Greenfield Athensville

It was an interesting day all around.  First, I was reluctant to go to the field because of wetness so I got a late start after having a field confirmation of the wetness or lack thereof where I was going.  I drove all the way from Hillsboro to Greenfield without seeing a field dry enough to sample.  When I went west out of Greenfield, oddly enough it was dry enough to sample.  The soil did cling to the tires, but I did not cut any ruts so OK.  Another oddity is that the radar looked like I was being rained on most of the day.  It was not hitting the ground at all.  That is good news. 

Another interesting thing is that the fields I worked in were tiled last fall.  I think it helped keep the field a bit drier than untiled fields in the same area.   

20 inch row corn emerged at Greenfield

The fields I sampled were partially planted to 20 inch row corn.  There were two planter rigs in the field.  One was a 24 row which was about as wide as a 30 inch 16 row.  The other was a 36 row planter.  It looked a bit wider than a 24 row 30 inch planter.  Two differences were readily apparent.  The 36 inch row was heavier and took more horsepower to pull.  The 36 inch row was compacting the soil much more than the 24 row. 

36 row 20 inch row planter

24 row 20 inch row planter