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Winds posing a challenge this spring

A central Illinois farmer says rain hasn’t been the only weather challenge this spring.

Ken Franklin, who farms in Christian County, says the winds have also been an issue.

“The wind has blown it seems like every day, way above the threshold for spraying.”  He says, “We try to sneak in whenever we can, or catch those calm days, stop the planter and hop in the sprayer.  This year with spraying you’ve kinda had to do it whenever you had the chance, not necessarily when you wanted to.”

Despite the weather challenges, he tells Brownfield he’s satisfied with his planting progress and was happy to see some moisture.

“The chemicals we use need a little bit of rain to activate them to get them to work.”  He says, “You know, actually with the strip till, I’ve been fighting a little bit of too dry on top. So, you kind of had to adjust the planter to blow some of that dry dirt out of the way so you didn’t get it in the trench.”

Franklin says this week’s warmup should speed along emergence.  He says planting will resume as soon as field conditions are suitable.

AUDIO: Ken Franklin – Illinois farmer