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Producer Perspective - 4/24/08

A Local Look

Matt Bell, Muskingum Co.
We have had a busy few weeks here in Muskingum County. We seem to have been on the lighter side of the rains lately. We finished up our manure and fertilizer applications last week and began to work some ground, we began planting Monday April 21st.

We have a new Kinze planter so we had a few things to calibrate on the planter and some plumbing to do on the fertilizer flow control, so far things have gone well. We had a small shower on Wednesday, April 23rd but we will be able to plant again as soon as I get done typing this Producer Perspective.

For the most part in our area things are wrapping up ahead of spring planting. We are also installing a center pivot irrigation system on our sandiest ground this spring so that was also a major project laying the pipe and setting up the pump out at the river. We hired a local contractor to do that job.

My wife and I also built a new house and the weather we have had lately let us get the old one torn down and put in the driveway to the garage, this made her easier to live with as it was a long walk with groceries, and we even got the lawn seeded last week.

Have a safe planting season.

Allen Bohman, Darke County
The wheat in the area has been top-dressed, and spraying for corn and soybeans has started. Some NH3 has been applied, and a few fields of corn and beans have been planted. A lot of manure is being hauled out of the stables and pits in the area. Many of the pits and stables are full because of the cool, wet spring.

I hope to begin spraying in a few days. All my corn and soybeans are no-till, and it usually takes a few more days for the ground to dry out without working it. I will use a Phillips rotary harrow on the bean ground as soon as the soil dries a little more.

I have mowed the lawn twice this spring. I don't apply any fertilizer, because the grass grows fast enough. I spray for weeds once in the spring and once in the fall. If our area gets the rain at the end of the week that is predicted, I will spread mulch around the house and trees.

The price of corn and soybeans has dropped a little since their high earlier this spring. The grain prices do not impact how much corn or soybeans I raise, because I have a 50% corn and 50% bean rotation.

Carol Willson, Fulton County
Today is Thursday April 24 and it has been a beautiful week so far. We started planting corn yesterday! The first day is rather slow--the trouble gremlins hibernate and it takes all day to get 45 acres planted.

We will plant corn no till--because we used the field cultivator on several fields last fall-- and conventional till this spring.

The wheat is finally getting top dressed also. We aren't going to pre plant any NH3 now but some of area farmers are beginning that job.

The heavy soils are not quite ready to plant. We could use a few more drying days, but rain is in the forecast for the weekend. So that will slow things down again. We completed spraying roundup on the no-till bean fields. We also treated soybeans to be planted.

We have a few drainage tiles to repair--the wet spots are not going away.

Winter rains took a toll on our hay fields--lots of bare spots. Need to reseed in those spots.

The news media seems really focused on food prices!!

What about the prices the farmers are paying for potash--NH3 and fuel?

When is someone going to do a story on that!!

Eddie Lou Meimer, Morrow County
Our soils are heavy (clay) so they dry slowly. NH3 is being applied, ground is being worked and my son is putting beans in now. This is Wednesday, April 23 as I write this and I just finished cleaning the last barn today. This is the first year in several that I haven’t had to give up my manure spreading tractor so my son could use it in the field. This is because the ground has been so slow to dry. I could haul, but it was too wet for anything else.

Lawns are green and growing. I need to mow again right now.

The top priority is to get crops in this week weather permitting. On rainy days we try to can maple syrup so we can stay ahead of orders. That’s also when I make my candies for market. Next Week (May 1) is the beginning of the farmers’ market season. Marion Farmers’ Market begins that day.

Market reports from the Northeast states and Canada are slow to come in about the maple season. In mid-March the Northeast was off to a good start and Canada had not really begun due to heavy snows. We went into the season with the least amount of syrup in storage in recent years so a record season is needed to meet the growing demand for maple syrup. Prices are at an all time high for syrup and could go higher depending on yields.

 
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