Grasshoppers and wooly bears were thick on the bike trail yesterday, the grandkids are back in school, and it's dark when I leave for work at 6:00. The calendar moves to September this week. Summer is winding down and the growing season along with it.

Just when average seemed an anomaly and hundred year events commonplace, '22 weather stats so far have been middle of the road.       

Growing degree accumulation since planting is behind the last couple years, partly due to later planting dates but also to normal/seasonal summer temps. Our corn will need all of September and in some cases, a frost free week in October to reach maturity. 

For the third year we have recorded rainfall amounts in gauges placed throughout our radius. YTD totals range from 20.2" at Harrison West, just north of New Haven to 26.5" at Gourley in western Howard Co. Since early May, precipitation has been plentiful while not excessive. We have avoided topsoil displacing, waterway wrecking, corn field tangling superstorms while never going more than two weeks without an inch of rain. 

Simply stated, the growing season has been ideal. We are keeping our excitement in check but the prospect for record yields is hard to ignore. 

Operationally, activities at Pinicon correspond with the season. Crop reports went out mid-August, Bert is sourcing '23 inputs, harvest machines and grain facility repairs are ongoing, the first draft of next year's crop plan has been distributed and bins will be mostly empty by the end of September.  After forty-one years, you would think I'd be accustomed to the speed at which next year's plan becomes next month's harvest. I'm not.    

I am, however, starting to fully appreciate the need for summer to end. Even though summer to me embodies the most enjoyable and rewarding opportunities one can experience at this latitude, long days, warmth, exuberant vegetative growth, unlimited outdoor adventures, I know these conditions could not exist here if we did not have the entire spectrum of seasons, of which winter is essential.

And though this may be an unpopular opinion, I'm hoping for a winter with episodes of historic cold and legendary snowfalls. 

The ecosystem I have come to love depends on it. 

Jim