Andrew Spruills

Farming Throughout the

2013 Season
Photo Log by Andrew Spruill
Ditch Maintenance

Each and every winter we

work on the drainage
ditches across our entire
farm. Maintaining drainage
in farm fields is vital to
ensuring that every acre we
farm is productive. We use
both excavators and
tractor-mounted rotary
ditchers to clean out our
drainage ditches.
Land Leveling

n the spring before planting we pulled bottom

plows on our fields to level the ground and crown
the cuts. !rowing the cuts prevents water from
standing in the centers of our fields and forces
it to run into the drainage ditches.
"reparing the #eedbed for
"lanting !orn

$head of the corn planter we

pulled an in-line %- ripper&
approximately '( inches deep& to
break up the compaction in the
soil. )hen we ran a vertical
tillage plow to smooth the soil
and break up the clods pulled up
by the ripper.
"lanting !orn

We planted '&*+, acres of corn

this year on our farm. $fter we have
properly prepared the seedbed for
the seed. We precisely& as possible&
planted around -+&*** seeds per
acre. We used one '. row /ohn
Deere planter to plant all '&*+,
acres. #o& luckily we did not suffer
too many planting delays.
0arvesting Wheat

n late May and early /une we harvested '&'*-

acres of wheat. We harvest wheat with our
combine and a grain platform. Most of our
wheat is loaded onto grain trucks an hauled to
our grain bins for storage. $n average wheat
crop is ,+ bushels. #o& we handled
approximately ,+&*** bushels of wheat this
year.
"lanting Double-!rop #oybeans
1ehind Wheat.

!losely behind the combine harvesting wheat was our air

seeder planting '&'*- acres of double-crop soybeans. We
were only able to use one seeder due to the high demand
of employees to harvest and plant at the same time. Most
of the time we planted in the wheat stubble to help to
improve the organic material in the soils and the reduce
erosion.
0arvesting !orn

We harvested our '&*+, acres of corn&

beginning in early $ugust& with our
combine using a corn head. Due to the
volume of corn harvested& using a grain
cart to unload on the go was a
necessity. $ll of our corn was hauled to
our grain bins to be dried and stored.
$n average corn yield is ',* bushels per
acre. Meaning& we handled nearly
2**&*** bushels of grain during corn
harvest this year.
"lanting Wheat

$round the middle of 3ctober& we planted

'&*2, acres of wheat using both of our
seeders in the corn stalks. We plant wheat
behind corn each year to keep our rotation
program on track. 4enerally& we planted
the wheat no-till into the corn stubble.
0arvest #oybeans

We harvested '&'*- acres of

double-crop soybeans with our
combine and a grain platform. 5or
soybeans& this year& we got a new
combine and header. )he average
yield for soybeans is around +*
bushels& so we handle and
average of +*&*** bushels of
soybeans each year.
4rain 1ins

3ur grain facility is a vital part

of our operation and us having
a timely harvest. We have
approximately 22*&*** bushels
of storage space in our entire
facility. $nnually& we move
-'*&*** bushels of grain
through the facility. )hat
re6uires us to ship grain out
during all harvest seasons. We
have a grain dryer making us
able to harvest grains at
higher moistures and
ultimately keeps our harvest
seasons flowing.
5ield Mowing

Each year we spend the winter

months mowing the ditch
banks in and around the
perimeter of our fields.
7eeping your ditches mowed
not only aesthetically
improves the farm but it
also keeps the drainage
ditches clear.