Jennifer Ewoldt, Rural Route 4 columnist
I think it’s safe to say that our drought is over. After a week of rain, we had about 10 inches at our farm over the week. Other friends nearby had between 7 and 10 inches. Our pasture creeks are running again, so we no longer have to haul water to the cows, and the grass has started greening up again, so we hopefully won’t have to haul hay to the cows on pasture soon either. It’s amazing what even the first day of rain did — things started greening up right away. Perhaps that was because all the dust was washed off the trees and pants. Looks like the boys will have to start mowing the lawn again soon too, though they probably thought they were done for the year.
The rain is too late to help the corn and soybeans really. They are already turning color and drying down, so there’s no more chance for filling in the kernels or making more bean pods. You may have noticed this if you were out driving around recently. All the corn plants are turning brown, and the soybean fields are turning yellow and brown as the leaves die and dry up. The shorter days and cooler temperatures are the signal to end the growing season — the plants know this better than we do. The hayfields are more like the grass — the alfalfa and grass there are growing again, so we should get one more cutting off the fields before the cold comes, though it won’t be much of a cutting because nothing really grew for three weeks.
Instead, we are focusing on getting ready for harvest. My oldest son has pretty much finished up with his corn head overhaul. You may remember I wrote about how he has been doing the work this year in my last column. He has done a great job, and I think I heard that the last few parts need to be put on and the job is done. I am proud of him for working so diligently on that at the end of this summer. If he keeps this up, he will be quite a good mechanic by the time he graduates.
We got the auger cart out of the shed as well, and put away some of the other equipment that we won’t use for quite a while. Everything needs to be checked over. I suppose the combine will also get its complete check over soon, and the soybean head as well. Everything needs to be inspected and checked, and greased and new filters put in before we need the machines in the fields. As you know, when the crop and the weather are right for harvest, we will need to start moving quickly and get the job done. We also need to check the grain bins and the dryer and its fans to make sure everything is ready to go this year again. At least this year promises to be a bit drier than last fall was, but you never know……
This is usually the time of year when I look around and see all the jobs that we didn’t have time for this summer, and I wonder how it is that we didn’t have time. Somehow, there’s always more work to be done than there is time on the farm. Now it’s back to school, and activities, and the more usual life that we’ve all been missing. So far, the boys are doing OK in school, but it’s been a bit of a challenge getting used to the virtual school days and wearing a mask on the in-person school days. I suppose we will all get used to this new routine eventually. I need to dig out the warm coats and gloves and boots from storage, and prepare for the change of seasons again too. The cycle continues, as it always does. Now where on earth did I pack away those extra gloves?
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September 14, 2020 at 02:45AM
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Rural Route 4: The drought is over, too late for the corn and soybeans - Quad City Times
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