South Dakota wheat farmer's Christmas wish... moisture

XtremeAg’s Chad Henderson’s Alabama wheat crop is off to a great start, while Lee Lubbers is concerned about emergence in bone dry South Dakota.

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CHAD HENDERSON – MADISON, ALABAMA

Chad Henderson is part of a fifth-generation farming operation in Madison, Alabama. Henderson Farms operates over 8,000 acres of dryland and irrigated corn, dryland soybeans, wheat, and dryland and irrigated double-crop soybeans. When not farming, Chad can be found carrying on another proud family tradition as a drag racer for Henderson Racing.

Our wheat has a great stand. Herbicide spraying is on pace with half our wheat having the first spray complete. The first shot consisted of herbicide, C-Cat from Teva, CropMax from Nachurs, and MegaGro from Integrated Ag Solutions. Currently, the pest pressure is low and an insecticide is not needed. We are already planning what our next spray application will be.

We are working to clean out grain bins and move corn and beans. This is the time of year we schedule grain bin maintenance. We have some augers that need changing out. Grain bin sweeps need attention while not having to use them.

Chad Henderson's equipment in his Alabama field

There has been good weather to get several acres strip-tilled. We have been assessing soil samples and looking at fertilizer rates to use in our fall strip-till application. The rain will help it break down and be ready for corn planting this spring.

LEE LUBBERS – GREGORY, SOUTH DAKOTA

Lee Lubbers of Gregory, South Dakota, grew up in the farming tradition, and remembers using leftover scholarship money as the down payment for his first tractor and rent for 200 acres. Today, he farms more than 17,000 acres of dryland soybeans, corn, and wheat. Lubbers says one of the most important things to him is to always be learning and challenging himself to build an operation and a legacy that the next generation can be proud of.

All I want for Christmas is some moisture. It’s been ages since we’ve had measurable precipitation in west river region of South Dakota.

Our winter wheat is struggling, some fields around haven’t even germinated yet. Even with the cold temperatures, the ground doesn’t freeze because there is no moisture to freeze. A friend who does dirt work said he was putting in water lines and its bone dry all the way down to 6 feet below the surface.

Lee Lubbers does dirt work at sunset in South Dakota

We did some dirt work a week ago to reshape a water way. Normally, we can’t do dirt work that late in the year. We updated our scraper to one that matched up to all our 4WD’s. It’s new to us, it’s a year old and was rented out part time by the dealer. Every year, we are always fixing washes, widening approaches, and more. Tiling is water management for us and so is drainage work, so keeping our water ways in proper shape lays the groundwork for a successful crop season.

Equipment is all cleaned up and some light shop projects are starting and it’s now the season for year-end paperwork. It’s also the meeting season. We never stop learning and I am looking forward to talking about some of the products we used this season to get our crop through a very tough year on our upcoming member webinars. Stay safe and stay warm everyone.

XtremeAg.farm is a team of the nation’s top producers who have come together to share their experience, expertise, knowledge, and farming practices with other farmers. Members get access to exclusive content from the team as well as one-on-one support for their own farming operation. Visit XtremeAg.farm for more information.