very soft and mushy. Or in some cases, the top layer dries out enough for a tractor to drive over it, but it gets very sticky or gummy. And where the river overflowed on the land, there often are sand and silt deposits. These act like quicksand. They get crusty on top, but when you break through, a tractor can sink a foot or more very quickly.
But thanks to a couple 90+ degree days and some wind, the bottom fields dried out enough that I could start to work up those fields. Brent and I did about 35 acres on Saturday (June 4). And we worked up about all that was dry enough to drive across. On Monday (June 6) I disked about 40 acres and got those acres seeded. That was not without some moments, though. I was working around a wet spot and hit one of those silted/sandy spots. I sink. And the dual tires on the disk start pushing mud, making it even more of a load to try and pull out of the mud. I worked the tractor back and forth about a dozen times, and finally I got enough traction to drive out of that spot. I was sure glad I did not get stuck or have to unhitch the disk from the tractor and "chain" it out.
On Tuesday (June 7) I was able to disk the remaining 35 acres and get them seeded. The last 14 acres had several wet spots and a number of places were the soil was very sticky and would plug up the seeder with mud balls. About every other round I would have to clean at least one or two seed tubes. Not a big deal, just another hassle of dealing with ground that was not "quite fit" but I wanted to get done before the next rain came.
And the rains have come. By Wednesday night, a lot more rain was falling across Iowa. Luckily, the farm has only received about 2 inches. A few miles north of me, they had 6 to 8 inches of rain this week, and it is still raining. Fields that were looking very good, now have large ponded areas. Not good for the corn or soybeans in those fields. But I am glad to be done seeding the bottom fields. With the recent rain, it would likely be a week or two before I would get back into those fields.
Thursday morning saw another weather adventure unfold. Strong storms rolled across southern Iowa. As I was getting out of bed, the TV weather guy reported that there was a strong thunderstorm with hail at the junction of US 65 and US 34 where Whitebreast creek turns north. That's just great I thought -- that is right over my farm. Later Thursday afternoon, I went down to the farm and checked the crops. Luckily, there was no damage to the corn or soybeans from whatever hail or storms that had passed through. It is a long season ahead yet. Many more times to look at the sky and wonder what will come next.
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