Birds Eye Foods were able to plant my peas on Saturday. Talking with Joel my crop specialist with Birds Eye Foods time is running out to plant peas. They already have sweetcorn planted. It is timed out so they harvest and process peas. When the pea pack is finished they have a few days to change the plant over and then process sweetcorn. They cannot plant peas too late in the spring or they will not be ready to harvest before the sweetcorn is ready to harvest.

Joel checked my field on Friday afternoon and said he thought it would be dry enough to plant Saturday afternoon. However, there was a very good chance of rain Friday night. Looking at the radar Friday night when I got home from the Dam Days Parade there was a line of thunderstorms in Nebraska and Iowa moving to the east northeast. It sure looked like it would hit the farm. All you can do is hope it misses you!

Faribault got about half an inch of rain Friday night. Joel said Waseca had a third of an inch. It looked pretty wet in Owatonna and Hope as I was driving out to the farm. My computer said I only got five hundredths of an inch! I was able to work the field and a couple hours later they were there to plant the peas. This was a pretty impressive cart and 40 foot air seeder that showed up.

Pea seed is hauled to the field in a semi trailer. The cart has an elevator that swings out and under the trailer. The peas are loaded into the cart. The operator extends the seeder and air is used to move the seed to each disk opener on the seeder. In the old days they would bring the drill out to the farm and I would have 12 or 13 thousand pounds of peas in 50 pound bags. I would load the drill one 50 pound bag at a time.

That is what you call progress! However, the newest and biggest equipment and technology still requires the weather to cooperate. Sometimes you get lucky!

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