Replies

1. 
   BossHog | Mar 31, 2004 06:16pm | #1

   I'm almost certain it's winter wheat. That's about the only thing that's green so far.

   There's less and less of it in Illinois every year - It just isn't very profitable to grow.

   If FedEx and UPS were to merge, would they call it FedUp?

1. 
   JAlden | Mar 31, 2004 07:32pm | #2

   Thanks Boss, is it just Illinois or not profitable anywhere?

   I drove up 57 last week and most farms still looked pretty wet. When do they normally plant?

   I know a lot of people say IL is flat and boring but it is not either. Hilly in the southern end and filled with beautiful farms most other areas.

1. 
   jonblakemore | Mar 31, 2004 08:14pm | #3

   You were on I-57 and you still think Illinois is not boring?

   I think 57 is the most desolate road I've ever been on, other than I70 from Grand Junction CO to Sevier UT. From Kankakee to Marion, it's empty. My family has had a farm for generations near Cairo, so I'm familiar with the Shawnee, and I grew up in N. IL. I remember driving for 1/2 hour at night on 57 and not seeing any traffic. Not one car.

   Makes you wonder about every body who whines that we are filling up all of the available space... 

   Jon Blakemore

1. 
   BossHog | Mar 31, 2004 08:37pm | #5

   "I think 57 is the most desolate road I've ever been on..."

   I guess it's a matter of perspective. I enjoy looking at the farms and the countryside. So it's not boring to me.

   Don't know how long ago it was that you drove for 1/2 an hour and didn't see a car. That certainly isn't the case now.If mothers in the West feed their babies with tiny spoons and forks, what do mothers in the Orient use? Toothpicks?

1. 
   jonblakemore | Mar 31, 2004 08:44pm | #6

   Boss,

   I like the farm view, but I can only enjoy so much of it.

   The trip on 57 was only a few years ago, of course I didn't tell you that it was after midnight on a Sunday. The stretch of road was South of Mt. Vernon. Not alot of people down there, an not many destinations for the people to travel to, North or South. 

   Jon Blakemore

2. 
   JAlden | Mar 31, 2004 08:52pm | #7

   Yeah I knew someone would say that :)

   I've driven it a hundred times myself. SIU grad. Go Dawgs! You have to listen to City of New Orleans on the way, I think it is mandatory. Willy's version, Arlo's, doesn't matter. I am partial to Steve Goodman's, the original.

   From Effingham south it may be the nicest part of the state. I just feel farms are underrated, beatiful in their own right. But there are a lot of them, absolutely no chance of running out of space.

   Took the family to Makanda last summer for vacation, what a nice area. Giant City, parts of the Shawnee, Tunnel Hill. And nobody there.

   Where do you live now? I'm in the NW suburbs of Chicago.

   J.

1. 
   jonblakemore | Mar 31, 2004 09:07pm | #9

   Up until about 2 years ago I was in Geneva. Which suburb are you in? 

   Jon Blakemore

2. 
   JAlden | Mar 31, 2004 09:25pm | #10

   Palatine. I have friends in St Charles, nice area.

2. 
   BossHog | Mar 31, 2004 08:37pm | #4

   "...is it just Illinois or not profitable anywhere?"

   I don't know about every state, just what goes on around here.

   With corn, you can reasonably expect to raise 140 bushels per acre at maybe $2 per bushel. That means your gross income is $280 per acre.

   With soybeans, you can reasobably expect to raise 50 bushels per acre at maybe $5 per bushel. That would mean a gross income of $240 per acre.

   With wheat, you get maybe 50 bushels per acre at $2 per bushel. So your gross income is only $100 per acre. (These are just some approximate numbers for comparison)

   Out in Kansas they don't have enough moisture to raise corn or soybeans, so wheat is about all they can grow in some places. I don't know much more than that about wheat farming out there. Wheat just doesn't require much moisture.

   Still, some wheat is raised in Illinois for a variety of reasons. Some raise it and try to double-crop beans into it. Some sow clover over the wheat to raise hay after the wheat is harvested.

   Others have livestock and need a place to spread manure in the summer. And the ones with livestock often need the wheat straw for bedding.

   Is that more than you wanted to know? (-:I love animals. Then I found out in some states you can actually be arrested for that.

1. 
   JAlden | Mar 31, 2004 08:57pm | #8

   Is that more than you wanted to know?

   No, really. I find it facinating. I was under the impression all winter wheat was to double crop but IL wasn't warm enough.