View from the Cab: What's next?

By: Kent Casson

Oh, the choices – like what to do next on the farm.

This is the time of year when the fieldwork has mostly wrapped-up for another season but we are left with numerous jobs to check off the list before putting equipment back in the shed in anticipation of 2023.

While I see what could be the final 70-degree day in the forecast as of this writing, I have to fit in some time on the mower as it isn’t too fun trimming the ditches and mowing the yard when temperatures are in the 30s with 20-degree wind chills. It is also much easier to run the pressure washer to clean equipment on these warm, breezy days compared to the alternative.

Our nice stretch of weather from the harvest season in September and October has carried over into early November. This has allowed many to continue fall tillage, anhydrous ammonia application and planting cover crops.

We have been busy doing vertical tillage on a few fields of corn stalks, mowing around the edges of fields and washing stuff off so we can put a close to 2022. Before we do that, there is desk work that awaits. This includes tax preparation with a cash flow analysis of expenses and income.

It may look like we only work in the spring and fall but farmers always have the background stuff to do like equipment maintenance and book work. Hats off to the livestock farmers working in all types of weather conditions during the upcoming winter: snow, ice, wind and rain. These guys and gals hardly have time to take time off as farm life knows no holiday.

Ag meeting season will soon be here in the winter as we enjoy farm shows at the Peoria Civic Center and at the Gordyville USA facility. Illinois Soybean Association has planned some informative events around the state along with University of Illinois Extension.

Farm meeting season is always fun as I get to visit with other farmers and see some familiar faces while doing live broadcasts and getting interviews for the Central Illinois Farm Network. A popular question will be, “How did your crops do this year?” I don’t think too many will complain about that one as we had good yields and harvest conditions.

Now the attention turns to what type of winter we will have. Some follow the Old Farmer’s Almanac religiously and believe if it says we will have a harsh winter, then we will. Others feel if the wooly worms are dark during the previous summer and fall, the following winter will be rough. Time will tell, I guess.