February 2023 Edition
“I was looking at him, while he was looking at me; I was just a little
quicker to the trigger!” – Sgt. Carlos “White Feather” Hathcock, US soldier in
the Vietnam War and highly renowned Marine sniper
Unfortunately, even the folks of the
Vietnam War era are not that familiar with the name of Carlos Hathcock II. If it wasn’t for the internet and a few good
books, he’d be all but lost in American and world history.
Despite the best attempts by the
North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Hathcock single-handily harassed and became a consistent
threat to the NVA top leaders. There are
at least a handful of missions that are of more than legendary status when it came
to involving Sargent Hathcock. Hathcock
was such an immense irritation to the NVA, that they placed a bounty on his life
of US$30k – which was a huge sum of money in those days, and at the time, a world
record for highest bounty ever on a single person!
Fortunately for Carlos, most all of
the Vietnamese assassins had a lot more heart than skill. Hathcock continued his missions flawlessly despite
the bounty, while the extra attention did make him hone-in on his craft. After
several failed NVA attempts, word got out within the US camps that “Cobra” was
on Hathcock’s trail. “Cobra” was the
nickname of the top sniper in the Vietnamese Army at the time, and Cobra nearly
got Hathcock as the two were stalking each other in the jungle of central Vietnam. Cobra was able to get off the first shot, but
as luck would have it, Hathcock tripped just a fraction of a second before the
shot was fired. However, the bullet hit
Hathcock’s spotter in the leg, and the spotter panicked dearly as he felt a
warm liquid run down his pants. Luck had
struck twice in that moment as the bullet actually hit the spotter’s water
canteen!
Carlos played a cat-and-mouse game of
position after that brief encounter as he knew Cobra would be darting to their current
location to start tracking his wounded prey (after all, Cobra heard his bullet
hit and a man screaming). The men found
themselves later that day in exact reversed positions – Cobra at the sight where
the canteen was hit and now Carlos and his spotter in the location where Cobra
initially fired from. When Cobra didn’t
find any blood, I would assume his stress rose dramatically. Unfortunately for the Vietnamese sniper, the
afternoon sun was now in his face and the glare off his rifle scope not only
gave away his position, but also delayed him in trying to release a second
shot. Carlos aimed directly for the
center of the glare and when he and the spotter eventually came upon the body, Cobra’s
rifle scope glass was shattered – Hathcock’s bullet traveled precisely down the
center and through the scope to the target.
I know there have been at least one
or two military Hollywood movies where this similar scene played out, but to my
knowledge Carlos Hathcock never gets the credit. Carlos was the first and I’d bet high
likelihood the only sniper to accomplish the feat in a true sniper duel. Supposedly, Carlos and his spotter did
confiscate Cobra’s gun for proof, but once it was turned into the military’s
top brass, Carlos never seen the particular gun again nor has anyone else came
forward with it over the years.
Like many great military minds, Carlos
continued his career after his last deployment to Vietnam ended (1969). Carlos’s after war years were highlighted
with strong dedication into the training of future US military snipers. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated quickly
in middle age with a combination of multiple sclerosis and old combat injuries.
He lived only to the age of 56.
https://www.military.com/history/5-amazing-stories-marine-corps-legend-carlos-hathcock.html
Even though some of our best farmers
may retire from the full day hustle of running a farm, many to most all of them
find a way to stay engaged with some aspect of farming. Just like with Mr. Hathcock, the activity
becomes a consistent positive in your life and it’s just hard to walk away from
all the knowledge, people, and life lessons learned along the way. Thankfully, the younger generation has these
skilled veterans to learn from and expertise to gain by seeing how it was
properly done!
Winter
Enlist Webinars
I’m going to post
these Corteva on-line webinars one last time since there are still a few
opportunities to attend. However, one of
the many benefits of the Enlist herbicide system in soybeans is no formal
training or class work is required by applicators – engage as desired.
Enlist Webinars
Announced for 2022-2023: For all upcoming
webinars, Register Here.
Applicator Training with Enlist Label
Reminders (Choose one of
the following dates):
- March 14,
2023, at 8 a.m. CT
Special
Series: Seed Selection + Enlist Weed Control System vs. In-crop Dicamba System (Choose one of the following dates):
Special
Series: Set Your Operation Up for Success with the Enlist Weed Control System (Choose one of the following dates)
- Mar. 16,
2023, at 9 a.m. CT
- Apr. 6, 2023, at 8 a.m. CT
Top 5 – Early
Soybean Planting Tips
Over the last few seasons, our area farm
producers have taken advantage of the opportunity to plant some fields of
soybeans early. Just how early is early? I’d say when the air-seeder is sowing wheat,
the planter (or second air-seeder) would be rolling with soybeans. Here are some of the “tips and tricks” to be successful
with early soybean planting:
·
Seedbed
Preparation: Fields with tillage and less residue will warm-up quicker and thus
have a bit more of a buffer if/when cooler conditions prevail and especially if
a late spring frost event occurs
·
Seed
Genetics: Plant longer RM varieties to
take advantage of the early plant date – push into a RM zone that will probably
be a little uncomfortable to maximize gains.
Plus, select for appropriate agronomic traits for the specific field –
IDC, phytophthora tolerance, white mold, and/or SCN resistance
·
Seed
Treatment: Early planted soybeans are bound to go through some germination and
early seedling stresses. Plus, our
number one seedling disease in the area, pythium, is most active at colder soil
temperatures. Most producers opt for at
least a fungicide plus inoculant seed treatment package. Insecticide seed treatment has gained favor
over the past few seasons as well
·
Planting
populations: Soybean planting populations vary widely across our region from farm
to farm. When planting early, and
especially if your farm is towards the low end of the seeding rate spectrum, I’d
recommend increasing the seeding by 10k seeds/ac. If your farm is already seeding 155k to 165k
plus seeds per acre, then I wouldn’t see the need for any further modifications
·
Be
Prepared: Early planting windows can be
short in our neck of the woods. Being
prepared and ready to go when the opportunity presents itself is
significant.
Many seed
business agencies also like to get an early start on testing their equipment
for treating soybean seed and transporting seed. Keeping in good communication with your input
suppliers to make sure they are ready to service your needs and understand your
plan is also critical.
Palmer
Amaranth Expanding in Presence in ND
Make no mistake
about it, America’s superweed is obtaining a stronger foothold in North Dakota. Three more counties within our state were
found with populations of Palmer Amaranth in 2022, and now the total number of
counties where Palmer has been identified and confirmed to exist in ND has cumulated
to 19. This summer, Kidder, Williams, and
Stark counties were added to the official registry.
For North Dakota residents who may need
to report a suspect plant, you can visit https://www.nd.gov/ndda/pa
or contact the local county extension officer.
All of these
locations had only a single Palmer plant or two and many of the prior counties have
a current designation of “previously found, but no longer detected”. I would think most all of these sites are
still being monitored to ensure any dormant seeds do not come to life and proliferate. Palmer amaranth is one of the most aggressive
plants that I’ve researched, growing 3” per day under good conditions and producing
over half a million seeds per plant under minimal competition.
The moniker “superweed”
comes from the fact that Palmer amaranth is so genetically diverse that it
easily adapts and overcomes chemical control strategies to compete heavily with
corn and soybeans across many regions of the south and Midwest in the USA. Over the past several years, Palmer
populations have been found that are resistant to most all single active
ingredient herbicides. Farm managers and
crop consultants are fighting the battle with various sophisticated tank mix
combinations, multiple post-emerge spray applications, pre-emerge residual products,
and even lay-by strategies (or two) to try and give the crop an opportunity to get
ahead of the pest. So far, these complex
full season strategies are working, but they result in very significant labor
and dollars to the producer.
Evolving Integrated
Weed Management
An innovation company named Global Neighbor
Inc. is stepping up to the plate and accepting the challenge of trying to
tackle herbicide resistant weeds with alternative strategies besides herbicides. Their methods are showing some positive results
in the south and Midwest. By utilizing various
wavelengths of blue light in combination with heat, they are finding very
efficient low horsepower methods to aid in a farm’s weed management strategy.
One of their products, named “Weed
Seed Destroyer” (WSD), mounts under the combine to accept the chaff fraction of
the harvest material. As the chaff moves
through the WSD, the combination of blue light and heat work to sterilize any
weed seed mixed among the chaff. The research
results on weed seed kill/sterilization rate have ranged from 97-99% effective
on a mix of four weed species – morning glory, fox millet, common ragweed and
pigweed (pigweed species not clarified).
I do see a couple downfalls of the
proposed technology, but sometimes you have to accept the downfalls to gain the
benefits. First, the in-season weed still
directly competes with the crop during the season, and second, any weeds that
may shatter/drop their seed before the combine arrives is safe. When it comes to highly resistant weeds like
waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, this novel strategy is better than nothing.
Could Eggs
Naturally Fight COVID?
Some promising and interesting research
is coming out of US Department of Health and Human Services and their medical research
arm, the National Institute of Health (NIH), regarding some natural ways to
combat SARS-CoronaVirus. Supposedly, the
yolk portion of the chicken egg contain antibodies that act like a neutralizing
agent against viruses. From what I can
piece together by reading this abstract and some of the “similar articles”
listed within this document, the premise has been proven at a statistically significant
level in the laboratory, but the NIH hasn’t taken their knowledge and performed
a clinical human research trial (or at least haven’t published any insights on a
potential trial – to the best of my knowledge and internet search capabilities).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33191178/
The potential for eggs to have some
very beneficial benefits regarding our overall human health is strong (see
links below). Thus, it’s not surprising that
current research would find some added benefits of egg consumption by humans against
the infection of a virus.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566691/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7723562/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8qlrFrvpvE
Another interesting fact is that chicken
egg prices at the grocery store have risen recently at a substantially higher
rate then the average inflation rate. I’m
not sure of all the exact causes but a quick internet search reveals a concerning list of chicken egg farm fires/destruction
we have experienced over the past couple years.
Wright County, Minnesota – Tens of Thousands of chickens die in local
fire at Forsman Farms (May 2022). https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/wright-county-egg-farm-fire/
Bozrah, Connecticut – Massive fire at chicken farm affects one of the Top
5 egg producers in the country; approximately 100k hens perish (Jan. 2023). https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3836445-100000-chickens-die-in-fire-at-connecticut-egg-farm/
Jones County, Mississippi – Chicken farm destroyed by fire; no details given
(May 2022). https://www.wlox.com/2022/05/02/jones-county-chicken-farm-destroyed-sunday-night-fire/
Bloomfield, Nebraska – Fire spreads quickly, killing thousands of
chickens at egg processing facility (Feb. 2020). https://www.ketv.com/article/thousands-of-chickens-killed-in-nebraska-egg-processing-plant-fire/31149857#
Wake County, North Carolina – Massive fire at chicken farm producing 16k
eggs per month – luckily no chickens or workers were injured (July 2021). https://www.wral.com/fire-tears-through-wake-co-chicken-house-that-produces-16k-eggs-a-month/19785694/
Buena Vista County, Iowa – Avian flu infects 5.3 million chickens; entire
flock gruesomely culled (April 2022). https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rembrandt-farms-iowa-avian-flu-kills-5-million-chickens-fires-workers/
Jefferson County, Wisconsin – Three million chicken egg-laying operation
has massive fire (Oct. 2020). https://www.dailyunion.com/news/editors_pick/blaze-destroys-structures-at-palmyra-egg-farm/article_322c06e1-b088-55b4-b496-c4ee3fd007ab.html
Taylor County, Iowa – Fire strikes egg facility; no details given (Nov
2021). https://www.kmaland.com/news/fire-strikes-taylor-county-egg-facility/article_80d72cae-4f94-11ec-b890-eb290153f8ff.html
“If you and Michael Jordan
got together today for a game of one-on-one, could you take him?”
“Can I wear my Hickory
uniform?”
“Yes, you can!”
“Boy, that would be a
good game.”
“Jordan is going to wear
his North Carolina jersey, and you’re going Hickory.”
“Listen Dan, I’m 40 pounds
overweight from my playing days. I’m broken down. I really don’t care like I used to. I have a fight in me, but it’s not the fight
that I once had. But it would be a pretty
close game!
Dan Patrick
interviewing Larry Bird in July of 2015 on the “Dan Patrick Show”
I’m
not sure if you have ever listened to the Dan Patrick Show, but Dan likes to
ask odd questions and hypothesize different scenarios to try and get some humor
going. When Larry Bird agreed to phone
in and give Dan an interview, Larry played along beautifully and had Dan (and
I’m sure the audience as well) smiling and laughing the whole way!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o56BffdgoH0
Having that playful charisma and positive optimism around
your character places yourself in a tremendously good spot to lead your
business successfully and help you and your team overcome the challenges placed in the
path.
“It’s too early to get
on that flight; I’ll catch the next one.” And then several hours later, “Never
fear, BNB is here!”
“You’re benched for
this game; maybe even the remainder of the season.” And then an hour later,
“Get in there and earn your damn money for a change!” – progression of the
day’s dialogue between all-star player Marvin Barnes and head coach Bob
MacKinnon.
On
this particular night of ABA action in March of 1975, Marvin “Bad News” Barnes
did earn his paycheck by leading the Spirits of St. Louis to a three-point win
(114-111) over the Virginia Squires. Mr.
Barnes led all scorers with 43 points and around 20 rebounds, but the most dramatic
part of the day happened off the court.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197503080VIR.html
The
story begins from the night before when BNB (Bad News Barnes) and the Spirits
had a game in New York against Julius Erving and the Nets. The Nets easily won the game (120-101). During the post-game team locker room
address, coach MacKinnon advised his players to get some rest as the itinerary
included an early morning departing flight for a game the next evening in
Norfolk, Virginia. Well, with Marvin
having a strong desire for the night life, he wasn’t too excited to miss-out on
an evening in the Big Apple, nor heed his coach’s advice on catching that early
morning flight departure. To make a long
story short, Marvin sleeps late, ends up hiring a taxi, then a private plane
(which was unheard of in those days), and another taxi to get him to the
Norfolk Scope arena just in the nick of time.
As coach MacKinnon was concluding his pre-game remarks on how the team
will shift tactics without their key all-star, Marvin arrives – superman
fashion by revealing his already adorned uniform under a long mink trench
coat. Despite Marvin placing some charisma
and humor into his arrival, his coach was not impressed, nor the general
manager who was forced to fork over cash on the spot to the pilot and taxi
driver. Luckily for Marvin, his
teammates backed him and fed him the ball so he could have the opportunity to
make amends.
Unfortunately,
the Spirits of St. Louis did not survive the NBA/ABA merger, which occurred a
little over a year later in the summer of 1976, and the city hasn’t seen
professional basketball since. As a
business employer it’s always a tough call on what to do with the employee with
a ton of talent, but never seems to get the big picture. It’s difficult to predict, but maybe the
Spirits of St. Louis would have been a healthier business without Marvin Barnes
and thus increased their chances of keeping the franchise afloat for the long
term.
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