This year, the National Corn Growers Association launched its tenth season of Field Notes, a weekly series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities.
“Good, timely rains over the last few weeks have given us a bit of a break from irrigating. Most of my corn crop is in the late milk and dough stages. Generally, it is filling out well minus a few fields with hail or wind damage. Today, it is in the 80s with full sun. If we can have more days like this, it is going to help us out a lot.”
– Andy Jobman, Nebraska farmer
“In our area, we have a good corn crop and a mediocre bean crop coming. Our soil moisture profile has been saturated for quite some time. Last week, we had four days with measurable precipitation. Thirty miles away, they could use a shot of rain on some lighter ground. In our fields, we have enough moisture to finish the year without any rain from here on out and more could have an adverse effect on our crop.”
– Randy Melvin, North Dakota farmer
“This week, we had about a tenth of an inch of rain by the house with some spots on the farm getting as much as half an inch. The ground still has moisture in it but, at these temperatures, it will dry out quickly. Today and tomorrow, we have a 50 percent chance of rain, but it will be hit and miss. Corn is doing okay, but the heat is a little harder on it. The corn in the fields we planted early is starting to reach maturity.”
– Jim Raben, Illinois farmer
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