Planting, Pictures and Mishaps

Greetings friends! Here’s a quick photo catch-up of what’s happening on the farm.

This planting season started off with a few mishaps. As we were preparing some of our conventional tillage fields, Jared broke or lost a key pin that holds the pin in the hitch of the disk.

It was not a good day.

Instead of the hydraulic lines breaking off (like they usually do when we don’t need them to) these held strong. So, my favorite farmer had a wiley disk careening dangerously behind his tractor with no way to stop it. Luckily, the hitch jammed between the tire and tractor body instead of through the window. I’m thankful the man upstairs was looking out for him and the other drivers on the road that rainy day!

Despite a mishap or two, planting has been rather rainy and uneventful. (I’m definitely NOT complaining!) So far, we have 60 acres of cotton that has sprouted, 120 acres planted and a LONG way to go! We also have several hundred acres of peanuts to plant in May.

Prior to planting we had one field that the NRCS helped us lay out terraces on. As some here in the south would say, “that land needs to go back to the Indians!” It was rough last year, but NRCS has it fixed up nicely with drain tiles and so far it’s directing water nicely. The cotton sprouts above are from the terraced field.

In other farm news, our cows are doing great! We have had an awesome batch of calves this year with hardly any birthing complications. All of the mamas and babies are doing great!

Happy Trails!
Jillian

GPS: Where are we going?

Uncle Gene recently invested into a small guidance system for the farm. So far, the guys have really enjoyed fiddling around with it and learning how it works.

I posted a picture on my Facebook today of Jared setting it up to spread oats with the tag-a-long. One of the comments I received made me giggle, “Do you get lost in the field?”

It’s a great question! The answer is yes, occasionally we do! However, it’s not the “Holy cow, how do I get home?” kind of lost but the “Haven’t I planted this already?” kind of bewilderment.

Oat seed are very small. We don’t plant or drill them into the ground when we are planting a cover crop. Instead we scatter them using a wagon called a tag-a-long that has plates on the back that fling the seed over a a wide area behind the wagon as we pull it. It’s a similar concept to those small, homeowner fertilizer spreaders. After the oats have been spread, we disc them in. The disc disturbs the ground just enough to chop weeds and cover the seed.

The GPS is handy because, from the tractor seat, the driver can’t see if he or she is running over ground that already has oats spread on it. The GPS marks on the screen in one color where the oats are already on the ground, in another color where oats need to be spread and another where we have overlapped. It also, has a row of lights that help keep the driver aware of the right path (the sweet spot where the tractor is perfectly centered.) This helps prevent overlap and saves seed and money.

The GPS is not only useful for spreading small grain, but for spraying chemicals. It helps prevent us from spraying too many chemicals by helping us identify areas that have already had chemicals applied. This is beneficial not only financially but environmentally. It enables us to use just the chemicals we need, which means the excess doesn’t end up washing away into nearby creeks.

So far, we are loving the GPS (which we named Minkus by the way because he’s so smart!) Do any of you have experience with GPS and agriculture? Do y’all have tips for a couple of newbies?

Closing Out Cotton Season

I am so thankful that cotton season is coming to a close. As I write this, Jared is hurrying to harvest the last 30 acres or so before the rain moves in. Since, I have been an absent blogger, here is a picture or two from today.

Pardon the scrappy looking cotton, I never seem to have my camera with me on good days. This was the first field planted (and replanted) and the last harvested. The elements are definitely taking a toll on yields in this field.

Overall, it has been a good cotton season. Despite several breakdown, Jared and the boys have had good yields and several surprises from new cotton varieties. Here’s hoping we finish up and don’t have a (cottony) white Christmas!

Ft. Payne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Fall Y’all!

Fluffin’ and Pickin’

Today the boys have the wonderful pleasure of fluffing peanuts. (Notice the hints of sarcasm!)

We fluff peanuts for two reasons. One, it helps them to dry out on the bottom so we can pick them sooner rather than later. Two, it shakes the mud and dirt loose so that the pickers don’t get clogged when we start harvesting. The fluffer (which was borrowed from Mccord Farms! Thanks Dennis!) is necessary after a rain like we had Thursday.

There is a downside though, when you fluff you lose peanuts. Which means you lose money. As a producer, you have to decide whether it would be better to let the peanuts “air dry” and risk another rain shower and rotting vines, or risk losing a few penders with the fluffer.

Today, we chose to fluff…

…and now the boys are picking!
Happy Saturday y’all!
Jillian

PS– Jared says the technical term is “re-shaker.” Personally, I like fluffer better!

Plowing Up Peanuts and Grading Papers

We are plowing up peanuts on this lovely fall day! We have had a good harvest so far, with the exception of a few breakdowns and rain interruptions.

This year we have had the chance to lease a Challenger to plow up peanuts and pick with. Boy has it been nice! I’ve actually been able to ride comfortably on the buddy seat instead of a arm rest! (Buddy seats also make it easier to grade history tests while spending quality tractor time with the hubby)

The Challenger has allowed us to gather more efficiently because it can haul the bigger equipment better than some of the other tractors. We were a little anxious about using it at first, having no experience with the brand, but we have found that it is just like a Massey Ferguson. That makes my red-tractor-loving husband very happy!

I’m sorry for the long time between posts! It has been a busy time on the farm and it doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon. We start cotton harvest as soon as we finish with peanuts. Hopefully, we will have yall a cotton post up in the future!

From the buddy seat of a tractor,
–Jillian

Engagement Session: Shelley and Ryan

It’s official. I’m terrible at staying on a blogging calendar… one day I will do better!

Down here in our little corner of the world things have gone from super dry to so wet we can’t get into the field to plow up peanuts for harvest.

One of the advantages however, is that I actually have green grass, green crops and beautiful flowers to do engagement sessions with! Here are a few pictures I did for my best friend Shelley and her super sweet fella Ryan.

Enjoy!