Bunting provides field update

EMINGTON – Jason Bunting, who farms in northern Livingston County and serves as Livingston County Farm Bureau president, is just happy to get back into the field after the most recent wet weather stretch knocked him out for over a week.

“We’ve got quite a bit of anhydrous to get put on yet,” Bunting told The Central Illinois Farm Network. “I’m afraid with 85-degree weather, this corn is going to pop and we are going to need to move when it’s time to go.”

Bunting’s family started planting corn back on April 17 and finished with corn May 7 before switching over the beans which they still need to finish.

“I’d say in this area, 70 to 75 percent of everybody is done with both corn and beans.”

Oats and alfalfa were seeded the Saturday before Easter on Bunting’s farm and there were neighbors planting corn and soybeans then. Fields that were planted in that time frame in northern Livingston County look really good.

“We held back because we saw that long-range forecast and we were kind of nervous with those cold mornings,” Bunting noted.

In addition to crops, Bunting raises cattle and sheep as well and runs 240-260 acres of hay. They have not cut any alfalfa yet. Once the weather cooperates, Bunting expects to play “musical tractor seats” with all of the jobs left to do on the farm this spring.

When it comes to the Livingston County Farm Bureau, there were some action requests sent out when the new administration took over in January. Bunting feels we need to let our representatives, senators and the White House know where we stand in rural America.

Stepped-up basis and capital gains taxes are at the forefront of this administration.

“We need to make sure that farmer’s voices are heard,” Bunting added.

Locally, Bunting and the rest of the Livingston County Farm Bureau and preparing for the annual Young Leaders Breakfast on the Farm at Kilgus Farmstead near Fairbury on Saturday, June 12.