So the other day Nick announced that the NCRS has expanded again. Welcome to Farm 12. It has 49 tillable acres and sits pretty close to the new apple orchard on Farm 8. It already is on the map on the Research/NCRS tab of the agroliquid website. It adds some more soil diversity to the operation. The ground is kind of heavy in some parts, but also has about 6 acres of muck. We have been muckless until now, and Brian is looking forward to some vegetable work on it. Michigan muck grows fine vegetables and that can be futher researched. I normally don't like to say what we are going to do, in case of unfulfilled promises. But I will give a partial reveal as we are excited about the possibilities. This will become our dedicated demonstration and tour farm. We plan to have it laid out for tours, and even put up a building to host events. We will get updated tour wagons with better sound and be downright more professional, if that is possible. We were really encouraged by the recent Research Field Days, and are anxious to take it up a notch. We plan to leave some ground for equipment demos and have some general agronomy learning situations. Troy is involved with the Michigan FFA and has suggested to them that this could be a crops and soils judging training facility. So lots to think about and hopefully some of it will come true. Stay tuned.
I took the Farm 12 picture yesterday, and on the way back to the office saw these beautiful trees along the road in the morning sunlight. (Note: this is not a driving picture. I safely pulled over with signals on and got out and clicked. So no calls, please.)
I sometimes show creative pictures taken by Stephanie, and here is another one. It was taken in the morning last week (on October 2) of some emerging winter wheat. There is good soil moisture with water coming out of the xylem opening at the leaf tip. Anyone know what this process is called?
Mr. Cook used to say that you needed to put your alfalfa to bed well-fed in the fall. We are testing some new nutrient applications on the NCRS alfalfa. Here is Tim D making an application last Friday.
Well that ought to bring you up to date. All of the plot soybeans are harvested, just have a little production beans to harvest. We will start on corn next week.
