These past couple weeks have been busy on the farm. We officially started harvesting Wednesday, Oct. 7, which is later than normal. We have been in the field ever since to catch up.
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- Katelyn Winberg
Several weeks of rain and mist left fields and feedyard areas muddy, but conditions eventually dried out enough to allow harvest to move forward.
- Katelyn Winberg
Recent rains have brought much-needed moisture to Jade Jandel’s farm in northern South Dakota, but the wet conditions are making it difficult to prepare for harvest.
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
"Over the month of September, we have gotten a total of 5 ½ inches of rain, and 3 inches of that has come in just the past two weeks."
- By Megan Horsager of Montevideo, Minn.
Whew! Silage harvest is done at the Riverview dairies, and what a season it was.
- Katelyn Winberg
"They're cooking right along, and it's drying right up quickly."
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
"There are a couple of bean fields in our area that could be combined as of mid-September, which is early for us."
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
" I am fully moved back to college, and we are officially in full swing on the calving season."
- Janelle Atyeo
Managing an around-the-clock silage harvesting operation has Crop Watcher Megan Horsager getting very little sleep lately.
- Katelyn Winberg
With silage chopping finished and soybean leaves beginning to turn, the transition from summer to fall is underway on Jade Jandel’s farm near Rockham, South Dakota.
- Janelle Atyeo
Crops around Montevideo, Minnesota, were maturing quickly, and for Megan Horsager’s haying crew, that meant preparing for a quick turnaround from chopping hay to chopping silage.
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
"I was pleasantly surprised when I heard my dad say we had twins and even more shocked when he followed up a couple hours later ...”
- Katelyn Winberg
“I’m surprised the grass is greening up again. I mean, it looks like spring down here.”
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
"We are very thankful for the moisture, but we still have a long way to go because timely rains have not been in our favor this year."
- By Megan Horsager of Montevideo, Minn.
There are few times in my life I can remember more than 6 inches of rain in one night, so our rain last Thursday night, July 30 was a bit of an experience.
- Katelyn Winberg
Recent rainfall has brought some much needed relief to northeastern South Dakota crops, but producers say the growing season is still far from being out of the woods.
- Katelyn Winberg
The heat and drought around Rockham have been relentless, but Jade Jandal says the row crops on his operation are hanging on better than he ever expected.
- Janelle Atyeo
Mid-July was dry, allowing Minnesota Crop Watcher Megan Horsager to work steadily on haying.
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
As the last few weeks have flown by, the farm has kept us busy. The forecast has been filled with hot, dry weather and has continued to dry out soils, increasing stress within not only crops but animals as well.
- Katelyn Winberg
A powerful storm that tore through the Rockham, South Dakota, area June 29 left its mark on Jade Jandel’s operation, but recent moisture has him feeling better about where things stand heading into July.
- By Megan Horsager, Montevideo, Minn.
"The hot weather has helped crops grow, but it has increased our risk for cercospora leaf spot in the beets."
- Janelle Atyeo
The leafy plants have closed rows earlier than in recent years. That typically means good things for future yields and provides some help shading out weeds growing between the rows. However, it creates conditions for harmful fungus to flourish and spread from plant to plant.
- By Kylie Mockler of Centerville, S.D.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the Mockler farm. Within the last 10 days, we have cut, baled and stacked our first cutting of hay.
- Katelyn Winberg
Jade Jandel farms near Rockham, S.D., where the rain gauge has offered just enough to keep hope alive and not much more.
- By Megan Horsager, Montevideo, Minn.
Overall, it has been a successful start to the season on our farm. We had good windows for planting with well-timed rains to get the crops germinated timely and evenly. The long stretch of cold and wind in the middle of May put a damper on growth, but we managed to avoid significant frost da…
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