hello welcome to Kate's Ag today we are not seeding
and for a very unusual reason it is snowing can you believe it
snow everywhere what are your thoughts dad
yeah it is snowing that's why we're not seeding and it's also 15 degrees outside so well below
freezing are you concerned for our chickpea crops that aren't supposed to freeze i don't think
they're up yet kate so i don't think that's gonna matter would this be very unusual for montana
it doesn't happen all the time but anything can happen here so yes that's very true we've been
having some extreme weather lately and so we're gonna go look at the tractors and everything
that's going on out in the field today because it's been snowing for the past three days and it's
so important to get your crops in the ground in a good time so that they have enough time to grow
we've already got a late start to seeding because we just haven't had the weather
conditions and now it's already snowing again yeah we'll wear it out okay we'll get it done
yes we'll just go up check out the tractors see what it looks like up where they're
at will give us an idea what we what we got to do here we even have snow drifts
oh my goodness this is insane we've almost got more snow and spring seating than we had all
winter i know this is crazy we had a really light snow this winter like not much at all
and we actually get a lot of our moisture for the year from snowfall so that's why we're in
a drought right now would you say this is a wet snow dad and one that's going to help our
crops it wasn't as wet as it could have been no but it's going to melt and get a little bit wet
around here for a while so so it will be a little bit beneficial well it can hurt that's for sure
are you pleased to see the snow we're sad that we didn't get finished seating well it'd be nice
to get finished and have rain instead anyway but you get what you get that's the way it is
yes very true statement how would you say the winter wheat crop has been looking not good
would that be caused by the drought yeah i would say it is it was really dry when we seeded last
year 2k and it hasn't rained or provided any moisture since then yes if it got moisture would
you say there's still a possibility it could make a comeback i don't know kate you'd have to if the
wheat come up where it didn't grow because it was so dry yeah that it's making a comeback but
there ain't very much moisture in this it's just gonna make things a little surface muddy and not
bring any real moisture to the ground so i know we were in a drought last year as well how many
years has it been since you've gotten a good rainfall and a really great crop from that
well the years before we're okay kate i mean that's why we had water in the reservoir
do you think we'll have water in the reservoir not by the end of the summer if it
don't something don't happen which it probably won't so that'll be the way it is do you ever
test the temperature of your ground and have to make sure it's a certain temperature before you
start seeding again or before you plant pulse crops some people do okay we try and get it in
early because early crops seem to do better and that's all i can really say about that
do you usually like the seed when it's above freezing yes of course i do does it affect paul's
crops more than crops like barley i don't know that kate i haven't done enough of that to know it
this is what the road to our field looks like
white and snow covered that's why i worked late that night kate so i could finish it
so you know because i we were supposed to get some weather but you never know if she whoa
so we didn't bring our farm for his for that reason
yeah we better put it in four-wheel drive too wherever i figure that thing is the farm prius
would not have made it that no it wouldn't it's crazy you can't even see the road at all
i know but it's so bright you can't hardly see anyway winter adventures in spring snow-covered
adventures in spring has it ever snowed this late since you've been farming oh yeah it's no snow in
july cake really yeah have you seen that i've seen it when i was up in glacier park right at the edge
usually crops have a harder time growing on the very tops of the hills because that's where all
the wind is right dad yeah kind of blows it out and cuts them off it's pretty deep here whoa and
as you're able to see there's no snow on the tops of the hills as well because it's all
blown away here are the tractors with icicles so they're freezing cold what are your thoughts dad
i think it'll be a day or so before we can do anything it is incredibly bright out right now
and i'm finally outside in the frozen tundra of montana during spring so here we even have
major icicles on the tractor wheels as you can see this is just insane oh my goodness
look at that so this is the field that i was seating last and dad finished it the other day
because he thought we were going to get weather we have icicles all over on the drill and here's the
tank so let's see this is actually a much wetter snow than we've had in the past and it's like
perfect snowmen weather so maybe maybe i should build a snowman by the drill here that would be
so cool drone it's like a winter wonderland so here is a close-up on all of the icicles
on the grain tank so this is for seed right here oh my gosh this is crazy and we're supposed to
get more snow darcy's drill doesn't have as many icicles on it and then we've even got
snow drifts like this is deep here not sure if you can tell from the video but it is deep
this is more snow than i remember getting all winter as you can see we've got quite a few snow
drifts here i mean this stuff is deep so we're hoping to get back in the field soon but of course
we all take any moisture we can get here's darcy's drill this tractor right here is 530 horsepower
and this tractor is 430 horsepower but they're nearly identical except this one has a pto and
can pull the grain car look at all my footsteps very cool up this tractor has icicles here as well
trekking through the treacherous montana winters and deep snow banks that might be a little bit
of an exaggeration but it's not even winter and it's snowing we've had snow for like three days
we're supposed to get we're supposed to get more snow it's snowing all night and i did a bit of
seeding in the snow wall so now i'm walking around this grain tank and darcy's tractor
is a toe behind meaning the tank that holds seed and fertilizer is behind the drill and the tractor
whereas my drill is a toe between which means the tank is in between the implement and the tractor
i do have to say i was very much looking forward to spring and some warmth here in montana
it can go from 40 below to above zero the next day it is crazy how fast weather can change
so this could all be melted super soon although i don't think it will be and i am freezing cold
although hopefully this provides additional moisture for when we continue seeding
in fahrenheit 32 degrees is freezing and we are at 15 degrees right now so it is
super duper duper cold that's now trying to land his drone and as you can see his pickup radio is
affected by the frequency so that's kind of crazy but let's see how's your landing going to be dad
great outside the cold for a couple of seconds turn the drone off and come back in would you say
that was a successful drone flight and landing as always kate yeah now dad and i are going to look
at how much seed and fertilizer is in the tank see i don't care about the fertilizer oh not too much
10 15 bushels 10 or 15 bushels how long does that last you in the field i don't know about 10 or 15
acres because we seed a bushel and anchor now we're going to see how much is in the back tank
this is fertilizer not that much and then these are air tanks you have to make sure to get them
sealed properly especially when you're seating so you like stand on this the problem kate you got
stuff under your boot kick it off on that great now i'm coming back off of the drill right now
although i have to be very careful because now my boots are super slippery from all of the snow
back in the warm car as dad said it was a very chilly trip out to the tractors to see what was
going on and now we're headed back with lots of heat so after you left in the seed tanks what are
you thinking dad i'm thinking there isn't a lot of seed left probably do we have any more in the
seed truck no it's empty it's gonna get different things we're gonna see some derm or something and
then we probably gotta reseed some spring we it's hard to say have to wait till this settles out so
you think you'll have to reseed some winter wheat dad yeah i'm sure we will in some places although
if it doesn't freeze doesn't it just grow up like grass i'll see it's bring weed into it gate oh
now how does that work when you sell it to the elevator i just solemnly there won't be very much
and it just engines and stuff just another day and more panicking yes it is dad now i'm at home
with grandpa and you know that can you believe the snow what can you believe the snow outside
can i believe what the snow outside i've been out there
how much is out there two inches yes maybe more
well there's some snow drifts oh it might be more in a snow drift maybe is this snow good for
moisture of the crops oh it'd help a little bit not much it ain't enough but it ain't wet enough
how long have you been farming for grandpa uh i don't know how long forever
since i was well working been on a farm yes well i got on a farm in my aunt and alcohol
when i was about 15 years old wow and i've been there ever since except for years some in the navy
so maybe around 80 years you've been farming no yes i've been pretty close that's awesome that's
a long time yes it is it's changed a lot though everything's easier now yeah it's way easier now
well it is all this fancy equipment they got
the first tractor i run was at two three speeds high and low in reverse
no cab no power steering that's the way you like them though ain't it
you have to crank it to start with but it was uh that was a long time ago now they
got everything so fancy it's like buying a brand new car we even have cabs yeah so fancy we are
i don't know it's been a long time it's changed a lot anyway i had to i did that a long time
probably too long but you love it don't you oh i don't pay much attention to it no more
i'll let these guys do it yeah we love it enough for him too kate
how do you think the winter wheat crop is doing this year not very good
a lot of the winter weight crop don't look very good there's a lot of holes in it i'll
bet you have to spot or reseed a lot of it some of it's some weight you see is pretty good but
thank you so much for watching today's video i hope you enjoyed make sure to like and subscribe
to learn a little bit more about how your food gets to your table okay bye thank you for the
interview grandpa okay i very much enjoyed it okay thanks and all of your knowledge about farming