Race Horse Flats

I had a meeting today in Champaign and decided to take a different route than usual.  I turned off Route 48 and headed toward Macon.  I continued east toward Dalton City.  The area around Dalton City is know as racehorse flats because the farmers in the area are very aggressive about planting corn early.  The soils are also some of the best in the world.  Mostly Drummer and Flanagan.  I thought it was interesting that the corn crib below is much larger than the barn.  People in this area are serious about growing corn. 

The Farm Progress show was held in this area a number of years ago and I fondly remember a very enjoyable day with my Dad.

Strip Till

I spotted these strips ready to plant on the east side of Macoupin County Fairgrounds. This counts as No-Till in your conservation plan. 

Milkweed Survey

Xerxes Society is conducting a survey of Milkweed locations in the Western United States.  The Decline of Monarch butterflies had been blamed on GMO seeds and insecticide use.  Milkweed is important habitat to monarch butterflies.  Another issue is mowing.  I hesitate to say that farmers should participate in study like this, because it might be used against them in the future.  On the other hand, It might be a good idea to let environmentalists know how much habitat is being preserved by farmers and ranchers.  By registering your location, you might be disproving theories that blame farmers. 

Spring Sampling Started

I started spring sampling today.  Soil moisture was good.  Weather was not great.  I started on people who are still wanting data for spring fertilizer application.  I am also mapping zones for new clients.  A few people were applying anhydrous today, but is seemed too wet for that to me. 

Maintaining Your Prairie Planting

The long winter has left people who need to do burn management on their prairie or timber with little time to burn in the usual window.  Warm and sunny weather will dry things down and make condition good for burning.  Keep in mind that wind is a factor.  Today turned out to be too windy.  I wrote a blog last year with a lot of additional information. 

Soil Test Before Seeding Alfalfa

Some people will soon be starting to seed alfalfa.  This No-Till Farmer Article suggests getting one sample of 7 inches in depth and one sample of 2 inches in depth to see the pH is stratified.  This might be a good idea especially in soils that have been no-tilled or vertical tilled in the past.  My goal would be to keep the pH as close to neutral as possible when growing leguminous forages.  Keep in mind also that alfalfa is a calcium feeder, so high calcium lime is good in most places unless magnesium levels are low.  Alfalfa also takes up lots of potassium.  To maximize yields, it may be necessary to use as much as 400 pounds of potassium per acre to maximize yield and keep soil tests at ideal levels. 

Wind Power

This farm size windmill was generating power in Northern Montgomery County.  Windmills were used in the past to power pumps to water livestock.  There are not many of them around and I don't know of any that are working.