Monday I finished up spraying soybeans for the last time this year. We were at the R3 growth stage, up against both preferred timing for the plant health application, as well as near the end of the window for the herbicide application.

There are a few acres of non-GMO soybeans we would like to run the sponge across, but right now the priority is irrigation. We are dry and crops are showing the stress.

We spent several days this week finishing wire and water connections on dad’s new pivot. Thursday evening we flushed water thought the system to clear it of any debris that may have gotten in during construction the last couple of weeks. Today will be the moment of truth: Will everything work as planned? I know the dealer is missing a few gps parts, so we’re going to have find a work around for some things in the short term. We just want to get some water out there this weekend!

Aerial fungicide is back

Ten days late, we are finally told the airplanes will be back tomorrow. If they don’t come this time, I think we will cancel the application and put the product in the corner of the shed for next year. We are way past our nutrient window, but the fungicide may still be a benefit. It’s a difficult decision, will the treatment be beneficial if the plant continues to be stressed due to dry conditions or if conditions continue will we lose enough off the top the application doesn’t pay for itself?

Speaking of which, how many of you folks have ever requested your applied maps from the airplane or helicopter? I know there are certain limitations from the air, but after having 40 acres of product left out of a 500-acre batch earlier this year, we started doing some digging. By the time we received the maps, that company had done work for us twice. The second time (after they knew we would request maps) they did a much better job trimming out the fields and getting the right number of passes across the field. The first time, they didn’t even do a 5-acre field split off the main piece by a drainage ditch.

Needless to say we’re not too happy about the first time they were here, and it’s likely we won’t have them back. We had only ever requested maps one time before, but now it will be a standard practice.

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.