Grant Reiff and The Riflemen performing at Monroe Ag Banquet

Ned Birkey

MONROE — The 60th Monroe County Agriculture Banquet will be Dec. 11 at Prince of Peace Church, Ida.

Tickets are $12 and are now available at numerous ag businesses and Ag Council members across the county. The program will feature Grant Reiff and The Riflemen, an American music road show that performs a blend of heartland rock and Midwest country/Americana music. The banquet will begin at 6:31 p.m. with dinner by Back in the Day catering. Calder’s milk will be on all the tables, along with colorful poinsettias, which will be given away as door prizes at the end of the evening.

Custom farm work: Now that the 2023 fall harvest and fall planting is finishing up, farmers and land owners are asking about custom machine work that they either hire or perform for others. What is a fair amount to charge or to pay for such work? Fall wheat or cover crop seeding, harvest, tillage and other custom rate numbers for the following items may be helpful for farmers as they settle up accounts. All rates are per acre unless otherwise noted. These numbers are average prices for the state of Michigan or Ohio, as noted.

Grant Reiff and The Riflemen will perform at the Dec. 11 Monroe County Agriculture Banquet. Tickets are $12.
Grant Reiff and The Riflemen will perform at the Dec. 11 Monroe County Agriculture Banquet. Tickets are $12.

Rates in different areas of Michigan may be higher or lower than the state average depending upon several factors. In Monroe County, factors influencing custom machine work can include: field size and shape; ease of access; amount of non-farm traffic to get to the field; machine size; width of roads or bridges; trash, weeds, trees or brush hindering work in the field; depth of field drainage tile; payment arrangements; and other factors. The rates below include the implement, power unit, operator and fuel for selected farm jobs. Both MSU and OSU custom rate numbers are 2022. Other custom machine work rates are available on the respective MSU or OSU custom rates webpages.

Ned Birkey
Ned Birkey

  • Combine corn with 12 row cornhead: $37.59 MSU/$33.20 OSU

  • Combine soybeans (30 foot head): $39.78 MSU/$33.20 OSU

  • Drill small grain air seeder w/ cart 52 foot: $21.09 MSU

  • Drill small grain: $19.70 OSU

  • Chisel with front disk (16.3 foot): $16.77 MSU/$19.60 OSU

  • V ripper 15 inches deep (10 foot): $17.34 MSU/28.50 OSU

  • Stalk shredder (20 foot): $14.01 MSU/$12.60 OSU

  • Mowing CPR or pasture: $18.35

  • Hauling grain from farm to market (up to 27 miles): $ 0.18/bushel

Wood ashes have many valuable uses around the house and garden. Each cord of wood (4 feet wide by 4 feet high by 8 feet long) will leave about 20 pounds of wood ashes, depending upon the type of wood and heating device. One use is to amend the lawn and garden soil, as wood ash is a readily available source of potassium, calcium and magnesium, which are three of the 17 required plant nutrients. One caution is to test the soil pH first, as wood ash will raise the pH, and the site may not need it. Mix them into the soil thoroughly before planting. A second use is to repel slugs around susceptible plants as wood ashes will irritate slugs’ moist bodies. This natural pesticidal effect diminishes after rain or watering. A third use is to help melt ice and provide winter traction. Wood ashes don’t work as well as salt, but they won’t damage plants or paved surfaces. Remember to wait until all embers have died, which could take days or even weeks.

Soybean Seed Project: The University of Minnesota has had a soybean quality survey since 1986 to document U.S. farmers’ efforts to produce some of the best soybeans in the world. Any farmer wanting to participate in this free project can request and submit a two-pound sample to UMN. Contact Seth Naeve at naeve002@umn.edu or 612-625-4298.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news and high school sports content.

Winter meeting season registrations starting: One of the first winter educational meetings is the MSU Integrated Crop and Pest Management Update on Dec. 19 at the MSU (Livestock) Pavilion, 4301 Farm Lane, Lansing. This update will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The cost $65 and gives participants five pesticide re-certification credits and/or CCA credits and a hard copy of the 2024 MSU Field Crop Weed Control Guide. Registration is due by Dec. 10 for the in-person meeting. Interested persons can Google "MSU crop and pest update meeting" or contact Eric Anderson at: eander32@msu.edu or 269-359-0565. Another option is to register for the Zoom event for $35, which is due by Dec. 14.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Grant Reiff and The Riflemen performing at Monroe Ag Banquet

Advertisement