The hot weather has arrived, but then again, it is late July in Southern Illinois and I believe that we wanted some drier weather and guess what — it is here. Does this heat create problems with crops? I believe it does, and if it continues into next week, yields will be affected. There is some early planted corn that is past roasting ears, some is pollinating while some is a week or two from tasseling.
Soybeans are doing quite well, but it is my belief that if it is hard on humans, it hard on crops and livestock.
There is a section of Old Route 66 where Missouri and Oklahoma intersect.
A turn here or a missed road there can take you from the Show Me state to the Sooner state or back again. Once crossing over into Oklahoma, barely across the Missouri border, far from the big cities such as Oklahoma City or Tulsa, you come across a string of small communities that make up the heart and soul of the Midwest.
These are the little towns where everyone knows everyone. These are the places where the post office or local café serve as the principal nerve centers of the community.
Here is where tall tales are spun, conjecture is commonplace, and local news and stories are swapped.
Last week’s weather reminded us that spring will come as the warm temperatures caused wheat fields to become greener and give us the hint of warmer days to come. This is a good time of the year as daylight hours increase rapidly in the next few weeks and give us a chance to shake cabin fever.
One of my cows had a new calf this week, and there is a promise of more to come. Life is good.
A University of Illinois scientist reports that family mealtimes that contain three ingredients in the right amounts can improve the quality of life in children who have chronic asthma.
“Family mealtimes, when they’re done right, are linked to many benefits for children, including a reduced risk of substance abuse, eating disorders, and obesity. In this study, we’ve put these mealtimes under a microscope so we can see minute by minute which factors deliver these healthy outcomes,” said Barbara H. Fiese, director of the U of I’s Family Resiliency Center.
Global Positioning System equipment on the farm is not new, according to Dennis Bowman, Extension educator, crop systems.
Many farmers have been using some aspect of the technology for over 15 years.
Since the beginning, there has always been a concern about whether farmers would actually see an increase in yield or profits after investing in the technology. Initially the return on this technology was considered marginal by many farmers and researchers, however recent technology and research has indicated a more positive outcome.
He was already in the poker room when I arrived.
The buzz that had been circulating for some time was still alive when I scanned my Lumiere Players Card and took my assigned seat at table two.
There was a celebrity in the house!
It is hard to believe that February is here, but one thing is sure: It has been a cold winter to this point.
Temperatures have been consistently cold since early December. I must confess that I like the consistency of cold weather rather than the weather that we had on Tuesday, with rain and cold.
The Farm Bureau Board last month voted to develop a website for our county Farm Bureau. I am happy to announce that we have that website up and running. You can view it at www.fcfbil.org. This site continues to evolve and we would certainly be interested in your comments.
4-H and FFA members who plan to exhibit livestock and/or horses at the Illinois State Fair are required to complete Quality Assurance & Ethics Certification, sponsored by University of Illinois Extension.
Youth exhibiting in the species of beef, dairy, goats, horses, poultry, sheep, and/or swine must complete the web-based certification program by early summer.
The QA&EC website, http://web.extension.illinois.edu/qaec/, opened Feb. 1, 2011.
Evergreen plants can be harmed by winter's fellow travelers — snow and ice — said a University of Illinois Extension plant pathologist.
“Inspect your plants for winter damage,” said Jim Schuster. “Snow can cause excessive bending down of evergreen branches to the point of breaking. These broken branches will always be weak if you try to bend them back up or tie them back up.
“Consider cutting them off and if possible, train neighboring branches to grow and fill in the gaps.”
To avoid breakage or other injury, try to keep heavy wet snow brushed off the plants as soon as it stops snowing or even while it is snowing. Do not beat on the branches to remove the snow. Use a broom to lightly push or brush the snow off the branches."
I was hoping that August would bring cooler temperatures, but instead it has been warmer, even hot! I am convinced that the heat is a bigger influence on crops than the dry weather.
Soybeans are certainly suffering in the heat and with corn drying down, the harvest may begin by the middle of the month. Some silage is being harvested and I don’t believe that I have ever seen it this early. The extent of the dry weather on soybeans is hard to assess but a shower this week of 3/10’s of an inch of rain will help.
Beautiful spring weather has allowed farmers to make excellent progress in planting. As of Friday morning I would estimate that 90% of the corn is planted in Franklin County. This spring is unlike any that I remember. Some may be asking what is a good spring from a farmer’s point of view? I am glad that you asked!
Corn planting is certainly in full swing in the eastern and southern sections of the county. Planters are have been running since Monday and some farmers are near the 50-percent completion point as of Friday. Yet there are areas in the northwestern part of the county that are still too wet.
I know that we have been very fortunate in Eastern Township in that we are able to work areas in fields that last year never dried to the point of planting. It is always better to plant when dust follows the planter than in wet conditions.
As spring progresses, we turn our eyes to the skies because thunderstorms become a concern. Lightning reportedly kills an average of 67 people each year in the United States.
There are several important points to keep in mind to prevent a lightning strike.
During U of I Extension Week, April 18-24, you’ll find some unique learning opportunities at your county U of I Extension office in Benton. For details about any of these programs, call 439-3178, or visit our Web site at franklin.extension.uiuc.edu.
Spring has arrived, and the sun is starting to stay out longer. “This extra sun may make us happier, and it may also make us healthier,” says Jenna Hogan, University of Illinois Extension nutrition and wellness educator.
Our bodies make vitamin D, known as the “sunshine vitamin,” when the natural light hits our skin.
The main weed control problem in ponds is algae, that greenish, slimy stuff in many forms.
“The key to controlling algae is to start in early April while the water is cooler and the algae is growing slowly,” says Mike Plumer, University of Illinois Extension natural resources educator. “The safest herbicides are copper-containing products like copper sulfate or copper chelates. Just make sure you read and follow all label directions.”
Almost all field work, along with all picnics, has been cancelled due to rain and winter-like conditions. Any corn that is planted had better have thermal underwear around it for conditions are not good above or below ground. The calendar indicates that warmer weather will arrive as July 4 is getting closer.
Extension Week is April 18 through 24, and there are several opportunities that may interest you.
Afton Danielle Ferris, 19, formerly of Cheyenne, Wyo. was in Franklin County court again on Wednesday afternoon with her attorney and public defender Eric J. Dirnbeck. He was appointed to the double-homicide case on Nov. 16 and stated he was not ready to proceed with the defense on Wednesday.
It seems that good news, as far as the weather is concerned, is non-existent as rain continues on an almost daily basis. Even those that are not involved in farming are looking forward to better weather days.
As the calendar moves further into October, the opportunity for wheat planting becomes less likely but weather conditions can change rapidly but that is less likely as we move closer to winter.
Some limited harvesting occurred on Monday and Tuesday and ground conditions were not as bad as feared. The weather for the remainder of this week does not look very good.
