Great weather has continued to be a theme, and we have taken advantage with outdoor activities. Our little red grain truck has been transformed into the starter fertilizer nurse truck for spring, which involves inserting a 1,600 gallon tank, pump and hose system into the back of the truck. We store the nurse system on an old rack wagon tucked in the corner of a shed through the
winter. We will begin shuffling equipment out of the shed tommorrow to prepare for seed delivery. We anticipate our first delivery next week. The decision to take delivery of all our seed prior to planting has paid dividends the past 3 years. The flexibility has been key with the weather’s unpredictability.
We also tackled a grain bin project last week. The bin (one we use for drying corn) has a liner on the inside which allows air to flow between the bin wall and grain. To ensure that the air flow isn’t restricted for fall 2012, we removed the liner and cleaned between it and the wall. We also took up the bin’s floor and cleaned out any ground-up corn that had sifted through the aeration gaps in the floor. The bin floor sits 17″ higher than the concrete to allow air to move up through the grain in the bin. We are also installing a 3rd centrifical fan to the bin for additional drying capacity. Generally, this bin will dry corn from 25-17% moisture. We have booked a portion of our LP needs for fall drying, and we hope our “spring cleaning” will allow for more efficient use of the propane!
Dennis is currently in the shop conducting “pre-plant” maintanence on the corn planter, but took a break to attend the Farm Machinery Show in Louisville over the weekend. We have ordered tanks for our starter fertilizer and bulk fuel projects… currently lining out details prior to delivery.
Exciting time on the farm… Spring is just around the corner!
