DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- School's out for summer and for Charlie "Barley" Weaver that means life is busier than ever. While some people jog with their dog, Charlie is up at the crack of dawn giving his show pigs a workout. His sister, Mackenzie, joins in early morning chores, making sure the show lambs are fed and exercised. After that they stay busy during the day scouting crops or pitching in on other projects around the farm.

Their dad, Chris Weaver, is participating in DTN's View From the Cab project this season, reporting on crop conditions and agriculture from Finksburg, Maryland. Joining him in these reports is Tyler Rath of Belgrade, Minnesota.

Both Rath and Weaver have young families and wives with professional careers off the farm. Juggling dual professions is a challenge during the school year, but filling those daytime hours during the summer presents a different schedule for the entire family.

Rath has three children under the age of 8 and just starting to reach the age where they can lend a hand. Combining kids into the daily work routine requires more than just corralling them into a cab, though. Both farmers preach the importance of safety in these work environments.

Read on to learn more about how they try to keep a work/life balance. This week there are also more weather issues to contend with in Minnesota as the planting marathon continues. In Maryland, some much needed rain and growing degree units have crops growing almost as fast as the weeds. And, this week we also learn a new definition of "ham sandwich."

TYLER RATH: BELGRADE, MINNESOTA

When Rath volunteered for the View From the Cab project, he pointed to rural daycare as one of the biggest challenges to raising kids in the country. Red tape that hinders providers from entry into the profession make for limited openings in rural areas -- and that's something he'd like to see remedied. At times, his children have been in three different programs in three different places.

"A lot of my daytime planning revolves around where I need to be to pick up the kids," he noted. "Sometimes I arrive in a sprayer or a tractor or a semi or a side-by-side or a service truck. Actually, they think they are the luckiest kids at daycare because of this."

This summer, the decision was made that the two oldest children would spend more time on the farm with Dad and Grandpa. Who needs tablets when kids can pick rocks, pick up sticks and go on scavenger hunts while the sprayer is being filled?

"They want to be with us and know that requires following certain safety rules. It's amazing how fast they pick it up and remember it," he said. Making sure adults are aware and watching is also part of that process.

The Rath kids participate in a wide variety of sports. This week has involved golf, flag football, baseball and swimming lessons.

"The kids are everywhere and so are we. I try to make as many events as I can, but realistically know I will miss some games," he said. "Having our family close and having grandparents who are willing and able to help is so important to keeping all this going and still letting life and farming operations happen."

On June 11, life happened in the form of tennis-ball-sized hail that wiped out a 155-acre field of conventional corn. Leaves were shredded on another 75-acre field. The growing point was already above ground in both cases.

Rath said he got lucky because the farm didn't experience any property damage. Other farms were not as fortunate.

"I'd also just looked at that field and decided to hold off spraying herbicides because rain was in the forecast. Our plan is to plant soybeans into those (hailed) fields and spray off the corn to start over," he said. He noted that his other option was to leave the damage and deal with poor stands with an estimated 75-bushel-per-acre (bpa) yield potential. The yield goal is 220 bpa on those fields.

"Half of our corn fields look amazing," he said of other plantings. "Another portion are just OK and crops on peat ground look poor or are flooded out with all the rain we've been getting," he added. "All of our low spots have standing water."

Rath said edible beans look good and still have 100% yield potential, but he noted that the crop doesn't tolerate saturated conditions well, or for long.

"Peas are looking great and beginning to flower. Peas are usually 21 days to harvest from 50% bloom. If things go right, peas could be harvested in time to plant soybeans back as a double crop," he said.

At this point, the soil sensors are showing a full moisture profile. DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said this region is likely to continue to see chances of rain. Monday and Tuesday chances are calling for lighter precipitation, but Wednesday could be a soaker, he noted. Another system should be close by the coming weekend.

"It's going to be much cooler. After some days near 90 last week, this coming week is going to be solidly in the 70s and if there happens to be rain in the afternoon, it may not make it there," said Baranick.

With such variable weather during late spring, another thing his kids are quickly learning is to never leave for the farm or a sports event without a stocking cap, Rath said.

CHRIS WEAVER: FINKSBURG, MARYLAND

At ages 9 and 12, maturity is making a difference in how involved the Weaver kids have become in the farm this year. Summer months are mostly being devoted to 4-H projects and preparing to show at a few county fairs.

"I'm up by 5:30 a.m. every morning and make my bed and brush my teeth and then, wait for my sister. But I try to get out of the house by 5:40," said Charlie, who is 9 and has already adopted the philosophy that animal needs should be tended before humans.

"It teaches me responsibility," he added. This up-with-the-pigs routine requires setting his alarm a tad earlier than during periods when school is in session. Still, he said he likes working on the farm better than going to school.

"And I'm with friends all day in the summer, because I have five pigs," he said. All the pigs are named after "Toy Story" movie characters this year. He's working on teaching the pigs show ring manners during morning walks.

The key to showing, Charlie said, is "the ham sandwich" approach. In other words, "Keep the pig between you and the judge."

Comments like this are what keep his dad excited. "I've said it before, but I love working with my kids and seeing them grow and learn," Weaver said. For this family, the summer focus is on getting animals ready for the county fair. Extra time is usually spent working around the farm or with grandparents, who live close by and are involved in the farm, too.

Having adults present is important when it comes to safety. But Weaver advocates for safety training, no matter the age.

"When I was 14 years old, I graduated from the 4-H tractor safety program and won an award. But about that same time, a local farmer had an accident with a power takeoff shaft. I've never forgotten what he went through.

"These days, we have buddy seats and Sound-Gard tractors and more roll over protection, but it's not enough," he said. "We require helmets when riding a four-wheeler or the side-by-side. The kids know that if they hear an engine and don't know where it is coming from, to go to the nearest building and put their hand on it (the building) and stay there.

"And around here, we preach going slow. Accidents happen in a split second and they are more apt to happen when we hurry," Weaver added.

It's been a slow recovery when it comes to drought. Much of Maryland is still registering on the U.S. Drought Monitor. But Weaver said one-half inch of rain on June 10 made a world of difference and his county is in better shape than many.

"It's like you could see the crop growing after that rain. We're finally getting the growing degree units (GDU) we need -- although we are still about 70 GDU short," he said.

Baranick said the Finksburg area will be on the edge of a couple of systems passing through this week, making the rainfall forecast complicated.

"The best chance will be with a front moving through on Thursday and we'll have to watch for some severe weather, too. After last week's heat, temperatures here will be higher than in Minnesota, but still starting off the week very mild in the upper 70s to lower 80s. Readings will rise into the mid-upper 80s by the end of the week."

With the first detections of tar spot being reported in the Midwest, Weaver will be watching corn closely. The disease has found its way to Maryland in past years, but it has mostly appeared late in the season.

"I believe good crop nutrition and plant health are key to helping prevent losses, but with the weather we've been having, I'm watching for it," he said.

This year Weaver is using a real-time nutritional analysis from Picketa Systems, a Canadian company that has previously specialized in providing information to potato growers. Their portable device is designed to use leaf tissue to estimate the concentration of 13 macro and micronutrients in a matter of minutes on both corn and soybean. Weaver is testing it against traditional laboratory analysis of tissue tests.

"So far, it seems accurate and I'm happy that our nutrient levels are all within range of where we want them. I like that it is giving us answers that we can respond to within 24 hours," he said.

He'll begin foliar feeding corn this coming week -- paying close attention to calcium and phosphorus readings. It's also time to begin respraying soybeans for weeds.

Barley looks on target to cut around June 20, he figured. You can bet Charlie will stay true to his "Barley" nickname and be clamoring to see the harvest.

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

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