A frosty start to the morning here in Cannon Falls. It reminded me of a song that I haven't heard for a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRnKYNlHVA
I got over to Red Wing yesterday, and looked again at that field of beans that had been frosted about a month ago. In the picture below, you can easily see the areas that froze:
Notice the discoloration in the field. On the left, is what the field is supposed to look like. On the right, the darker areas are those with the frost damage:
In the picture above, this is right along the roadway, where the beans didn't freeze. You can see the darker area to the right. Moving into the field:
you can see the black leaves hanging on the plants, and the black, discolored stems of the frozen plants. Looking closer now:
Notice this frost damage wasn't just the canopy. It extended quite a way down through the canopy, and killed the plant almost a foot down from the top. Notice the lack of beans above the frost line - very few. A look at the ground:
shows where the pods went. This is a nice field of beans, but where it was frosted, it will take a hit. If there's one field, there's more out there. Looking at an individual stem:
the damage is pretty evident. Yes, there was frost in MN, even though some claim there wasn't.
My neighbor from over in Central WI woke up to this yesterday morning:
The first snowfall of the year. Here in Cannon Falls yesterday:
one of the many picturesque areas to be seen, as we approach peak color. This was taken coming into Cannon Falls by our high school.
I will update the weather tomorrow if I get a chance. Nothing much more to show. Nothing overly threatening right now. Some light showers through the Midwest over the next few days - doesn't look like anything major. Most farmers are just waiting for the crops to dry down. There is no corn taken off here, except for what has been taken for silage. I'll try and look at another corn field here in the next couple of days, and see where we are at.
One additional thing I want to add this morning. Did anyone see the (I think) Case IH ad on TV, where they were saying that your information from your equipment is your information alone? It seems to indicate that GPS information from some manufactures don't just download the position, but also upload information about what your equipment is doing. I have suspected that was the case for a long time - it's the first time I have actually seen it in an ad. If that is the case, and I believe that it is, it's just another case of the farmer being farmed without even knowing it. Actual field data from the farm that could be compared year to year, just how valuable would that be? Extremely. Who has access to the infor - where does it get sold and how used? I can only speculate. And it's one reason I am no longer a speculator.....
Jen
