What's Normal Anymore??? Corn Planting #3

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Well, I just had an event that uh got to say is a first for me. Uh you know, I got my switch up here to turn my pump on and off and turn this way and all of a sudden I seen fire.

[00:00:12]Fire f come out of that switch. It got hot quick. It see melted completely melted the prong off.

[00:00:25]Heat up here.

[00:00:59]Well, we've been planning about an hour, hour and a half. Uh if you can tell, but Kelly's made it over here. She's going to start her uh burn down. Uh Andy should be back on the track co again trying to get done with uh everything I want to get done over there on Fisher Farm. And as for us, we're back down to four miles an hour. Uh, thought I had my pump fixed, but it it's just not putting out. I do have the circuit breaker run up here in the cab. It It's right up under my drone case there, and I checked it. It's staying nice and cool. So, I'm guessing the problem is the pump just ain't got the guts to do what I need it to do. So, it looks like for next year, I'm going to have to find a different solution. Whether it's uh trying maybe find some more hydraulic flow for my planter or mounting a PTO pump on here.

[00:01:48]Uh right now I'm leaning towards the PTO pump option. That's going to be a winter project and we're just going to try and get through this corn planting with the electric pump that I got uh now. I mean I did pay $600 for it. So might as well get as much use out of it as I can.

[00:02:05]Although I ain't going to lie. I mean it's it's pleasant planting along at 4 miles an hour, you know, nice and smooth. Just uh taking my time. I know it's doing a good job of metering. Maybe our singulation will be a little bit better. you know, everything's running slower back there. Uh problem is we're just not being uh near as productive as what I need to be. But it is what it is.

[00:02:28]Thank goodness we're early on our planting this year. And uh we got a little extra time to spend in the field doing some planting. You can tell right there on my pressure gauge. I've got my recirculating closed all the way off. So, I mean, this pump is sending 100% of its power and flow down the tool bar. starting. You see it's uh 20 PSI with the flow on.

[00:02:50]It's maintaining that 15 1/2 gallons per acre for the most part. It kind of fluctuates back and forth a little bit, but you tell right there's 3.7 m an hour. I knew everything wasn't going to be just completely smooth and hunky dory when adding this new system to here. I figured there'd be some things we'd have to work out, but I didn't think the pump was going to be the issue to be honest.

[00:03:13]Also, update on the weather weather front. Uh sun's done popped out. Checked the weather forecast. We done dropped from an 80% chance of rain today to a 60% chance of rain. Uh it's not looking too promising. I checked the weatherwise radar app and they've got an option on there to look at uh models and projections. And the HR model is showing everything going to our north and east and not hardly getting a sprinkle here.

[00:03:42]There's another one. I can't remember which model it was. It's showing a few pretty nice sails kind of coming right on top of us. So, we'll see which one is more accurate, but I'm hoping it's the second one. Man, I'd kill to get some rain right now.

[00:03:59]I just had an event that uh got to say is a first for me. Uh I was making a right-hand turn and looking this way and you know, I got my switch up here to turn my pump on and off and turn this way and all of a sudden I seen fire.

[00:04:13]fire. F R E come out of that switch.

[00:04:19]Apparently, one of these prongs touched the metal frame here on my Kinsey hydraulic box and grounded out. It got hot quick. It see melted completely melted the prong off.

[00:04:34]Also, it don't smell too good in here, too. Electrical fires was is probably sick and worse to having hair burn. So anyway, Carter just got out of school.

[00:04:43]He's uh I believe I got a spare one there at the shop. He's going to try and find it, bring it back out here to me, and then hopefully we'll be back up and running soon. All right, Carter cannot find the one that I had at the shop, so he ran into town, grabbed me another one. So, we'll be back in business here in just a minute. All right, we got to make sure to put this in where uh it can't touch any bare metal. We don't want to start another fire. All right.

[00:05:12]Hey, we have pressure now. Oh, look here. I got a roll of electrical tape here in the tractor.

[00:05:24]All right, we shouldn't have any more problems shortening up now. We've lost about an hour. Oh boy, it's going to be a late night unless we get rained out.

[00:05:34]All right, I know I got quite a few uh canola producers that watch my channel.

[00:05:38]You can see our canola field through the field. You see how it's still yellow? I mean, it it's still in full bloom there.

[00:05:46]And it's probably been full bloom for I mean, close to 3 weeks. Uh I don't have any experience. How long does canola typically bloom for? I mean, I knew it for a little while, but I you know, 3 plus weeks, and it looks like it's starting to fade out just a little, but I mean, it's still blooming good. How long how long does is the normal blooming period for canola? And then another question, how drought tolerant is canola? I kind of figure with a really deep tap routt, you know, it definitely roots a lot deeper than what wheat does. I figured it's probably a little bit more drought tolerant than what wheat is. But again, I don't have any experience. So any kind of insight y'all can give me on those two things, I sure would appreciate it.

[00:06:36]Well, it looks like there might be some storm clouds up there. That's just been uh steadily building. We're facing due north right now. Unfortunately, it's not looking good for us. See, we're right there. That blue dot right by Jackson. And it sure looks like it's going to do just like the uh first model predicted. It's going to go north of us.

[00:07:01]I mean, that's some nice rain there. And I'm I'm proud for them guys up there and weekly and Oan County. They're getting it. I mean, they need it just as bad as I do. But I'm jealous. I want some myself, but doesn't look like it's going to come out of that. I mean, not all hope is lost. I mean, there's a chance it could build. I think there's like a a line that it's building on. I mean, there's there's a chance it could still build and hit us, but I ain't going to lie, it's pretty disappointing so far.

[00:07:29]We do have another chance here in a couple days on Saturday to get some. And this drought ain't going to last forever. I mean, it it's not going to last forever. We're not going to turn into Kansas, Nevada, Colorado. We're going to get our rain again at some point. You know, our average is 52 in a year and we're a third of the way through the year and we've got 7.4 in.

[00:07:52]There's a reason it's called an average.

[00:07:54]And just like what we saw last year, by July 1st of last year, we were sitting at, I think, 42 in for the year. And then we didn't see a drop of rain for 84 days. And we actually finished below average for the year, I believe. So, what I'm worried about is it's bone dry now. When the dam does burst, I mean, it might literally burst and then we get way, way, way too much rain to bring us back up to near normal for the year. But seriously, what's normal anymore? I can't remember the last time we had a normal year. I'd say it it was probably before CO.

[00:08:34]Well, look at there. Look at there. It's building up a little bit to the south and west. What does radar look like?

[00:08:44]I mean, it's getting closer, but it's the way it's moving. It's looking like it's still going to go north of us. But maybe, just maybe, good Lord sees will see fit to send us some much needed rain.

[00:09:00]Uh, it's been lightning and carrying on up there to our north for quite a while, but we got just enough sprinkles to get my windshield uh nasty with the with the dust that's on there. I know we'll get ours one day, but I mean, this is going on since last July 1st. Uh, you wonder when the drought is ever going to end.

[00:09:24]Well, we uh we getting a lot closer to done with this farm. Well, we got about uh 16 more acres left. So, as long as the rain holds off, which I think it will, going to try and get this uh farm wrapped up today. I'm about out of fertilizer. We're going to have to go fill up again before I get done.

[00:09:46]Luckily, Kelly has already taken the water wagon in, filled it up with fertilizer, and brought it back out here. Do have a a little bit of good news. I mean, other than other than my switch catching fire, uh haven't had any uh gremlins today. No electrical problems. Haven't had the the precision planting screaming at me all day. My circuit breaker down there has stayed nice and cool. It hasn't tripped. My pump's been running all day. Uh only problem is just not getting the flow out of the pump that I would like, but I've noticed that my pressures my pressure has been creeping up a little bit all day, but it seems like our flow is decreasing a little bit. Uh I just wonder if my strainers back there are getting uh choked up and uh and and limiting flow. So uh tomorrow morning we're going to check all the strainers out, see if maybe that might be restricting flow. And reason they might be choked up as well, I mean we got a brand new system on here, you know, cut hoses and stuff, so there might have been a little debris in the hoses. Plus, we've also got this humic acid in here, which, you know, is basically particles of carbon. You know, it's solid material suspended, you know, in the liquid, you know, in the nitrogen itself. And uh we've got a we've got two main filters on this thing before it gets back to each individual row strainer. But the screens on these larger filters are not going to be as fine as the ones on the rows. So, I don't know. We just spitballing here trying to uh trying to diagnose and get this thing dialed in completely. I know we need a rain in the worst kind of way.

[00:11:26]You know, as we've been planting today, the sea level in my boxes has, you know, been dropping. So, it's less weight of seed on each row. And I mean, some places this farm, I mean, we're we're maxing out the down pressure and we're losing, you know, ground contact. Like right here in this old thin spot. I mean, we're getting 50% ground contact.

[00:11:48]I mean, we're still putting seed deep, but it ain't going two and a/4 in deep like what I got it set. And I ain't there ain't no there ain't nothing else I can do about that. You know, we got that hydraulic down force absolutely maxed out on what the parallel arms on this planter are supposed to be able to to take. And actually, I I've actually exceeded the recommended pressure to try and get a little bit more down pressure on them. There's still moisture, you know, two two and a/4 in deep, but man, it it takes a lot of force to uh force those double disc openers to to cut down to that two two and a/4 in deep and open up that big old wide seed trench. Well, praise the Lord. I know you can't see it.

[00:12:36]It's starting to rain a little bit.

[00:12:41]Look at there. We're right there where that blue dot is, where the tip of my thumb is. Looks like the bulk of it still going to go north of us. I mean, oh, Dylan Joyce, he they getting hammered up there. He getting a good rain, but it started raining just right as my fertilizer tanks rain ran dry. So, I reckon we'll wait a few minutes, see what it does.

[00:13:05]I mean, it seriously cannot get any closer than that.

[00:13:14]I mean, it's it's literally like 100 yards that way, man. Alive.

[00:13:24]Who I got to bribe to get a rain.

[00:13:27]As soon as I got out and got my hose hooked up, it started coming down a good bit better. Man, I hope we're rained out tonight. Even if we don't get this farm done, I'll be just fine with that. Well, we are definitely officially done for the day. No sooner did I pull up here and hook my hose up to my tanks to fill up with fertilizer. The bottom fell out and uh Kelly sent me a screenshot of my rain gauge at home, which is about a half a mile as a crow flies that way. Uh y'all can't see which way I'm pointing, but anyway, it's over that way and got a quarter inch. So, man alive. I thought we was going to miss it. Praise to our Lord, Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:14:11]This will definitely make me feel a whole lot better about planting, you know, whenever we can get back here in the fields, which as dry as it is, ultimately won't be that long. You know, I might be rained out tomorrow morning.

[00:14:22]But trust me, that rain is going to soak into the soil real quick and it it won't be wet for very long. Be absolutely perfect plant conditions. Even if it's going to be a little cool after this front moves through, it's going to be be a little cool, but it'll be just fine to plant corn. So, anyway, going to wait for this rain to stop and fill up my fertilizer tanks and head to the house.

[00:14:43]Uh uh probably going to have to put her in four-wheel drive to get out of here, though. Might sling a little mud tonight. All right, we done we done fog the glass up in here. And uh it looks like on radar it keeps on building a little bit to our west. So, we're in a little bit of a lull. It's uh either uh get our tanks filled now or just uh be here for quite a while. So, looks like I'm going to get wet.

[00:15:35]Heat.

[00:15:38]Heat.

[00:15:55]Woo, that's a cold rain.

[00:16:01]All right, that's the heat.

[00:16:09]Come on, baby.

[00:16:13]All right, got all that mixed up. I think I'm going to sit in the truck till the rest of it fills up.

[00:16:25]All right, we're almost there.

[00:16:30]I'm not going to fill them up all the way cuz as far as they sit out, there's any kind of elevation difference, it'll settle to the lower side and start spilling out the top. Plus, I'm going to close the valves on the bottom so it don't do it while it's sitting here overnight. That looks like that's good enough.

[00:16:57]All right, we going to close these valves up under here. I know y'all can't see them.

[00:17:04]Y'all, I am plum soaked.

[00:17:16]That's all right cuz there's a shower in my future here in just a minute. And I went from getting dust on my belly every time I tried to squeeze in between here now and getting mud on my belly. I can't wait till these saddle tanks come off.

[00:17:37]All right, let her planter down.

[00:17:44]Lights off, key off, and I'm out of here.

[00:17:53]All right.

[00:18:00]All right. Four-wheel drive. We going to need it cuz up there at the front it is slick.

[00:18:08]It ain't nothing but bare dirt.

[00:18:13]Hope we can get this train out of here.

[00:18:18]Man, I just graded this with a dirt pan just a few weeks ago. Uh-oh. She's sliding. She's sliding. Come on home, baby.

[00:18:37]Come on. Almost the pavement. Almost the pavement. Ah, there we go.

[00:18:45]All right. Back to two wheel drive.

[00:18:49]Well, I guess I'll be rinsing this truck off in the morning and we going to have something to grade when it dries back out. So, anyway, guys, I'm head to the house. I'll see y'all back out here in the field. Don't know if it'll be tomorrow or the next day or when, but uh we still got a lot more corn to plant.

[00:19:12]Things just got a different outlook whenever you finally get some moisture in the soil. I mean, look at that. No more dust. It's about 2:00 on the uh you know, day after and uh stuff soaked in good and I believe we can finish up planting. So, Kelly better get in this sprayer and get ahead of me cuz I'm going to be right on your tail.

[00:19:30]>> Ooh, don't talk dirty.

[00:19:32]>> We got about uh eight nine more acres on this farm and we're going to get moved down the road and I got another 56 acre farm that I sure would like to get done today or tonight. It's going to be a late one regardless. Look, my plant is all nice and clean. No more dust and stuff on there.

[00:19:50]We should have just enough seed to get done with this farm. It's probably still going to be a little tacky in places, but uh that's okay. It's still going to be drier today than it has been some years. I planted corn. Look at that.

[00:20:04]That rain washed all that humic acid off off my tanks all nice and clean. My belly didn't get dirty and dusty squeezing in between them.

[00:20:18]All right, we've planted a few rounds and it's definitely planting pretty dang good. You can see where we did some dirt work down here at the bottom where I did a little bit of filling. It it's it's a little tacky there. If all the rest of the field was like that, you know, I wouldn't be planting. But you can see up here. I mean, this soil has already started browning over. I mean, it's planting good. And of course, out here, my cover crop is planting absolutely beautifully. Now, let me show you the difference 7/10 of an inch can make in plantability. All right. This right here is my active downforce map and you can see exactly where we stopped planting last night. I mean, here's the inrows. I mean, and this field has never been uh ripped and you can see it was taking almost maximum downforce on the inrows and then even down here in the nice bottom where we had a little bit more moisture, it was still taking a lot more downforce. Now, look at what I planted today.

[00:21:13]And that that blue you see is actually where the uh delta force is actually lifting the unit up a little bit. And what's that doing is that's helping prevent any compaction by not having too much downforce on those gauge wheels and compacting the sidewall. So I absolutely love this Delta Force. It makes a big difference in, you know, making sure our planter is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing. you know, with this moisture that we got in the seedbed now. I could uh technically uh raise my seed depth up a little bit.

[00:21:49]Right now, I got it set on about two and a quarter inches, which is a little bit shallower than ideal. Should still be fine. You know, originally, we was trying to put the seed down in the moisture, and now that we got moisture, I could shallow the seed up and give it maybe just a little bit easier chance to come up. But uh we got a pretty strong cold front coming in tomorrow. We got another chance of rain tomorrow. Like 90% chance of rain. Quarter to/ an inch is what they're saying. And then it's going to turn off pretty dang chilly for a couple days. Like highs around in the high 50s to around 60s with lows down in the low 40s. And that's going to get pretty chilly. And I'm a little bit concerned about a chilling injury to the seed. uh you know, we're putting in, you know, a good uh probably 18 hours before that rain gets here. And right now, the soil temperature is running about 75°.

[00:22:48]But if that uh corn seed were to embibbe any kind of moisture that is below 55°, it runs the chance of actually injuring the plant and uh either making either keeping it from germinating or make it germinate strange and can hurt yield. So right now I'm keeping my seed depth the same just to get that seed just a little bit farther in the ground because the temperature in the soil changes a whole lot slower than what the air temperature does. And the farther I can get that seed down in there, the less fluctuation in temperature we're going to see. And you know, the the corn seed should have no problem at all germinating just like it's supposed to. And then after a couple days of cool weather, it's supposed to warm right back up. Plus, it's supposed to be sunny, too. So, we got the sunshine hitting the ground. So, there shouldn't be any problems at all with this corn germinating like it's supposed to, but for right now, I'm leaving the depth the same just to give that seed just a little bit more insulation in this upcoming cold bout.

[00:23:50]Also, because the soil is just still just it's a little bit tacky in places, I' i'm running a lot of lift on my road cleaners. I've I've got my road cleaners to where there's not a, you know, where it's taking a lot of weight off the floating road cleaners and they're just barely touching the uh surface there just to move any light residue out of the way without actually getting down there and kind of digging and gumming things up and making uh and making my planter a mess and all all that. So, uh that's the great thing about this uh clean sweep here. You know, right here in the cab, you know, we can either uh provide lift to our road cleaners or we can provide down pressure to our road cleaners.