Cold But Scenic

If it was in the old days of riding open tractors I'd be sitting here in the house trying to thaw out. That strong NW wind and temps around 50 would chill you to the bone after a few hours on an open tractor.  I know from experience and don't miss those days. Sitting in the scenic greenhouse of the old Magnum today was quite comfortable. I got tired of waiting on rain (or snow) to alleviate the dry conditions and started on applying anhydrous today.
I don't remember when anhydrous has ever been this expensive, pushing the $1000 per tonne mark. Or when I've put it on in such dry conditions either. But I'm giving it a good shot and hoping we get enough rain to grow some wheat on that ground.
Its a nice change being able to drive without concern of mud and getting stuck. Working through sloughs that have not been worked in years or maybe ever seeded.
Even with  late start and not really pushing too hard I finished the field by 9:00 with 112 acres done. That 1985 Peterbilt pulling the anhydrous refill tank would fit right in with my old machinery.

I'm currently uploading a video of some of today's work to youtube and its taking forever. Oh well, gives me time to catch up on washing dishes and checking email.

Bad Luck,

or no luck at all. That expression kept running through my head these past few days. The flax field disaster just won't end. I've given up on trying to get it through the combine without burning the machine or field down. Now trying to dispose of the crop swaths is a mammoth task. The flax rake won't work at all. The harrows are working but slowly as some of the old swaths from last fall are almost glued to the ground. It all helped influence my decision to never try growing flax again. Weeds growing like crazy in the global warming heat we have endured for a couple of days. I should be seeding, or anhydrousing, both actually. But I can't til this straw is out of the way. I did get a small start on anhydrousing a small field of canola stubble yesterday. It had some surprisingly wet spots where I was lucky not to get stuck.

Dry fertilizer delivered to the yard Friday so that part is ready to go, if I ever actually get into the field with the air seeder.
Flax straw harrowing went well but slow today. Right up until a front tire went flat on the tractor. A 3/4 mile walk across the hundred acre woods to the only available transportation (the John Deere swather). Slow but it beats walking. No spares so that tractor is down til tomorrow. I made use of the wasted afternoon by cleaning up and putting the swather and combine away in the shed til next harvest.
Little spits of rain all over the radar map tonight  that likely won't amount to much. Not that we need any.

May 13 NH3

Finally getting in a little field work. The ground is actually drying up good in places although there is still a lot of good land under water. Carrying a big tow rope with me as insurance. against getting stuck.
I must have set a record for the longest wait ever for a refill of anhydrous. About 24 hours from the time I requested it. Problems at Viterra so consequently , I only got a couple of hours worth done today. Just one more setback in an already late spring planting season.

One More Step Forward

All the pieces are finally coming together. This picture (taken April 24) shows the first day in the field for the JD 1610 anhydrous cultivator we have been working on. Except for a few leaks that needed sealing up it seems to be working out pretty well. Those narrow Bourgault NH3 knives with the carbide tips are easy pulling and don't disturb the soil much. Someone commented that those carbide tipped knives will still be working long after we are retired or have shuffled off this mortal coil. I hope they do last as they were quite expensive.
Unfortunately the weather has put a stop to field operations today with some light snow and temps down near the freezing mark. Kind of nice to have a day off for a change and of course a little rain will do us a lot of good. Grass and trees are starting to show some green but the cows still come home to eat hay out of the feeder after a day of foraging the field and pasture. Not enough grass growth to keep them satisfied just yet.
We are pretty much on schedule for this time of year. With a little luck and a few breaks (not breakdowns) I have hopes of getting the crop seeded by the usual time.
I've already put in a row of early potatoes in the garden. They probably won't show any leaves for weeks but at least its a start.

More spring preparations

Spring marches on. With almost record breaking warm temperatures it feels more like May than April this past week. No seeding going on in the immediate area that I have noticed but then it is still a little early. We know that Sask weather can lull us into a sense of security with beautiful weather and then turn around and hit us with a late spring snowstorm or frost and we might regret planting crops too early.
It has been great condtions for working on the big green machine, a John Deere 1610 chisel plow that we are installing an anhydrous fertilizer kit on. Its a lot of work and expense but at current rental rates this machine should pay for itself in about 3 years. And by that I mean the rental rates we won't have to pay. After over ten years of renting anhydrous applicators and paying as high as $3 an acre for the use of them, it will be nice to have a machine of our own that is always always available and kept in a good state of repair. Some of the rental stuff tends to see some hard use and a lack of maintenance.
Hopefully next week will see us putting anhydrous into the ground in preparation for planting. With a little luck ,,, seeding the first week of May.
As usual, plans subject to change due to weather changes. The cattle guys (including me) would like to see a little rain to get the grass growing, but not enough to seriously delay seeding crops