Due to the effects of Man-Made Global Warming as known to the USDA to be the biggest threat to Agriculture and the world in general, well, that and raw milk and fresh produce, we had a long dry fall.
(I so do need to take a basic sentence construction course from the local community college!)
As a result of expecting rain and never getting it I didn't do as much fall ground work as I should have. This was of course the work of Man-Made Global Warming and not to be expected in Oregon, even though we know that once it starts raining in the fall, it doesn't stop till May...
But, I digress...
Oh, right...
I didn't get the annual ryegrass planted or the volunteer annual sprayed with Nortron to prevent the field coming up solid annual bluegrass. Actually I didn't plant any of the 150 acres of annual that is growing on our farm. The ground I worked up in preparation to plant looks really good. The ground I was going to no-till looks a little yellow. I need to spread fertilizer on it.
I have been watching the ground dry out for a month and other farmers who do not farm river bottom plowing and planting.
I have also been waiting for parts for the planting tractor and drill.
So it was with incredible relief that I was able to put together a planting setup on the very last day of non-rain.
Of course all didn't go as planned.
I ran out of seed.
The heater stuck on and I had to open the windows when I discovered the airconditioning didn't work.
I had no GPS or calc-an-acre or fertilizer or little flashing lights which I have forgotten what they do.
I did have my invaluable Loup Drill Monitor which has an acre counter and beeps at me when I run out of seed.
Then it started raining.
I also discovered that I had the planter in the wrong gear and it was planting at too low a rate. I could see the population monitor was reading low but it doesn't seem to read all that accurately with grass seed anyway.
I texted Orin to see what he thought, and he was quite polite and didn't tell me I was a moron for planting annual into annual blue grass in the middle of February. He said I should bump up my seed rate. So in attempt to go to 17lbs I went to 20 and then I miscalculated what was left in the drill and thought I would go up just a smidgen and suddenly I was out of seed.
Fortunately our neighbor has a whole warehouse full of it and I only needed another five bags. I got ten. Cause, you never really know. (I really hope the fellow who wants me to plant radish at a rate of 3lbs per acre does not read this blog.)
The drill wanted to plant too deep or too shallow.
It started pouring which mean my brother could not apply the Monsanto chemical that kills everything.
But I soldiered on!
I followed the timeless logic of when in doubt quit looking and bump it up a gear.
The field looks rototilled in places but I don't think I need to worry about the seed not being covered. Folks have seeded fields by dumping bags of annual ryegrass out the door of an airplane at this time of year.
It was interesting to drive without GPS. I have come to depend on it for laying out lands and getting the field square.
Here is the view out of my front window. If you look closely you can see the line of my marker heading off into the horizon. I am slightly off the mark in this photo.
Here is what I am planting into. I am no-tilling which I am doing solely to off set the effects of MAN-MADE global warming and because I worry that Monsanto will go broke if I don't support the use of Round-Up (their registered chemical name).
For all this effort I am ashamed to report the number of acres I planted.
I can plant 70 acres in a day.
I did not...
In other news: I actually am starting to feel silly about my posts on Gene's blog. I too am missing the point of the actual blog. I'm not sure why I have the compulsion to equate global warming believers with religious zealots. It just so funny to see them get riled up and start spouting facts that come from their own dogma. The creationist gets made fun of when quoting the Bible to support his argument but yet no one appreciates the irony. Of course it is not ironic, it is science and facts and I know it is so because I believe it.
Dadgummit, I've done it again!
Not that anyone will read this update as everyone that reads this blog is an early riser and already checked it this morning...
Now I am off to work in the rain. Oh boy!
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Interesting to think that somewhere in the world farmers are planting crops. Meanwhile I contemplate walking out to check my driveway and decide if I need to get out badly enough to fire up the snowblower yet again.
ReplyDeleteI want some of your snow and freezing weather. Just for a week or two mind you. I really am tired of rain.
ReplyDeleteI want a snow blower! But only for a week.
Dadburned global warming!
Back inside I see. :-)
DeleteGood for you! I accomplished very little yesterday. We met with the accountant for advice on our taxes, and on returning lost all energy and desire to do any work in the rain. Snow would be nice for a few days reprieve.
ReplyDeleteBudd, i cant believe you apologized!
ReplyDeletei originally came over to tell you that your neighbor, Carmine, called. *snicker*
but now i came over to tell you to keep the faith.
your pal,
ofg
ps ding dang global warming - its 20* and i'm freezing my ass off. i blame solar flares, not cow farts. ;-)
OFG,
DeleteI was going to follow her posted criticism of my wrong headed thinking with the comment, "I'm melting, I'm melting," or "And the little dog tooooooo." but then I really didn't know if I was in Kansas anymore....
We have had tornados in Oregon believe it or not!
I apologized because it is not my blog, it is Gene's blog and I think Carmine will believe what she wants to believe and why do I care?
I suppose all I did was encourage the wool underwear folk to read my blog so I shall have to follow with a series of posts on vintage stereo or FarmerGPS or Felix the Cat videos so they will go away and not be offended.
Thanks for your comments.
Wish you could email maple syrup. I'd trade you chicken feed. Grown locally but not sustainably.
i hear you, brother. well. if the solution for having our brainz sucked up by The Man is a tin foil hat, then my ever BETTER solution would be to affix a tin foil hat to your cat, then strap said cat on your head. thats what we do.
ReplyDeletebut good on you for thinking of Gene. he's my hero.
:-D
If I lived in country where a man could be in the field in February, I would have become an expert in places to hide.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think its too late to plant ARG. I planted some Cayuse oats with the field cultivator the other day. Bad idea? I was shooting for 120 lb./A and I dont really know how much was in the bulk bags....and I don't know what Dad did with the leftovers if there was any. So I think we are running about the same level of precision planting! I do know that it was a series of firsts for me:
ReplyDelete1. Disking in Feb.
2. Using A/C in a tractor in Feb.
3. The A/C in the JD 7020 actually held up all winter.
Is that your same 2-155? I didn't remember it having that style dash......
Did you look at the digital tach? A totally wasted reference it would seem. I chose the photo just for the subject matter at hand.
DeleteThere has been a lot of planting in the neighborhood. I have done very little of it.
My next job is to no-till radish. That is always painful. 3lbs per acre.
Maybe you need a 20 year old Bourgault air seeder. Now that even the cheap canola seed is over $10 a pound it is fairly important that I can set rates no more than five pounds per acre. Now if I can just sell the canola in my bins for fifty cents a pound I should be ok.
ReplyDeleteHa, I once calculated that there was something like $10 worth of fertilizer in the hose from the truck tank to the drill so if the co-op sent me a hose with no valve on the end it was $10 a fill up.
DeleteI also like that $10 a pound to buy but you are lucky to get .50 when you sell. I suppose you can't save your seed either.
I haven't read the news but I'm betting the US Supreme Court sided with Monsanto. That would be true to form.
Just google "Percy Schmeiser" to see how Monsanto feels about a farmer trying to save roundup ready canola seed. I think we are headed for the same process in all the crops we grow eventually.
ReplyDeleteI found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. Really it's great article. Keep it up.Nortan Customer Service | Norton UK
ReplyDelete