View from the Cab: Another year begins

Nothing feels better than getting out in the fresh country air to level some dirt.

Our spring 2020 fieldwork officially started last week and it was great to climb in that tractor cab and escape the world’s troubles – even if it was only for a few hours at a time. The warm, sunny weather during the first half of the week made it especially worthwhile before the bottom fell out and temperatures plummeted in the following days.

We will see how those early planted soybeans do after all of this crazy weather passes. It appears several growers had the same idea and were out planting their first soybean fields before even touching a corn seed. Putting soybeans in first appears to be the smarter move as seed treatment seems to help nowadays. If you go back in time just 15 or 20 years, growers wouldn’t have imagined planting soybeans before May 1.

Corn planting will likely happen on our farm later this month or early May, whenever it dries out more and warms up. Sounds like our May weather will be good for field activity, according to some of the forecast models. This month is still a bit dicey as there are increased chances for wet weather.

This planting season does seem a bit stranger than other years as I have never packed a health kit in addition to my lunch for the tractor cab. This kit includes a can of Lysol I can use to spray down the interior before and after I start for the day and a container of disinfecting wipes. Better safe than sorry I guess.

I had some special co-pilots in the cab last Tuesday as Rebecca, Kasen, Kenadee and Kaislee visited the field. You could call it a homeschool field trip to the farm. Kasen and Kenadee are naturals when it comes to farm life and little Kaislee is adjusting well. She sat on my lap most of the time seeming very interested in the tractor. I think it helped that I fed her a few crackers along the way.

All of us crammed into a cab may not sound like social distancing, but we’ve been together in the house for the past several weeks so we thought it would be alright. If that tractor could talk, I’m sure it would have many stories to tell from different riders throughout the years.

Please remember to look out for all of the tractors and farm equipment out on the roadways this spring and give them some extra room. The roads are less busy for the moment which is positive for farmers.