Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

[Farmall450]

It's nice to have some willing help for a while.

 

[cliftonbros89]

So Thursday came. Since it had rained I went straight to working on the tree in my yard.

Not sure the neighborhood was ready for a chainsaw at 6:15 in the morning. But they got it. It only took an hour to cut up the down part, drag the limbs to the curb and gather up all the blocks. But the rest of the tree needed to come down.

Dad came up to help me drop it. By 11 we had the whole tree cut up, all the limbs to the curb, all the leaves and twigs raked up and bagged up.

Dad got a whole bed full of wood out of the deal.

The day was cut short as we made a trip across the river. It was my nephew’s birthday and he loved baseball. So dad got everyone tickets to go see the Southern Illinois Miner’s play what ended up being a double header.

It was thirsty Thursday so draft beer was only $1


My nephew even got to throw out the first pitch.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Friday was just another day. Odd jobs. Checking cattle.

We cleaned out the barn over at my uncle’s because we’re planning to ween some calves soon. Hopefully next week.

But the 4020 overheated again.

It was back to the shop. Dad looked it over a bit and said he thought it was the thermostats.

Luckily, I have everything on hand for that. But before I went too far I decided to test the thermostats before I replaced them.

After a search for some old fishing line and using mom’s stove I found out the thermostats were looking just fine.


So I checked things over. Turns out the radiator has a leak. Also, one of the hoses dad replaced from the water pump had a dribble as well.

That wrapped up the end of Friday and start of Saturday.

So we were finally able to get back to the wheat.


I also started round baling the straw up while dad ran the combine.



I shut things down just a little after dark.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Sunday we still had some wheat to go. One of the fields we had to go is a creek bottom field, that’s back up, thanks to the river.



But for now there is no way to get the combine in the field yet. So we’ll see how it turns out. The river is going down. But it’s falling slow.

Luckily, the place in Illinois was open for the afternoon on Sunday. So dad and I made a trip with both trucks to sell the wheat.

A train had the line backed up. There were a lot of trucks in line ahead of me.

Dad had moved some of the straw bales out of the field. I got back to baling.

Dad got back to the combine and I finished moving bales.

Since the 4020 was down I used the 3020.

We stacked up quite a few bales. We plan to tarp them soon. But we put a bunch of bales in bad washed spots along the fields. Yes they’re that bad.

 

[cliftonbros89]

By yesterday we were busy. Dad was spraying. I wash trying to fix some ditches in the fields. We were trying to get ready to drill beans.


7230 some how got a flat as well.

My guess is it found a locust tree.

Today I got things ready to drill some beans.


We’ve got a lot of beans sitting around that likely won’t be planted...


I took the 7230 and box blade to the new farm to fix some badly washed ditches.

We weren’t going to get too carried away with doing too much at this farm. It’s getting late. Plus, there’s a chance this may be the only time we farm this place anyway.

All these pins are places that need to be addressed. Whoever was farming this place before was really starting to let things go.

Dad got to drilling beans on the wheat ground. Then he went back to spraying.

A hydraulic valve on the booms of the sprayer has developed a leak that has to be fixed too.

I spent the evening taking care of the cattle.

Fed the calves. Also, checked on all the cattle.

But About Time decided he was going to try and cheat and eat the calves corn instead.


Then I helped dad get loaded for more spraying.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Market prices are falling, river is falling but slow. Three more pumps temporarily went down in the bottom as well. So that really slowed down pumping out seep water.

But at least the wheat is out. What beans we can plant are almost planted. So we’re slowly catching up.

 

[Sifan]

Within 1/2 mile of my house when you traveled to see the Miners Glad to see you're making progress, Illinois farm southeast of Cape had six empty barges break away and floated through levee breach, now sitting in farmer's flooded field. Company that owns them, on news, said they are open to suggestions getting them out of there.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Within 1/2 mile of my house when you traveled to see the Miners Glad to see you're making progress, Illinois farm southeast of Cape had six empty barges break away and floated through levee breach, now sitting in farmer's flooded field. Company that owns them, on news, said they are open to suggestions getting them out of there.

What’s the chances of that?

I heard a little bit about that. That all sounds like a big mess.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Yesterday started off nice. Warm & humid but not bad.

Checked on the cattle. Then got things ready to drill beans.

I loaded up beans on the auger wagon and got it moved and ready for dad. He got started drilling beans. While he did that my uncle and I moved the combine back to the shed and I started moving other stuff and putting it in the shed cuz it looked like a pop up storm was heading our way.



After I finished putting everything away the guy showed up to fix the flat on the 7230. As he arrived it started to rain.

Luckily, at the shop the rain only amounted to .1”. But out at the retirement farm which was where we were heading next (the neighboring farm actually) ended up with 1.5”. So it was definitely too wet to drill beans out there.

After the sun came out for awhile dad went back to the new farm to finish drilling beans.


I drove to town for parts and there was another round on the way.

That round got the retirement farm again...

But I went back to the shop. I replaced a leaking oil line on the 4020.

And I couldn’t resist using a crowfoot to take care of the job.

They’re so damn handy.

After I finished that dad and I tarped the straw bales.


Let’s hope the wind doesn’t ruin them.

Then I washed up the 4020. With the oil line fixed I was able to move it. I washed it up so it’d be ready to remove the leaking radiator.

I quit a little bit early. By about 7:30. Town was shooting off fireworks and the girlfriend invited a bunch of friends over to watch them...I figured I should probably show up.

 

[Farmall450]

Looks like you're busy staying on top of everything! Doing good, too.

 

[DynoDave]

Illinois farm southeast of Cape had six empty barges break away and floated through levee breach, now sitting in farmer's flooded field. Company that owns them, on news, said they are open to suggestions getting them out of there.

 

[1Garageman]

Within 1/2 mile of my house when you traveled to see the Miners Glad to see you're making progress, Illinois farm southeast of Cape had six empty barges break away and floated through levee breach, now sitting in farmer's flooded field. Company that owns them, on news, said they are open to suggestions getting them out of there.

WOW! I had to do a google search on this to see it on the news station.
The link to the news story is below. That is so crazy! Six huge barges on their farm field!!!

https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/07/03/barges-break-loose-sucked-into-breached-levee-alexander-co-ill/

 

[DynoDave]

I was wondering, if they were still afloat, why they couldn't take them out with smaller craft. I hope this works, and they pay for the damages.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Well I did a little bit of work on the 4th. Checked all the cattle.

Took the radiator out of the 4020.


Dad wanted his truck cleaned up so I helped him with that.



A few other odd jobs too. But I decided to call it a day early. I quit by about 3 and decided to celebrate the day with some friends.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Yesterday was a little busier.

Checked most of the cattle.

Then loaded up some seed beans.

By b-i-l’s brother had a problem with his drill and needed to get beans planted behind his wheat. So he asked us to plant them. Dad was heading out of town so it was up to my uncle and I. We moved the 4440 and planter and the 3020 and auger wagon with the beans up the road.

My uncle started planting after I helped him fill up the planter and I headed back to the shop.

I decided to get started mowing pasture. I did that for a few hours. I knew my uncle should’ve been getting close to being finished planting that field and I wanted to get the 3020 back to the shed before it rained.

And there was rain on the way too.

Luckily I made it back to the shop just in time.

I was able to get the wagon and tractor both under cover, along with myself, just as it started to rain.

Luckily, my uncle finished planting just in time too.

It wasn’t a big rain. Half inch at the most. But was just enough to call it a day.

So I headed home. But ended up helping a friend move an old Dodge truck. He’s working but out of state majority of the time. So he’s trying to talk my b-i-l into working on it for him...we’ll see if that happens...

 

[cliftonbros89]

Even though there’s still plenty to do. We’re taking the weekend off. This weekend marks 2 years since dad received his stem cell transplant for his cancer. So he insisted on marking the anniversary with a fishing trip with the family. Everyone else headed out yesterday and I’m on my way today.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Not sure I’ve got the budget to get any of the HJE deals going on for the 4th but I did have a few new tool arrivals and should be more on the way this coming week.

 

[cliftonbros89]

So I took the weekend off to go fishing with dad and the family.

But Monday it was back to normal.

Checked all the cattle, fed corn, charged up all the back rubs, fed mineral.

Dad was going to get back to spraying bean fields. Noah and I had to pick up some chemicals for dad.

The water was finally low enough we could cross through to the bottom again. So I got a look at how bad our fields are.




There isn’t hardly any ground that isn’t under water.


Noah, dad and I swapped the wheels on the sprayer to the narrow tires. I fixed the leaking check valve on the hydraulic manifold, we greased it, washed it, and rinsed the tank. Everything ready to go to spray bean fields.

We helped get dad moved around and loaded up to keep rolling.


Then Noah and I ground a couple batches of feed for all the calves.

 

[cliftonbros89]

So we had dad set to do some spraying this morning.

Noah and I started to finally take everything back to the bottom to get things back in the shed.


It was Noah’s first time driving any of the bigger tractors on the highway. Also, while pulling an implement. He was a little nervous. But he did fine.




Almost everything but where the shed is has standing water. Even inside of the shed is mud.

In between everything we helped keep dad moving with the sprayer.

We had to get some chemicals for him and took him water.


Then back to moving equipment. We moved the both disk, field cultivator, grain cart, planter, drill, both chisel plows, anhydrous tool bar, harrow, ripper, 8760 and 8400 all back to the shed.



We had a bit of a shower move through that slowed dad down for a bit. But he was able to finish where he was at.


At least we have some room back in the shed at dad’s again. For awhile anyway.

Roads are finally starting to open up. River is continuing to drop. But it’s still not looking good as far as getting anything planted in the bottom ground. What planted in the hills isn’t looking too bad.

Not sure what the rest of the week will bring. But there’s plenty to do.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Hottest day of the year, so far, today. Hot and humid.

Checked the cattle, did some jobs around the shop. Took off a load of wheat we had sitting on the truck.

Noah and I did some jobs around the shop today.

Dad did some running in town after he finished doing some spraying this morning. He picked up the radiator that was finally finished.

Putting it back in and getting the 4020 ready to roll was one of the jobs that Noah and I took care of this evening.

Fairly easy day. But lots more to do this week.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Had a SK club coupon and picked up a 24mm swivel socket last week. Already used it a few times too.

KC Tool was having a sale. I picked up a Wera bottle opener, I received a free Gedore bottle opener and they also included some free Wiha bits to try out. I’m excited.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Thursday dad sprayed and drilled beans on the only 20 acres in the bottom we can actually get on.

While he worked on that I cut hay on the levee along the lake that are our fields.

I had the boys doing things at the shop and cleaning trucks.

I also had a SK order arrive that I got with some of my coupons.

Friday we fixed a door on our shed in the bottom. After that I got back to the hay.

I tedded the hay on the levee since it was heavier. But I’d also cut hay around the shop Thursday as well. It wasn’t very thick or heavy so I just raked it.

By the afternoon I was able to rake and dad was able to bale.

So we baled everything. Then the boys and I put away all the bales. Dad hauled the ones on the levee.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Yesterday started with an electric fence problem at my uncle’s....caused by his wife’s horses...

So I drove and checked that.

Then dad and I loaded up a bunch of tools and things for a job we were going to do yesterday but ended up doing today.

Then we did some cleaning up on things and cleaned up the shop.

I also received an order from HJE. Heavy pry bar and a Bonney 1/4” drive 1/2” crowfoot. Also, got my SK socket of the month.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Now to today’s job. A friend of my b-i-l’s wanted a shed moved. He’s planning to build a larger shop. The shed had been used for a horses previously.

We had to do some work to even up the walls as they were tapered to fit to the lay of the ground. We fixed things up, cut the post off at the ground. Then steadied things up to move it and load it on a trailer.

We used the 4020 to load it on to the trailer. We strapped it down good too. Especially, since we had to take it through town.

We managed to get it moved down the road no problem. We don’t have a spot ready for it so we just unloaded it at dad’s. Unloading it was a little easier as we were also able to use the 7230 and the 3020 with the loaders to just lift the shed straight up and move trailer out from under it.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Here I am. Another week behind. Been a little busy this week. It’s been hot too. I think this has been the hottest week of the year here. More rain as well.

 

[rixtrix1]

Can't seem to catch a break on the weather at all this year in the center of the country. Will your lowland fields get inundated by sand inflow like happened in eastern Nebraska? Just terrible the toll the weather has taken on farmers and ranchers this year and it seems no one outside of that community gives it any notice!

 

[cliftonbros89]

Can't seem to catch a break on the weather at all this year in the center of the country. Will your lowland fields get inundated by sand inflow like happened in eastern Nebraska? Just terrible the toll the weather has taken on farmers and ranchers this year and it seems no one outside of that community gives it any notice!

We shouldn’t have to worry about any sand inflow. But we will definitely not be getting anything planted in the bottom ground anymore this year. The river is gradually falling. But still 5 foot above flood stage. However, if it were to fall another foot and a half we wouldn’t really have to worry about anymore seep water coming inside the levee. Another 3 foot and it should start to come off the ground outside of the levee. But even then we’ll be unable to do anything with it.

According to the books it will be 613 acres we farm that will go unplanted. So it’s a good thing we picked up an extra couple hundred acres in the hills this year.

Corn prices at least are somewhat looking up. But considering we likely won’t even have half as much as usual to sell it doesn’t help out all the much.

I guess it’s a good year to have insurance. We will see a bit of a payment from that. Also offices like the FSA are going to have programs that will allow us to sow a cover crop on our unplanted bottom ground for the remainder of the year. We could see a payment from that as well. But it’s still not the same.

I saw a report this week that said approximately 12.5 million acres of crop ground in the U.S. was reported as preventative planting this year...that’s a lot of ground...

 

[cliftonbros89]

Ok so here we go. Trying to get caught up.

So last Monday it rained. We received some rain from the hurricane down south. Thankfully not as much as was expected.

I pulled the 4010 in the shop because the brakes were not working properly and the throttle would not stay at a set rpm.

The throttle issue was quickly solved. Gaining access through the small panel on the dash a screw just needed to be tightened up on the tube of the steering mount to keep the throttle set. It was a quick fix. But you can’t see that bolt in this picture.

Next was the brake issue.
But that issue was put on hold as I had a few other things to do at the time. It had briefly quit raining and we had some cattle to check on.

In the group of cattle at dad’s there were 3 calves, 2 heifers, and an older cow that all were starting to have pink eye. One by one we got them each in to the barn and behind a gate to give them shots and spray their eyes.

Then it started raining again. I’d also pulled the 4440 in the shop. The door latch was busted and needed to be fixed.

I installed the new latch but hadn’t got the new striker yet. The door was accidentally shut and the new latch didn’t properly align with the old worn striker and the latch had yet to have a washer installed on it that furthers the depression of the latch to allow it to release properly. So I had to break in the tractor. Luckily I was able to shimmy open the back window and then unscrew the latches from the window and managed to crawl in to release the latch from inside the cab.

Later we of corse had the do some feeding.

In between showers.

By afternoon I was finally back to the 4010.

I took off the whole brake valve and cleaned it up.

Along with what seems to be some leaking seals the pedal would not depress evenly. Mainly when stopping with a load of going down a steep grade. Which can definitely be dangerous.

I found one issue was, what is referred to as, the valve inlet ******* in the valve. The early 4010’s had a different brake valve than the later. The later models had an equalized brake valve. The part number on the inlet ******* for the older non-equalized brake valve were listed as obsolete. Deere no longer manufactured or had access to this part.

Somewhere along the line some one replaced one of these. As you can see a length difference and the longer one has a stop pin on the spring. The later model equalized valves had a different part number for its inlet ****** and the part number was later substituted to a different number. It also included the stop pin on the spring. I was a little confused as to which way I should go about fixing this so I called a Deere mechanic on it.

One thing I was working on in the shop was a short “insulated” 1/2” wrench. Many of the battery cables on these tractors are always in close quarters. I picked up an old used Allen brand 1/2” wrench and cut it off short. I sprayed some aerosol rubber on to it. According to the can it’s supposed to insulated when several coats are applied. I haven’t got to try it yet. But we’ll see how it goes. Many of my 1/2” wrenches have a mark or 2 on them from at some point having made contact with some metal while undoing battery cables. This is also a reason why I typically keep a couple pieces of an old inner tube around the tool box.

After the rains from the storm down south it turned into a regular July for once. Not that I enjoyed it. But it was back to upper 90’s temperatures with humidity levels so high it felt well above 100.

So I was sure to check the cattle as early or as late as possible. They aren’t enjoying the weather either.

Had to walk around and check a few fences last week too.

After a few mix ups from the parts department and making a couple calls to the Deere mechanic I’d finally got all the parts ordered for the 4010 brake valve.

We also finally go started on the corn contracts last week.

It was warm enough out that the electric motor on the bin auger shut itself off.

The motor didn’t feel that hot but I took the panel off the side and had to let it cool for a few minutes before the reset switch would actually reset.

By the time I finished loading trucks that evening the heat from the day was brewing up a storm.

We were planning to ween some calves as dad’s too.

Luckily they were all cooperative for once. So we had them weened and loaded just minutes before it rained again.

By Thursday we hauled corn. A few loads on top of the bin had developed a bit of moisture. So we hauled those first loads off to another place than where the contracts were for. Also, the bin we grind corn from for feed was running low so we unloaded a few loads from the big bin and dumped them into the grinding bin.

It’s hard to see in the picture. But while trying to get the 60 going on the auger for the corn a red wasp flew off of tractor and stung me right under the nail on my middle finger. Without a doubt the worst sting I’ve ever experienced.

By Thursday evening dad and I weened the rest of the calves.

And I finished the day checking the cattle.

 

[cliftonbros89]

By Friday it was back to corn.

Dad and my uncle were planning on attending a tractor pull over the weekend so I had to help get them ready.

Saturday they loaded them up and headed out.

I did other jobs while they left to play.

I fed, checked calves, checked cows, and got equipment ready to roll.

Sunday I took the day off for once. Mowed grass and things like that.

I know there were other details through the week. I just can’t recall right now. But that’s the just of it. Other than a parts guy at Deere screwed up a few orders for the 4010 brakes. So I went through the week without getting that job finished.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Monday was back to checking and taking care of the cattle.

And the calves.

My uncle’s neighbors called to say they had some of our cows in their back yard. But it ended up being the other neighbors cows.

After stopping by to find that out the gave me a bag full of cucumbers, zucchini, and a jar of honey from their bees.

It was a cloudy morning as a cool front came in. We had just a bit of rain but it didn’t amount to much.

The striker for the 4440 door came in and I put it on.

I also had to replace the cigar lighter 12v outlet. The back wore off and the hot wire came off. Pretty quick fix.

Then I loaded trucks to be ready to go again.


Yesterday was back to checking on cattle earlier enough to head out right away with the trucks.

Then dad and I each hauled off 3 loads each and it was more than our contracts. So we ended up calling it quits on hauling off corn.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Up early to go check on all the cattle.

While leaving my uncle’s and pulling back out on the highway one of the front tires blew out.

Dad came by with the 7230 and we towed it to the shop one the 3 point arms.

In the mean time dad decided to finally try to get out the last off the week since the water receded and things dried up.

The wheat wasn’t really worth a ****. But he decided to get it out anyway.

Before we did that we cleared some trees to the drive of the field so limbs wouldn’t drag on the combine.


I sold a couple of old worn hay tarps.

Dad finished the last of the wheat. I ran to pick up the last of the brake parts finally arrived at the parts box. I dropped off Kubota tires to be replaced.

We put the last of the wheat on an auger wagon. There was just a little wheat left on the tandem truck and we added it to the auger wagon as well.

We signed up for the cover crop program for unplanted ground this year. However, there’s been so many sign ups in the state it’s likely not everyone will get assistance to plant this cover crop on the unplanted ground.

So if we end up being eligible for the program we’re going to use this wheat as seed to spread out on the field for a cover crop.

So that’s the just of the day.

All caught up.

 

[timbitca]

Thanks for keeping on sharing.

Your's and jblnuts' threads are making me wish I was still around a farm. Grew up on a small farm and I miss it a lot more than I thought I would.

 

[Farmall450]

Hopefully you can figure something out. Did you already have fertilizer on the bottom ground? It would hurt to lose that, too.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Hopefully you can figure something out. Did you already have fertilizer on the bottom ground? It would hurt to lose that, too.

Luckily, we didn’t have any fertilizer on the bottom ground yet. It’s been wet down there since last fall. We never even got the fall ground work done last year. None of that ground has been touched since we harvested last year.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Another day today.

Started the day checking cattle

Did a few different jobs today around the shop and what not.

Ground a couple batches of feed.

Got the 4440 and old dump bed ready to go to haul manure out of the lots

So I finally got back to the brakes on the 4010. Then I noticed something.

The new parts are different.

Same part number. But both were different.

And completely different from the old ones.

Now was it going to make a difference in the operation on the brakes? Maybe not. But at the same time I didn’t want to get things all together and have something not work.

So I called Deere. Sent pictures to parts. They talked it over with the service department. Their conclusion was about the same as mine. But to just play it safe they’re getting me another one. Which ever one I have that it matches I’ll use. Who would’ve thought this job that should’ve taken maybe 2 days, because of time to get parts, would turn in to an almost 2 week job (partially because of working on other things).

But at least part of it is back together for now.

Also got a few new tires put on the Kubota today. Got them back on.

Dad polished up the 520 and 620 for a tractor ride that him and my uncle are going on this weekend.

 

[Toothaker]

What are the odds the next one is different than the first two? I'm guessing 50/50. [emoji1787]

Sent from my mobile using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[cliftonbros89]

What are the odds the next one is different than the first two? I'm guessing 50/50. [emoji1787]

Sent from my mobile using The Garage Journal mobile app

I’ve been thinking of that myself. At the rate things are going I’ve by no means got my hopes up.

 

[DynoDave]

How are the cattle doing with the pink eye issue? Is it clearing up?

How did your Dad and Uncle do at the tractor pull?

 

[cliftonbros89]

How are the cattle doing with the pink eye issue? Is it clearing up?

How did your Dad and Uncle do at the tractor pull?

Some of them are clearing up. We still have a calf that isn’t cleared up. He’s going to need some more attention.

They did pretty good last weekend. They both pulled several classes. I don’t recall the actual results. The pull they went to this week they didn’t do as well.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Not much of anything exciting happening lately. But I’ll try and update things tomorrow.