So I made a return to my old homeland of Oklahoma for the harvest of our wheat plots. They are located in a field of Ben Nowakowski's, brother of Sales Account Manager Jacob (Jake) Nowakowski. They are located near McLoud, OK about 40 miles East of Oklahoma City. Well I got up yesterday morning (Monday) in Stillwater, OK to torrential rain. This was the day of the tremendous downpour of some 12 inches of rain in the Oklahoma City area. However, the rainfall amounts were quite variable. The plots only received less than 3 inches, but too much for any harvesting. So we decided to head West to Texas to see some of our cotton plots North of Lubbock and see some new customers South of Lubbock. Surely it would be dry there. It did get dry, hot and sunny as we crossed into Texas near Wichita Falls, but as we went further West, the skies darkened and opened up to more driving rain. The picture below is just South of Tahoka, TX, which is about 30 miles South of Lubbock. They had received 5 inches of rain that afternoon, along with 80 mph winds. This is a cotton field. As you can see, the bar ditches are full and we drove through several inches of water over the highway. It was interesting to observe that the water coming out of no-till fields was relatively clear while water coming out of the worked fields was dirty.
This morning we looked at our other cotton plots North of Lubbock which didn't receive nearly as much rain and looked good. We made our way back to Oklahoma, stopping at Hinton to check on some more cotton plots, and made it back to our wheat plots. It was sunny and warm and I was optomistic that we would be able to harvest our plots tomorrow. But upon arrival, it was too muddy and the wheat grain was moist. We have a custom plot harvester come down from Kansas each year to help us, but we called him off till later in the week. In this picture, Jake poses in a wheat plot. The plots do look nice don't they.
Nearby we looked at the first field of corn planted this year by Ben. This picture was planted on March 15. The first pass on the right was made without fertilizer for several hundred feet as a check for comparison. Not one tassel is showing. The corn on the left received an in-furrow application of 6 gal/A of Pro-Germinator + 3 pints/A of Micro 500. Both received the same nitrogen program. The soil is low in phosphorus, and the soil test recommendation was for 200 lb/A of 18-46-0. So it looks like the Liquid is doing its job of advancing growth. So this was worth the trip.
Meanwhile back at the NCRS, a number of activities were occurring. I received this picture of Brian and Tim (who apparently is back from Africa) tying up grape vines for training. Looks good guys.
Thanks for reading todays installment. I was scheduled to leave on Thursday for important assignments at the NCRS. But I have to decide whether or not to stick around for the harvest. So you gotta let me know, should I stay or should I go?
This morning we looked at our other cotton plots North of Lubbock which didn't receive nearly as much rain and looked good. We made our way back to Oklahoma, stopping at Hinton to check on some more cotton plots, and made it back to our wheat plots. It was sunny and warm and I was optomistic that we would be able to harvest our plots tomorrow. But upon arrival, it was too muddy and the wheat grain was moist. We have a custom plot harvester come down from Kansas each year to help us, but we called him off till later in the week. In this picture, Jake poses in a wheat plot. The plots do look nice don't they.
Nearby we looked at the first field of corn planted this year by Ben. This picture was planted on March 15. The first pass on the right was made without fertilizer for several hundred feet as a check for comparison. Not one tassel is showing. The corn on the left received an in-furrow application of 6 gal/A of Pro-Germinator + 3 pints/A of Micro 500. Both received the same nitrogen program. The soil is low in phosphorus, and the soil test recommendation was for 200 lb/A of 18-46-0. So it looks like the Liquid is doing its job of advancing growth. So this was worth the trip.
Meanwhile back at the NCRS, a number of activities were occurring. I received this picture of Brian and Tim (who apparently is back from Africa) tying up grape vines for training. Looks good guys.
Thanks for reading todays installment. I was scheduled to leave on Thursday for important assignments at the NCRS. But I have to decide whether or not to stick around for the harvest. So you gotta let me know, should I stay or should I go?