Winter has returned in full force. I made the best of this unfortunate turn in the weather to go through the seed tenders. Oil changed, greased, full of fuel, and ready to fill planters with Channel Seed!

The nice weather offered a rare winter opportunity to check and adjust the closing wheel and fertilizer coulter alignment. The crazy part is the soil conditions on this sandy field were excellent.

The first boil was a success. 10 gallons of sap yielded 1 quart of syrup. It also made miss Grace very anxious for pancakes Saturday morning!

Since my oldest daughter Grace loves maple syrup we are trying to make our own this year. The above average daytime temps with freezing nights have started the sap run very early. It takes 30-40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. So far so good!

Today I dug the planter out to start making a few repairs. This is a great time of year to go through your corn planter to make sure it is field ready when the time comes. The most common issues I encounter are simply fixed. I encourage everyone to have their units run on a test stand to ensure you have no skips and doubles. If you would like me to stop out and help you check your planter over please feel free to call.