Butler T Late Winter

This is the second of the year of my passing of the seasons series.  Not much change from January except no snow.  The soil surface is dryer too. 

Maple Syrup in Illinois

I visited Funk's Grove today to try some of their Maple Sirup (Original Spelling by Webster).

  

                                             Click on the link above to learn more.

They were Collecting maple sap and using pipe to move it instead of  using the hand labor of buckets

Pipes flow by gravity to a pump station

The pumps move the sap to collection tanks

Some sap is still collected in traditional buckets

Sap is processed in this building on the farm and syrup is sold retail directly to consumers. 

February Weather and Crop Report

I got my February Weather and Crop report today.  I was not overly surprised that 81% of the winter wheat crop in Illinois was reported good or excellent.  This is not a real surprise.  It is easy to have wheat looking good at this time of year if planting was timely and it is not too wet.  Timing of fertilizer application and fungicide applications will make or break the wheat.  Don't forget the sulfur.

Temperatures were 3 degrees above average in the south and graded to 5 degrees above average to the north.  No real surprise there either.  Precipitation was below average.  16% of the state is reporting short soil moisture.  Western Illinois is shortest with 35% reporting short.  18% of those reporting say West Southwest is short.  The three septic tank investigations I did in the past week were in Bond, Montgomery and Christian County.  Judging from what I saw, we are adequate.  I have not seen short in my area, but I trust that some of those in Western Illinois really are short.  I am not sure how this is interpreted anyway at this time of year.

USDA is forecasting a bumper crop based on what?  Large acreage?  It looks like the moisture reports might temper that forecast a bit.

Has Precision Agriculture Reached its Full Potential?

My short answer is no.  CSA News for February leads off with an article on Precision Agriculture in a Developing World.  The article says that precision agriculture is a relatively new idea, but I would contend that the idea is as old as farming.  How the idea has been implemented over the years is what has changed.  In the days when a farmer had 40 acres and a mule, he could give problem areas individual attention.  With modern farms we rely on sophisticated technology to take the right inputs to the right place at the right time.  It seems we started with the idea of putting fertilizer only where it is needed.  More sophisticated technology has made steering guidance seem essential.  Yield monitors give us the opportunity to look at the places in the field where we need to make some management adjustments.  Sprayer boom and row shutoffs help us save money on inputs like seed and crop protectants.

All of the sophisticated high tech tools will continue to grow, but they are kind of expensive even in our country for a small acreage grower to use.  Does this mean small growers do not need high tech?  Not at all.  No matter what the scale, precision for the most part is how to identify problem areas, how to quantify the extent of the problem, and how to get back to that area and treat it.  So what kind of equipment might be available use in developing countries or on small farms?  The above article holds hope for using cell phone technology.  Certainly another possibility is inexpensive GIS equipment such as is produced for hunting, fishing, and hiking.  Can every small or farmer or subsistence farmer afford his or her own equipment even then?  Probably not, but hopefully resources could be pooled or in the case of developing countries, some of the equipment could be share through some sort of governmental or charitable program?  It seems to me that in addition to having the equipment, training in use and interpretation is just as important.  I am planning to test my Droid2 this summer to see if I can use it as a soil sampling tool.  So far it looks like I will need to add a bluetooth receiver for it to have a chance to work. I think the potential is not limited to brands.  Apple products should have the same potential.

Large Sediment Basin

Sheet pile sediment basin protecting Lake Taylorville from sedimentation.

Wheat Condition

Wheat is looking good.  It still has not broken dormancy.  That is a good thing.

Stream Management

I ran across this small stream yesterday and thought it would be a good example for a stream management blog.  This stream has grass filter strips on both sides.  The filter strips help to filter out sediment, nutrients, and crop protection products from the run off.  This filter strip looks very stable, so it is also helping to stabilize the stream bank.  Keeping trees off the bank is not really a bad thing here.

I also want to point out that the stream has not been channelized in any way.  It looks like all the natural meanders are still there.  Farmers are often tempted to try to prevent bank cutting by straightening the stream.  Straightening will make the flowline steeper and can cause erosion  miles upstream.  If you straighten the stream, you will not only have stream bank erosion, but the bottom of the stream will also eroded.  stream barbs and bendaway weirs can help.  Sometimes rock weirs can work.  Cedar tree and willow revetments have been used.  Get professional advice before you try any of these.  Most stream stabilization work requires multiple permits.  Virgina has a nice guide.

The only stream stabilization work you should attempt on your own is removal of obstructions such as fallen trees.  Obstruction removal is best done as soon as possible to prevent destabilization.