Guest-blogging for us today is Jeff Vap, the Case IH crop production sales specialist for Nebraska and Colorado. Jeff grew up on an alfalfa and cattle ranch in Red Cloud, Nebraska, where he still farms with his Dad. Jeff has been in agriculture all his life. At 17, he was “selling big round bales off a semi truck.” He studied agronomy in college, and started his career in ag inputs 10 years ago. Jeff worked at three different cooperatives across the state of Nebraska before joining Case IH.
There was a LOT of seed put in the ground last week. There were planters running all over the place. The guys on the eastern side of Colorado are on pace with Nebraska. I’d say corn is 80 to 90 percent done here. We’re well on our way in beans, too, probably 40 to 50 percent done. We’ve had such an open spring that some of these guys have been in the field since February. We’re getting our crops in as early as ever.
When you get down into southern Colorado, we’ve got some corn that’s rowed up, and some that still isn’t planted. There are spots in central and eastern Nebraska that were able to get corn in early, and it’s starting to spike through and row up. Growers in Colorado are 100 percent nervous about the dwindling snow pack in the mountains.
Everybody in my territory has weather concerns – it is dry. In central Nebraska, we’ve only seen 3 inches of rainfall since January. There has been some spotty, significant rainfall amounts in eastern and southern Nebraska, but we only had a couple of big snows last winter. There are guys in central and western Nebraska already running pivots.
Our True-Tandem™ 330 Turbo has been dominating the field. It cuts and sizes the residue and preps the seedbed, and a lot of guys are seeing the advantages of not disturbing the lower profile of the soil. That’s a big benefit, and guys are falling in love with it. I’m still farming in Red Cloud, and I ran a Turbo across about 50 acres to test it. I can see why it’s selling itself.
I also own an Early Riser® planter. This is my first year using it. I’m planting 500 acres of corn and soybeans with it, and I’m very impressed. I put seeds in the ground on April 13. I checked last weekend, and corn is already starting to spike through. Everything we tell you about the Early Riser, the seed singulation, ease of use, no-till planting capabilities – I’ve seen with my own eyes are true. Red planters and tillage products are doing a great job in Colorado and Nebraska. I also think my personal knowledge and experience with the equipment is making me a better field rep for my customers.
Got any stories about your Case IH field rep going above and beyond? We’d love to hear them!
Jeff, We have used cih planters for a long time and are strictly notil heavy ground conditions. We have notiled for about 15 years we feel there are somes issues we need to improve. We are considering another planting system maby we are not adjusting our current planter right. If you are a planter specialist for CIH sure would like to talk to you.
Home phone 4025453371 we are in east central NE.
Hi Jeff – please contact your local Case IH dealer, as they can get you in touch with the correct people to help answer your question.