Reavis hopes for warmer days

NEW BERLIN – Gary Reavis, who farms near New Berlin and Pleasant Plains in Sangamon County, already has corn in the ground so he isn’t wild about all of the recent cold weather.

As of last week, his corn wasn’t up yet as he waits to see what the weather brings in the next couple of weeks. The seed was planted into nearly ideal conditions on a 60-degree day just before the Easter rains came.

“I have no soybeans in the ground yet,” Reavis told The Central Illinois Farm Network.

Until the recent cold snap, there was plenty of fieldwork happening in Sangamon County including anhydrous ammonia application and field cultivating.

“We also got some turbo tilling done ahead of the planter to make a nice seed bed,” said Reavis. “Last year showed us those windows we’ve got to take advantage of because you never know when you might get another one.”

Before he can switch over to soybeans, Reavis says he has quite a bit more corn to plant. Last year, Reavis and many growers barely got anything planted in May and had to wait until June because of wet field conditions.

Reavis serves on the Sangamon County Farm Bureau Board which has been working diligently for members trying to figure out ways to help out farmers in the future.