Follow up for the curious--- and to save our reputation.

[sw363535]

SW in the 4th year of the mega drought.

Remember this

2013 wheat stubble that did not make the winter without terrible wind damage. (Still having those 60 mph winds but now they don't last all day)

In order to get it under control to protect neighboring fields it turned into this----

And packed into this----

Well we have had just short of 6 inches of rain this year so far (normal 20 inches per year)  Three of which came all at once.

We jumped the gun and planted milo after only 3/4 inch of rain.  Milo only half came up.  Then in late June we got the 3 incher and drilled feed into it so it looks like this now.

Sorry it is hazy but if we get a rain or two more --- the cows will enjoy it.  And if we don't it should make a 18-24 inches tall before it burns up and hopefully it will make it through winter this time.

[k-289]

Are those rows a mile and a half long ?

[ECIN]

LMAO 289 - mile and a half ??? looks like more like it go's from one county to the other 

Thanks sw for the pictures - , man oh man - what a different world out there

[sw363535]

289,

When it blows that hard and the sand gets moving it looks 4 miles long, but it is just a half mile.

We had 7---35 acre corners on half mile sprinklers with last years frozen wheat all get out of control.  I guarantee ya, notil don't work if you can't raise a crop of stubble. And if you can't raise wheat stubble or milo, a through away cover crop is a waist of time.

We had to get them under control to plant the corn circles.  The picture of the packed ground shows the corn on the irrigated circle.  The circle is a mile wide and covers 488 acres. ----- fits into a square section 640 acres and leaves 4 --35 acre corners.

The TRICK is ----------------- Take away all of the trees and hills on the horizon ---------------- makes everything look bigger.  🙂

[sw363535]

Ecin,

All around us it is trying to change and the storms show up every week, but so far we get 3 inches of wind and a quarter inch of water.

4 th year of bad drought.  Those corners have not raised a crop in 4 years.   Every year it gets harder to deal with, and the irrigation is harder to make work.  We have 24 inches to pump ------ not enough for good corn without some normal water.  

Drought with highlights-------

2011 was the year of HEAT.   Summer temps as much as 20 degrees above normal. 100 degrees in 6 different months--- normally only 2 weeks in July---Rainfall at 33% of normal 6.5 inches

2012 was the year of DROUGHT.  With the year before coupled with another year of less than 8 inches of rain everything dry land died early.  Irrigation did well in just the right year.  We got by.

2013 was the year of FREEZE.  Wheat got burned into the ground by temps of 15-17 degrees in the second week of May.  Delaying and hurting irrigated crops as well.  Rain about 7.5 inches 

2014 has been the year of WIND.  We normally get a couple of weeks of wind in March  ----- 2014 saw 45-65 mph winds 4 days a week for 3.5 months starting in March. ----  I guarantee you the land in those first two pictures has not looked like that more than once since the depression.  ( in 1996 4 winter 65+mph wind storms lasting 72 hours each took out a good wheat crop and it looked like that for a few days.  We notilled milo on the first rain and raised 100+ bpa milo instead of wheat.)  

It may not be over, we lost a field of irrigated corn first week of July to wind with a 75% green snap just ahead of tassel.  4 other fields with up to 45% damage.  Rain ----- It is July 23 and we have reached the 6 inch mark ------ 3 of which came in 45 minutes.

It isn't the easiest place to farm ---------- but this has been a little extreme.

[sw363535]

Ecin,

Remember 2011 the Heat year -------- 117 degrees at 4000 feet elevation with cantelope developing in the field ------------The year  USDA decided to blame the farmer.

[ECIN]

sw my friend - all I have to say is your a lot tuffer than I am -  I don't think ole ken could put up with your conditions with out ending up in th nut house . 

Hey you have to have somebody to blame

[k-289]

USDA + cantelope = MICRO - MANAGEMENT  - can't imagin 10,000 acres of cantelope ---