DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Making hay while the sun shines is no problem for Chris Weaver. So far this year, the challenge for the Finksburg, Maryland, farmer has been trying to get the right baling moisture on first cut grass hay.

"We've had no humidity, which is almost unheard of around here, and lots of wind," said Weaver. "I have been figuring out a new baler this week, and thought at first that the internal moisture meter was off. But it's just that the grass is curing almost as fast as we cut it. It's hard to believe we got 4.5 inches of rain last week and it's already dry again."

Weaver reports on crop conditions and other aspects of daily farm life as part of DTN's ongoing View From the Cab feature. Also joining the series this year is Tyler Rath, who farms in central Minnesota near Belgrade.

Rath received over an inch of rain this week to settle what was becoming a dusty growing scenario. Although the majority of his crops are irrigated, there's no substitute for a good soaker. This week he was working to cultivate organic field corn and get some postemergence herbicides over the top of conventional corn. Weeds, he allowed, "are a full-time job."

Worrying about the weather doesn't accomplish much. For these farmers, it is more about knowing how to respond to conditions. Moisture sensors, tissue tests and intense scouting are critical to forming input decisions, especially in the current market and cost scenario, they both noted.

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick sees possibility of rain and some warm weather for both of these regions for the coming week.

"In Belgrade, the forecast is certainly hiding some uncertainty. Usually that means the precipitation forecast, but actually it's for both precipitation and temperature. The background tendency will be for well-above-normal temperatures for much of the week. The pattern supports overnight lows just barely breaking below 70 Fahrenheit while afternoon highs are likely to be in the mid-upper 80s and could reach into the low 90s from Sunday through Thursday as of the latest forecasts," said Barnick.

"But this pattern also favors a ton of chances for rain. The timing of which could keep afternoon highs down several degrees if rain occurs during the afternoon, or pump them up higher if skies remain relatively clear," Baranick said.

In Finksburg, temperatures will be steamy with a lot of highs in the mid-to-upper 80s and the possibility of a couple of 90-degree days by the end of the week, Baranick noted.

"Humidity should be increasing throughout the week as well. It should be largely dry for the first half of the week, but showers drifting over from the Midwest will make the precipitation forecast a bit more of a coin flip kind of forecast with hit-or-miss type of rainfall -- the type that gives meteorologists a lot of grief where the showers are blotchy and hit some areas in the region but miss others," he added.

Read on to learn how the season is shaping up for these farmers and how they find balance when farming looks uncertain.

TYLER RATH: BELGRADE, MINNESOTA

It's not a stretch to say that this may be the busiest time of year for Rath and his farm team. One moment he finds himself digging out a stuck center pivot (as he did this week) and another he's calling to find a herd bull replacement.

There are fresh rows of round bales in the yard from the first cutting to prove the hay crew was busy this week. The fat sprayer tires got replaced with skinny tires. Anyone with a spare moment was pitching in on an ongoing fencing project. Old barbed wire fences are being torn down and replaced with new high tensile fencing that will free up some additional pasture for cattle.

"Right now, our (commercial) corn is about V4 to V5 and some stands look pretty good and some just OK," reported Rath on June 4. "We had a beautiful soaking 0.7-inch rain on Wednesday (June 3) and a similar amount on Thursday (June 4) that pounded down in about 15 minutes. Prior to that, our lawn was starting to turn brown."

Next steps in the field will be to begin taking nitrate samples and start side-dress passes of urea. Organic sweet corn will be planted this coming week.

Because the farm raises vegetable crops for a processor, planting dates often depend upon specific delivery requirements.

"That late planting actually gives us a chance to get after a couple of flushes of weeds before planting," Rath observed. "It does tie up a tractor and drags the season out, but that's just the nature of what we do."

New to the farm this year is a new camera guided cultivator hitch that replaces a 1990-era John Deere 845 row cultivator. Rath already has evidence the unit won't totally avoid rows of shame, but he's optimistic about the technology.

"The cost of hand labor for weeding is getting expensive and I want to do a better job on weed control," he said. "Trust me, even with guidance, you can take out a row -- or 12 rows -- if you aren't paying attention. Right now, my biggest challenge may be that I'm the only one that knows how to operate this unit and that was not my intent," he added.

However, if Rath has a real gripe right now, it is that he is experiencing the worst basis levels of his farming career.

"Corn here typically runs 0.35 to 0.45 cent under, but we have been hovering at 0.60 to 0.70 cents under and anytime we rally, it just widens. Thankfully, we did have opportunities to make good sales, but you had to be ready," he said. Rath noted that southern Minnesota experienced a whopper corn crop last year and that corn trucked into the region is putting pressure on the local market.

If there's an advantage to being busy, it is that there's no time to obsess about things he can't control. For Rath, just being able to concentrate on farming has given his life balance.

"For many years I worked a full-time job and farmed. I felt like I never could 'just farm.' That perspective really helps sort things for me. I don't necessarily feel like I need 'me' time because I'm doing exactly what I made a conscious choice to do," he said.

He's appreciative that his wife does worry about his mental health and reminds him occasionally to slow down and enjoy life. "We have a lake lot about 20 miles away and it's nice to catch a good sunset and a bonfire," he said.

CHRIS WEAVER: FINKSBURG, MARYLAND

With only 100 acres or so of orchard grass hay yet to bale, one might expect Weaver to be hoping for rain to hold off. Nope ... rainfall totals for the farm are running at a 24-inch deficit for the year.

"Our grass hay is off by at least 1.5 to 2 tons per acre," he estimated. "The quality is decent, but I wouldn't say it is exceptional. Frost, followed by cold temperatures and then, early hot temperatures, and then, back to frost on top of drought really put a crimp in the first cutting," he said.

On the other hand, row crops are now finally getting the growing degree units they need, Weaver observed.

"The corn really changed after we got a good rain last week and some heat, but the wind is drying things out fast," Weaver added. Tissue tests were beginning to show some drought stress in the corn and soybean crop. Depending on rain, he expected to begin foliar treatments on corn and soybeans next week.

This week, small grains were getting the attention as he sprayed fungicide to protect hybrid rye and barley from Fusarium head blight (head scab). While conditions haven't been ideal for development of the disease this year, he's taking no chances. Rye on the farm is grown for distilling purposes.

"We take real pride in making sure we are offering the best quality rye we can -- checking for vomitoxin and falling numbers, for example," he said.

"All of our barley goes into a special grain diet for our cattle, so we are especially careful to protect it and watch vomitoxin levels," Weaver said, noting that the feed recipe is one the family has depended on to finish cattle for several generations.

This week they pulled the combine into the shed to go over it ahead of barley harvest and made a list of what needs attention.

"No one could believe I was running the sprayer this week because it's dirty with all this dust blowing," Weaver said.

"I'm weird about things like that -- I actually like washing equipment and obsess about having everything clean."

Also on the agenda this week was finishing the construction of a chemical containment building for the farm. In Maryland, farmers must adhere to strict environmental and agricultural codes and specific standards are required for pesticides and fertilizer storage.

While he's looking forward to getting that project done, Weaver said he embraces the summer months because it allows the entire family to work together.

"I know most people will probably roll their eyes when I say I love it that we all work side-by-side. But I enjoy having the kids with me to see and learn about what I do. We sprayed 125 acres of rye together today and had a great time doing it," he said on June 3. On Friday, his daughter, Mackenzie, 12, was helping him scout soybeans.

Weaver admitted that he's slightly addicted to the profession of farming. When the beach calls the rest of the family, he finds it difficult to relax for long. But he also understands the benefit of these occasional breaks.

"I'm worried about these tough economic times and how people cope with them. Unfortunately, farmers aren't always good at talking and especially not to one another," said Weaver. "I hope that's changing. As much as I love farming, I try to remember that the farm doesn't own me and that I am more important to my kids than the farm," he said.

Stress relief doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, either, Weaver maintained. Eating together at night and frequent meals with extended family fosters a unity that he considers invaluable.

"I love ice cream and we all go to a local, family-owned ice cream joint several nights a week. That's how I like to relax," he said.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @PamSmithDTN

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