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BLT – Bean, Layers, Tomato

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Where are we with Growing degree units you might well ask. We are about 450 growing degree units above normal here in Rochester. Extremely hot days don’t add as much as you might think because typically the plants shut down over 86 degrees and below 50 degrees. 

Too bad the weeds never stop growing. I mentioned once before, my soybean fields have really filled in and from the road, although short, they look pretty good. Except for all the weeds. I’m really discouraged about all the weeds. If this was a normal year, I probably would’ve had a second application of herbicide applied. But this year, I can’t justify the cost. 

You can see from the photo, because the plant is so short, there’s not a lot of pods in the first place, and those pods that are in the bottom 3 inches are difficult to get in the combine because it doesn’t typically cut that close to the ground. I have talked before about guys rolling their fields after planting to help level them and to press rocks and such down into the soil. This is exactly why; to get as close to the ground as possible but still, it’s hard to get that low. 

And the beans that are there, are not very big. There just hasn’t been the moisture to develop and fill a bean.

The corn looks kind of rough from the hail as the leaves are shredded up, the ears are OK, except again, small, and not filled to the tip because of drought stress, and I expect the kernels will be small because again, not enough moisture to fill the kernel.

Notice the kernels on this ear and how the tip didn’t fill. Drought stress and the plant pulled resources from them to save the other kernels.

This ear is 13 rows around and 43 kernels long. Everybody remember our math from last year? 13×43 equals 559 kernels on this plant. 80,000 kernels per bushel (bushel meaning 56 pounds), means I need 143 ears to create a bushel, but if the kernels are small and light, it will take more than 80,000 to be a bushel. Be sure to subtract deer, raccoon, and turkey damage. This year will be what it is.

I made a little more progress on the shop. I have some of the two by fours installed on the walls that the interior steel siding will be fastened to. And electricians came back and installed the breaker box and some outlets. The other end isn’t hooked up at the pole yet, but he’s hoping to get that on Tuesday. 

Momma and the chicks are doing well. Kelly calls her ‘Mother Clucker’. How many chicks can you find in this photo? (She’s still got all 13) And the 4 young guineas are hanging out with the older guineas. And we like this batch of ‘mixed breed’ chicks from this spring. They have pretty plumage.

Kelly has one tomato plant, growing wild, and doing better than her plants in a pot.

Daughter waters the plants. She enjoys having chores. And it’s fun to watch her do it. She turns on hose, puts it in plant, thinks for a few seconds, counts “1,2,3…4,5……..6, 7…. 8…. 9,10” thinks for a second, takes hose out. Good thing the pots have drain holes in the bottom.

Last week I mentioned the lack of women behind the parts counters. I feel like I should clarify: There are a lot of women in agriculture. I just don’t often see them behind the counter. There are women who are large animal veterinarians. There are several women agronomist’s I work with and the lady who runs the Crop Insurance agency. There are a few women who are solo farmers and there are several on YouTube I follow. There are many out there working with their families and contributing as much as the men. I am in no way disparaging them. Being a farm wife is a huge task.

We used to have one woman farmer in our neighborhood. Rita. Hair all done up and nails painted and she ran the farm while her husband worked in town.

Kelly and I try to spend a few minutes in the evening sitting on our veranda without a roof watching the world go round.

Do you drink the recommended 15 cups of water in a day? Who do you know in non-traditional roles?

25 thoughts on “BLT – Bean, Layers, Tomato”

  1. I do not drink the 15 cups/day. That seems like too much. I’m a 4 liters guy.🙄
    We had several women on our floor covering crew. Here in Ohio, the construction trade unions are quite active in recruiting women.
    I also know a stay-at-home father.

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  2. I drink several cans of La Croix water every day, so I suppose I get 4-5 cups a day. We have a case of it in the van as we prepare to leave Wisconsin and head to Brookings, SD. Our travel will be mainly on I 90 once we get to Tomah, WI. I expect an 8 hour trip.

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  4. OT Jimmy Buffett died. Won’t mean much to many of you. I will not bother you with the story of how it came to be, but his radio station was the car music for my daughter and family. Her kids grew up on it. As she says, he was not that good a singer but his bands were good and the music was happy and tropical and uplifting on wintery roads. She is in Virginia right now but she is how I know.
    Clyde

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    1. I think there are a lot of sad Jimmy Buffett fan’s tonight. He seemed so vital and strong, it’s hard to comprehend that he’s gone at 76; seems too soon. A good man with a brilliant career.
      I’ll take comfort in knowing he had a great life, and left us a lot of recordings and memories.

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  5. Kelly has that sense of humor… 🙂 I had a college friend whose last name rhymes with clucker, so of course we called him Mother, or just Mom…

    15! What happened to 8 cups a day? I’ve read about this from both sides, and I drink a lot of water – maybe I should measure one day and see.

    There is a very good woman-owned house painting business of women down here – they have waiting list to if you want to employ them. And I know of several stay-at-home dads, and male nurses…

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  6. I had a student whose nickname was Mother because she had a mothering quality. The name was a compliment. By now she is probably a grandmother. And I had a student nicknamed Father for similar reasons, also a compliment. I lost track of him.
    Clyde

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  7. My daughter and son-in-law are extreme Parrottheads. Their homes, including the current residence in New York, are decorated with Buffet stuff. I know they have attended dozens of concerts.

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  8. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I drink a lot of liquid, but I don’t like water. I drink too much Crystal Light. I like iced Tea, as well. I do not know how much total liquid I drink, though.

    I remember telling my son about how when I was a child all nurses were women and all doctors were men. He looked at me, saying, “Nahhh. Why?” But he grew up with an aunt who was a doctor and an uncle who was a nurse. My childhood experience made no sense to him. My mother was to be a farm wife–that was the plan when she and dad married. But then life interfered and she returned to teaching. At the time she felt like a three-legged person because she never knew any woman who supported a family as a teacher. She quit teaching when she became pregnant with me,which was the standard at the time.

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    1. In my first childhood town (Storm Lake, IA, about 8,000), in the 50s women teachers were single, or if you had Mrs. in front of your name it’s because you were widowed (or divorced?). So all my teachers were Miss until we moved to Marshalltown..

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    2. Last year, my back surgeon was a woman wearing a banner below her name tag that read “DOCTOR”. When I questioned that, she said Mayo was trying this program, because a lot of patients wouldn’t recognize she was the doctor, and begin talking with the male intern that walked in with her. (That lady had a very commanding presence about her, and there was no way I would’ve mistaken the quiet intern for the doctor). I thought it was really sad they had to resort to that to clarify who was the doctor. Sadder still, some of the male doctors didn’t like having to wear the banner.

      There is a mix of both genders as the nurse and the CNA’s at mom’s place. Both can be really good.

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  9. I’ve worked with a few male nurses. One of them was the best RN I have ever had the honor of working with, no exaggeration. I’ve never met anyone more capable, more kind, or more skilled. There were female nurses I’ve worked with who couldn’t hold a candle to him.

    I’ve also worked with several female doctors. They were exceptional and more detail-oriented than their male counterparts. Two of those female doctors were a little eccentric. One had an obsession about her purse and was compulsive about carrying tissues and dabbing at her nose. The other was a brilliant, old, Peace Corps retiree who had so much experience and wisdom. She wore plaid polyester pants from the ‘60s, and big leather work boots with her white lab coat. Her hands were large, leathery and scarred, as if she had worked as a cowboy. I really enjoyed her. She also listened closely to what we had to say about our patients. We knew them and she knew we cared and had good observations. It felt good to be valued that way.

    I blurted out my question about defining a “cup”. Some people call a large mug of coffee a “cup” but it’s probably between 300 – 500 mL. My mom used to refuse to drink liquids, which can be really dangerous for older women. When I’d ask if she’d had any water or juice to drink, she’d show me the little 6 ounce juice glass about half full. She’d say she drank a whole glass.

    I try to drink at least 2,000 mL of water every day. I include tea in this amount but not coffee. I rarely drink any kind of juice but I do like water.

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  10. I drink water almost exclusively. In the summer I will add occasional lemonade or Crystal Light. I keep a 24 oz. water bottle in the refrigerator and easily drink a full bottle daily, sometimes two, especially in warm/hot weather. I am accompanied by a water bottle nearly everywhere I go and sip (or gulp) from it frequently. My kidneys work really well!

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  11. While working in a hospital for 35 years, I worked with both male nurses (please, let’s just call them nurses) and female doctors (again, just call them doctors). In fact, the majority of neonatology interns/residents were women. Their competency had little to do with their gender. Many were excellent, some were just average, and a few were lousy. I really hate the term “male nurse”. Do we separate lawyers into male lawyers and female lawyers? I’ll get off my soapbox now.

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  13. I have had about 8 nurse practitioners treat me, all women and have two two PA friends, both women.
    30 years ago a man was hired as a kindergarten teacher. That ruffled a few feathers.
    My sister was once one of six women certified to be superintendent in SD where there were no women in that role. She was a CD, a role she loved, and resented the pressure to take on a role for which she knew she was I’ll-suited.
    Clyde

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  15. about 20 cups of tea a day and there in the summer I’ll figure out how to slide in by six water portions as well

    stuff about guys and guys rules and girls and girls roles has kind of gone by the wayside for me. I would guess half of my doctors are women and you see a lot of men doing women’s stuff traditionally speaking I think it’s great if that stuff starts to go by the wayside, I heard on the news the other day in Rochester that is whole time lol as far as moisture for the year so hopefully this will be out of the norm and not the new regular deal. Sorry to hear that it’s been such a tough year at Crossville. Hopefully he’ll figure out how to keep it going , my dad is safe farmers are the biggest animal on the planet

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  16. I don’t much like drinking water, so I get my fluids in other ways. Coffee and iced tea and lemonade and cranberry or grapefruit juice, mostly. I also love to have soup for lunch or dinner, so there’s that.

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