2009 N. Dakota Spring Planting
I left SC April 25, arrived in North Dakota April 26, and left on May 14th. The floods everyone saw around Fargo and the Red River Valley were caused by the runoff from farms such as those around our farm. The fields when I got there were way to wet to even enter so the first week was all maintenance. I first thought I was going to be little help, but the maintenance was great and it put them in a much better position to work once the fields were ready.
The first fields ready were those of the Winsness farm - lucky us! Actually, the first 3 fields I spread fertilizer on were ours and totalled about 340 of our 720 farmed acres - almost half. But in total, I spread 100 tons of fertilizer over a bit over 1,500 acres. That was done during the 8 days I was able to get into the fields. Each field I worked was 'scouted' by Delmer in the big 9280 tractor with it's 12 tires and 52 foot cultivator. He worked around the wet spots defining where I could spread. Only once did I mess up and get my unit stuck and he came and pulled me out of the mud.
I've got a slideshow with a link below but I'm going to give you a description of what you are going to see.
The first slide was in Minneapolis with Gail Owen as we found Corky Remington's grave - all good trips start in a cemetery ha. The second photo is of the house where Corky's sister (Gail's mother), Milicent lived and where my Uncle Clyde, Aunt Dorothy, and Rick visited often on trips to Morehead to see Clyde's mother.
Then you will see some photos of the Hagen farmyard, and equipment maintenance.
Along the road at Devils Lake there were ice crystals as the lake was breaking up so I photographed them - beautiful!
From the tractor I took photos of some fields that are directly to the north of Winsness fields. Our fields were almost dry just to the south of these but you can see in the photos that it is impossible to even work around such ponds if they are in your fields.
The image numbered 2199 and a few following it have our fields to both the left and right of the road and you can see the water along the edges is minimal to those on the fields shown previously just a few hundred feet to the north!
Winsness fields contained a neat fox!
Some of the farmyard photos that follow show it actually snowed while I was there. LaDell said "lets get out the ladder and Christmas lights!"
North Dakotan's have a good sense of humor as shown in the magazine article with that Forest Service sign showing a low danger of fire!
The last photos again are of our fields. The photos of LaDell's big rig planting wheat were all taken on Winsness land.
Thanks again to the Hagen family as they continue to let me participate - it's a treasured relationship on treasured land.
Click the link below for the slideshow. Click on the first photo and then keep clicking "Next".
|