Welcome back on a Wednesday, July 16, 2025. It was really foggy this morning when I looked out the window about 5:30. I don’t know if the wet fog is good (moisture in the air) or bad (fungus diseases in crops), but it is what it is.
Planes were flying low last week spraying fungicide on corn fields. It is fascinating to see them fly so low, then rise, turn and go over again and again. I even saw a drone flying over a field yesterday. I don’t know if they were checking for “down” corn from wind, or they were flying on chemicals.
A couple weeks ago the wind swirled and blew corn over at quite an angle, but the other day when I looked it seemed to have straightened up. The insurance adjuster who flew a drone over the field said he thought most of it would be OK, but there spots that may not come back up to be pollinated and produce an ear. Those areas will be tough to harvest, and remembering way back when, they sometimes require going only one way and it is time consuming to say the least.
Even though USDA in their July 11 report trimmed production of corn and soybeans by 115 million corn bushels and 5 million bushels of soybeans the market hasn’t responded. It’s a see-saw...up one day and down the next.
I’d like to “harvest” some destructive groundhogs that are in the barn, the machine shed, and in the hay lot snuggled in holes under the big round hay bales. I would put them alongside the Asian beetles that buzzed in last week to work on eating leaves on the raspberries and the rose bush. I grabbed the Sevin dust and sprinkled everything.
Pulling weeds made some chiggers mad, and I doused the red spots that showed up with fingernail polish that seems to “smother” the critters.
Highlight of the week was going to the 4-H Fair Monday night to watch the bucket calf competition and the celebrity showmanship. There was a good size crowd to watch as 7 (I think) walked their calves around the ring. Parents and some grandparents were walking close by in case they needed help, but the youngsters did a great job of showing and answering questions.
Then the celebrity showmanship was next with local adults from different walks of life showing pigs. The first walk-around was controlled, then one pig decided to run and that got them all moving with the contestants trying to find and control their pig again. Next year be sure and go!
Good to be back.
Sharon Chenoweth is a resident and farmer of McDonough County. Her column focuses on rural life and will be featured every other week in the Community News Brief Friday Edition.
