Harvest USA Report

Talking irrigation upgrades with Jackson Woodruff

Talking Garlic today on the Harvest USA with Taber, Alberta Community Garden Head Honcho Andy Puskas.
 
Let's listen in...

Andy Paskus of the Tabor, Alberta community garden discussed the end of the growing season and preparations for next year. The garden has been “put to bed,” with soil worked and 1,400 garlic cloves planted for harvest next July. A local Grade 5 class helped with the planting. The garden is now in its planning and reporting phase for the winter.
 
A major focus of the conversation was garlic and asparagus. Puskas explained that garlic must be planted in the fall, overwinters in the ground, and is harvested the following summer. Each clove produces a full bulb, and the garden is growing two varieties this year. Asparagus is entering its fourth year in the ground, and next spring will be the first harvest, likely beginning in late April or early May depending on moisture and weather.
 
The discussion also touched on the garden’s location and soil history. Puskas said old aerial photos suggest the garden site itself has remained largely untouched since the 1950s and was not reclaimed mining land, though mining occurred nearby. Recent soil testing showed the land is slightly low in nitrogen and phosphorus but otherwise in good condition, needing only minor improvement for next season.

We're talking to Shorty Kulhanek, Colby, Kansas and McGargle, Texas.
 
Hello David.
 
How does it look like the corn is going to do?
 
A lot of it really got hurt with the weather when we was here this summer. There was a lot of corn disaster, didn't put on any ears and it's got some short ears, small ears, it's got some decent ears. It's just a guess, it's not going to be the best crop by no means.
 
Yeah.
 
 
Where they got rain, yeah, it'll be alright.
 
We had a real nice field on my school bus run and then the lady said well it got disastered out with hail and they got looking at it again. After that it didn't look near as good. I think it's going to be cow pasture.
 
Right.
 
Got rain down in Texas and Oklahoma so those guys can plant wheat. If they had it planted, well it'll grow now.
 
Oh that's good.
 
It's been a long time waiting for some moisture down there.
 
 
Oh yes. I was hearing on the radio we got an El Nino going out in the Pacific and it's really got a, really got a mad on it. It's supposed to be tropics up here in this country come December to February.
 
 
Right.
 
Well thank you so much sir. I sure do appreciate it.
 
 
Same here David, take care.
 
Hey everyone, this is Brian Hale. If you've heard this program before, you know I have been offering website help for many years. In fact, we've been in the business for over 20 and we'd love to help you for anything website related, even if you just need some advice. It's free. Email support at HaleMultimedia.com or call 940-224-6315.  Portfolio, pricing and contacts all on HaleMultimedia.com. That's going to do it for today's Harvest USA report. Thanks again for listening and may God bless. I'm Brian Hale.
 
 

Interview with Shorty Kulhanek
 
A farm operator reported finishing soybean harvest near Gettysburg and north of Agar, South Dakota. Despite limited rainfall, soybean yields ranged from about 32 to 47 bushels per acre, which was considered fairly good given the dry conditions.
 
The crew planned to switch from soybeans to corn harvest in the same area. While some corn has already been harvested in South Dakota, much remains in the field because it has not dried down enough yet, rather than because of recent rain.
 
Corn prospects appear mixed to poor in many fields. Weather damage during the growing season hurt yields, with some corn producing no ears, and other fields showing short or small ears. Fields that received enough rain may still do reasonably well, but overall expectations are below average.
 
The conversation also noted improved moisture in Texas and Oklahoma, which should help newly planted wheat grow. A brief mention was made of El Niño, with speculation that it could bring unusually mild winter conditions in the coming months.

Let's check in with our co-host David Woodruff and see who he has today. We're talking to my youngest son Byron Woodruff. He works for LeRon Torrie Sons Farm. Go ahead with the corn.
 
The other silage corn, as I was pulling the guys out, I was asking them how the other fields of silage corn had been going. And they said most of their fields that they have been doing all around the area were just like this, where they needed a tractor there. For them, it's been a very long drawn-out process to get all their fields done. And I think they still have a few more to do. But the three inches of rain set us back about three weeks. And I'm sure for them it's probably been at least that or more so.
 
And they chop right straight into, what, 53-foot trailers?
 
Yeah, something like that. Do they have any tri-drive trucks or are they all tandems?
 
It looked like they were all tandem. Yeah, another axle would have been nice.
 
Yeah, another axle on a trailer doesn't, I don't suppose it pulls much better, but another axle driving would be nice. You got edible dry beans like Great Northern?
 
Oh yeah, I think we did some Great Northerns, Pintos, Yellows. Yeah, that's what I'm hauling in today. And the rain must have slowed that down. Yeah, well and we're fairly new to beans and just getting the process going and getting used to our machines. And it's a bit of a learning curve. And we've had some problems with some machines that we've had to rebuild and do two different things with. But we're slowly figuring it out. But yeah, the rain didn't help. It was a trip, I'll tell you that.
 
That was Byron Woodruff with our co-host David Woodruff talking about the fall harvest.
 
We'll have more from them on the two methods that they're using out there to pick up those beans on tomorrow's report. You can find all these harvest reports on HarvestUSAReport.com or any podcast network.
 
That's going to do it for today's Harvest USA Report.