Happy Independence Day weekend! As the saying goes, “knee-high by the Fourth of July”….but is the corn there yet? July 3, 2020 Update: Soybeans (72 Days) The beans are getting bigger! Soybean growth isn’t always measured explicitly by height. A very important part of soybean growth is in the branching. You can see in the above photo how the soybeans are starting to “canopy” between rows, or cover the bare ground between the rows. These soybeans are planted into 15-inch…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #7
June 26, 2020It’s officially summer! The heat is great for the crops, but we could definitely use another rain soon – and hopefully the rain in the forecast pans out this week. We only ended up with a few tenths of an inch last weekend, while other parts of the state had a few inches of rain. But otherwise, everything is looking good! June 26, 2020 Update: Soybeans (65 days) It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than two months since…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #6
June 19, 2020Short update this week, but with lots of pictures! Everything is growing, but we’re starting to watch the weather forecast closely for rain. There’s a chance over the weekend and we really could use the moisture – the grass in the yard is going dormant, I’ve emptied my rain barrel, and I could use a break from watering my flowers. 😉 June 19, 2020 Update: Soybeans (58 days) Soybeans aren’t much taller, but they’ve certainly begun to fill out with…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #5
June 12, 2020June 12, 2020 Update: Soybeans (51 days) This field continues to green up as the soybeans get larger. Check out all of that field cover between the rows! This is a combination of last year’s corn residue (stalks and leaves) as well as what’s left of the winter’s cereal rye cover crop. The cover does a great job at keeping weeds from germinating and helps retain some moisture in the soil for the soybean crop (as opposed to leaving bare…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #4
June 5, 2020It’s weird to think that we were doing most of our corn and soybean planting this week in 2019. A lot sure can change in a year. June 5, 2020 Update: Soybeans (44 days) The soybeans are steadily growing. Remember how we went over vegetative (V) growth stages last week? The soybeans were in the V1 stage and just working on their first set of trifoliate leaves last week. This week, they have that set of trifoliate leaves and either…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #3
May 29, 2020It feels like summer has arrived. Warm weather has really helped the corn and soybeans out in the field. Believe it or not, as of Wednesday we were feeling like we needed another shot of rain and it seems like we got that yesterday evening. This rain will help the corn, some of which hasn’t emerged quite yet (mostly in patches, not an entire field). If that corn doesn’t emerge in the next few days, it’ll be time to get…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #2
May 22, 2020Rain, rain, go away… This seems to be the song everyone across the Midwest is singing the last few weeks. Unfortunately, it looks like lots more is on the way this week. We’re finished planting on our farm, but I know of lots of farmers who are still working – or trying to work – to get everything on their farms planted. There’s still a few weeks in the ideal planting window left, but only if we get a dry…
Follow the Field 2020 Update #1
May 15, 2020Happy spring! #Plant20 wrapped up on our farm this week, just before the first wave of rain that arrived late this week. We are way ahead of schedule this year compared to last year (our first day of planting last year was May 17, with most of the planting happening during the first week of June – learn more about that here), but reality is that this year, we’re pretty close to average. I hosted a #FollowtheField series on the…
Episode 043 – #CareerGoals
December 4, 2019Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up at age 7? Age 14? Age 18? Age 20? In this episode, Claire and Gracie discuss what they thought they would do for a career back when they were in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and even grad school and how it compares to their current jobs. They then cover Gracie’s new fame as the beginning farmer featured in an article and what it means to…
Episode 042 – Another One Bites the Dust
November 20, 2019It seems like everybody comes from a small town, but what happens to our hometowns when we grow up and move away? In this episode, Claire and Gracie discuss The implications of the grocery store closing in a nearby community and loss of the town’s identity, What’s in store for Small Town USA, And, because we’re on the subject of food, our favorite Thanksgiving food traditions. We want to hear from our listeners! Let us know what you think the…