Aug 19 Part 1 - Drive to Des Moines

 The day started early as we left the house by 8:15 to pick up Joni’s mom on he way to driving Emma (Joe and Victoria’s) to meet up with her mom and dad, then on to Joe and Megan’s in the country outside Des Moines. 

Here is some of what I learned on the drive:

• Corn takes 99-107 days to mature in Albert City area) of course needs to mature for harvest before the first freeze. Based off heat unit days! Not just number of days. 2 cups of shell corn and moisture test it to be 20% or less dry.  Ideally take 15% from field to the grain elevator. Break ear in half and look at side view of kernel and it changes color, if black layered it is ready for frost cuz it is fully mature.
• Soybeans are in groups 1-4, group 2 (Albert City area) would be considered early and should be ready in 2-3 weeks. The leaves all have to fall off with just the brown stalk remaining for harvest.
• Conservation Reserve Program where government pays you not to farm the land but you still pay taxes on it. It’s part of soil conservation, clean water plan. Categories:  Highly erodible, wetlands, butterfly fields, buffer strips along the creeks. Farmer agrees to maintain the land. If you want to be considered for the program you submit a bid for what you want to be paid and it will either be accepted or rejected. Some of the wetland programs are for up to 99 years. 
• Farm buildings as we drove: hog buildings, usually just 1 building holding 1200 or double wide 2400; turkeys are 4-5 big long buildings with side walls are curtains (maybe 10,000 to a building, typical turkey farm might have 20,000) ; chickens are 2-3 long buildings with lots of fans (one farm near Rembrandt has about 5 million chickens!!!) 
• Alfalfa is cut every 4 weeks and if first cut is early enough you can get 4 cuttings, ditch or grass pasture is only cut once
• Karol’s new YouTube video: Learning to farm as a city slicker (or cousin Tom calls me a “highway farmer”)
• On most of the 2 1/2 hour drive we were serenaded by 3 year old Emma singing Boom Chick a Boom or the one that really went on forever was one her grandpa taught her on the mile drive into town for morning or afternoon coffee…”This is the way to the coffee shop, the coffee shop, this is the way to the coffee shop…and then it moves to donut shop, taffy shop, potato shop, bean shop, onion shop” you get the idea! This probably went on for an hour! So much fun! Never a dull moment with the grands!
• One sandwich, many names! Sloppy Joe, Made Rights, Beef burger, Taverns, loose meat sandwiches

All this on the way to 2 1/2 hour drive! Lots of conversation in the front seat!

Heard locusts last night loud and clear! Six weeks till frost!

Picture with corn damaged is the results of locusts.

Picture of the valley is the view from where I wrote this post at Clay and Megan’s.

91 degrees at noon, 64 % humidity 

This post may have been more than you bargained for but hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for Part 2!