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Articles by Andy Warner Lacey
Crop Watcher: Keep trying new things
Crop Watcher Andy Lacey will be parking his tractor of the next year. The Moody County, South Dakota farmer worked his parents’ land this year, using some unconventional methods in attempt to boost soil health and reduce the use of chemical inputs. His parents decided to move off the farm and hire a land manager to take care of the land, Lacey said. That means he’ll focus instead on his manufacturing business, The Hay Manager, making round bale feeders.
Crop Watcher: Waiting out warm weather to seed cover crops
Harvest had wrapped up in mid-October on the Lacey farm, and as the calendar turned to November, there were about 5% of corn fields left to harvest in southeastern South Dakota, by crop watcher Andy Lacey’s estimates. He heard reports of some farmers seeing their best corn yields ever, but where corn grew strong, so did weeds. “Guys fought with weeds all summer long, but still have good yields,” Lacey said. Soybean yields in southeastern South Dakota took a hit with dry August weather, he reported.
Crop Watcher: Flax thrives interseeded with soybeans
Harvest wrapped up for crop watcher Andy Lacey before the snow flew in southeastern South Dakota. He finished corn harvest Sunday, Oct. 18. Yields were good in places, but variations in the field were noticeable, he said. Some areas had adequate moisture while some were too dry. Still, he had some dryland corn do just as well as the irrigated fields, he said. Lacey saw good results applying a biological stimulant in the furrow at planting time.
Crop Watcher: Inter-seeded crops thrive in soybeans
About 10% of the beans around the Lacey farm in southeastern South Dakota had been harvested by the first day of fall, estimated crop watcher Andy Lacey. Combines got rolling after Sept. 15. Lacey’s beans are just starting to turn, though, and harvest won’t likely start until the first full week of October. “It would be nice to get a good frost in,” he said. In the meantime, Lacey was doing manufacturing work for the Hay Manager and working calves. They put nose tags in for weaning the week prior.
Crop Watcher: Soybeans still filling in southeastern South Dakota
Crop watcher Andy Lacey was taking a rainy morning after Labor Day to do some manufacturing work at his business, The Hay Manager. This is typically a busy season for the business, he said. Dealers start making orders in August. Lacey has also been getting some individual calls about the hay feeders. The Laceys were also starting to wean calves. He estimated that they’re about four weeks from the start of harvest season. “The crop looks like it’s finishing out,” he said.
Crop Watcher: Southeastern S.D. spared damage in August storms
Crops are looking really good in southeastern South Dakota, reporter crop watcher Andy Lacey from Trent. The area got a little hail and wind during a storm the morning of Aug. 10, but his fields were mostly spared. He had some of his taller grasses blown down. Before the Monday morning storm, Lacey recorded 0.2 of an inch of rain in the last couple weeks. He was irrigating his crops some, but the area was sitting pretty fair for moisture. “The ground had a good base to start.
Crop Watcher: Small grain harvest, cover crop planting up next
Weather at the Lacey farm has been on the drier side with just .2 of an inch of rain falling in the last week. Irrigation systems have been running, and crop watcher Andy Lacey has used that opportunity to apply nitrogen, something his soil tests showed was in short supply in some fields. The tests also came up short on carbon material. Lacey found that puzzling because one sample came from his field with eight species of small grains, which are high in carbon. “I’m learning a few things,” he said.
Crop Watcher: Bees move in at Lacey farm
The Lacey farm in southeastern South Dakota has benefitted from recent rains. Crop Watcher Andy Lacey recorded 2 inches of rain, plus another half inch rainfall since his last report. “It’s been really nice and dewy in the morning,” he said. “It hasn’t been so hot and dry.” The irrigation system ran once – just before the last rain. Lacey said he wasn’t expecting to get a sizeable rainfall out of it.
Crop Watcher: Trying out a tighter grazing schedule
With heat and rain, crops are growing rapidly at the Lacey farm. Barley went through flag lead to heading out quickly, and an eight-way mix of small grains is in full bloom. Andy Lacey planted a mix of barley, oats, flax, safflower, fava bean, field pea and spelt on three fields for grazing, silage or harvesting for grain. It gives Lacey options he said, and it looks neat as well. “It’s just really neat how it’s intertwined,” he said.
Crop Watcher: Cover crops replace cultivation
Instead of cultivating corn, this year, Andy Lacey was busy the first day of June interseeding his 60-inch rows with a cover crop mix. “The cover crop is essential to protecting the soil from getting too hot and preventing the weeds from germinating,” he said. The Laceys used to cultivate three times, until the corn was tall enough to protect the soil. Is cover crop mix included 10 species, from ryes and flax to fava beans and turnips.
Crop Watcher: Grassfed beef a growing market
Planting work on the Lacey farm in southeastern South Dakota was about two and half weeks ahead of last year’s delayed schedule. Corn was custom planted, finishing up May 16. Crop watcher Andy Lacey was waiting for the weather to warm enough to spray his burndown herbicides before starting in on soybeans. An inch of rain fell the week of May 10, but the ground was able to soak up most of the moisture, Lacey said.
Moving Beyond Open Plan Spaces
Recently, numerous articles within the design media have called into question the effectiveness of open plan workspaces. A more critical inquiry into the topic, however, might explore the following: Why are so many companies still using an outdated planning approach that doesn’t suit their employees’ needs? The open plan concept popular more than a decade ago has since been enhanced with smarter, more advanced planning models.
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