Will 2019 ever end?

CROPSEY – A long season just got a bit longer with this week’s winter weather.

The cold snap and snowfall which occurred Monday and Tuesday may have changed some plans, but farmers continue to overcome 2019’s challenges. Bryan Cole, who manages the Brandt Consolidated location at Cropsey, is trying to stay positive with a decent forecast ahead.

Cole reports a decent run of fertilizer, lime and anhydrous applications in his area.

“The last several days, it’s been going on really well,” Cole said.

Many growers in McLean County have finished or are close to finishing harvest as more bare fields are visible each day.

“As you get south and east in the territory, there are a fair amount of acres to go yet but in the general vicinity, I think everybody has finished up or very close,” added Cole.

Thanksgiving is typically a time when Mother Nature shuts down fall fieldwork so now is a good time to plan for seed orders and fertility needs. The days are numbered from an anhydrous and lime application standpoint.

Brad Schmidgall manages the Brandt Consolidated Fairbury location and notes the recent blast of winter made anhydrous applications difficult – resulting in a crust on the ground and added moisture.

“We’ll keep pushing along, keep getting dry fertilizer out there for the guys, hopefully get some more fall tillage done and keep everything moving,” explains Schmidgall.

As area growers finish harvest and other fall work, the main concern is staying safe out there.

“We’ll conclude what was a difficult season but hopefully productive for everybody,” Schmidgall said.