We purchased a new tile plow to install our own drainage tile.  This will move excess water from below the soil surface so crop yields will improve.  We will use our existing GPS signal for grade control.

Early in the summer, we applied our second application of nitrogen on the corn.  Splitting the application spreads the risk of losing nitrogen from heavy rains.  We also applied fungicide to the corn and beans later in the summer to prevent disease.

We were contacted by a professor at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.  He grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa, and created a course titled Farm that was offered at the University.  One of his students had a grandfather that lived in Essex as a child.  The class took a tour of agriculture in Iowa and stopped by our farm operation.  We enjoyed their visit and hope they did, too!

We recently sprayed our beans with fungicide. This satellite image is already showing some interesting patterns. We’re hoping this leads to an increase in yields at harvest time.