Its not really news but spraying crops for weeds is a stressful time due to the weather affecting every move I make. If it is too windy, too hot, too wet, too dry, too many threatening clouds in the sky, threat of frost, etc., the list
goes on. It is a rare thing to get a windless day in Sask.It is equally
rare to get a dry quiet day but this past week we had two such days.
On one of them I was ready to go. 800 gallons of water and three jugs
of cheap herbicide (thank you Monsanto) and I am off to the fields.
By mid day the wind was pushing the limits of my comfort zone but I had
good buffer zones between neighbour's fields so went ahead.
12 hours and 38 miles of road driving later I had sprayed 200 acres of
canola. At 14 mph I spent about 3 hours on the road between farms and
that is enough time to spray another 80 acres.
The temperature was pushing the 80 degree mark and wouldn't you know, that was when the a.c. compressor failed to cut in so it got pretty warm
in the tractor cab. Good thing I brought lots of water to drink. Later
that evening the ac worked fine.
Now a couple of days of wheat field spraying await me.The wheat is about the right stage , unfortunately today is unsettled and threatening rain with
gusty winds so its a no-go I think. If conditions are not right by 6:00 pm,
forget it. It takes a good half hour to get to the field and then 3 hours
to spray out the tank which would put me into darkness. GPS is a big help but it won't show me where the sloughs and bushes are. Sprayer booms are no match for a good solid poplar tree and I don't need any more repair time spent on the sprayer.
Looking at the long range forecast I see one good day out of the next seven
so it looks like the weeds will get to grow bigger while I sit and wait.
I could go out and cut grass but no, its too wet, raining now. Maybe clean
the last of the seed oats from the bin onto the truck, but no, sure as anything
a rain shower would come up in the middle of that job.
Finish changing those cultivator shovels while kneeling on the wet ground. Yes that sounds like a plan.
Too much brain work for me!
ReplyDeleteGorges, it has gradually grown over the years into a sometimes complicated process to grow a crop. It is the price I pay for the life I live. So far it is worth it. In time it may become too high.
ReplyDeleteone of the benefits of organic farming, not worrying about chem application... however there are plenty other things to stress over lol hope you get some good weather!
ReplyDelete