Much Needed Rain!

July 26, 2021

We are so excited!!! We got RAIN today!!! We had 3.5” in our gauge!!! What a welcome relief to help our fall crops. We’ve been praying for some rain the last 2 weeks (yes, I know that during wheat harvest, I was ready for the rain to quit for a while!)

The beans (soy), milo, corn and pastures are so glad for a drink. For some fields, it may be a tad too late, but God is great and crops in Kansas are very resilient. We do have some flooding as the rain came very quickly, but a lot soaked in. Greg crop-toured a little tonight and brought home an ear of dryland corn. I’ll add a picture, but it looks like irrigated corn or roasting ears from Gaeddert’s—about 9.5” long and filled nicely. This rain will add to the test weight.

Here in central KS, we plant dryland corn hoping for rain, but always knowing we have the option of cutting it for silage (feed for cattle) if the ears of corn aren’t great for grain. Greg said tonight, “we really need some cut for silage, but I hate to use this!” We marveled that 2 months ago, we thought about tearing up this field as hail had come through and we didn’t think the baby corn stalks would come out of it.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Thursday we are having a field day. K-State Extension along with several other sponsors including Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) have been helping us with education on alternative watering systems and electric fencing options. Additional topics will include using solar panels on livestock waterers, advice on grazing annuals, and accessing cost-share programs thru WRAPS programs.