Life on the Farm

[bjrogg]

Yes I know exactly where you are coming from Pappy. It’s all good when it works and totally frustrating when it doesn’t.
I still get to fix the mechanical stuff too. My combine made a clink noise and started bellowing smoke out the exhaust. I quickly shut it down. Looked it over and at first couldn’t see anything wrong. Ended up a stainless steel clamp broke for the boost line on turbo.

We finished up wheat Sunday. It was just really starting to go good.

Typical wheat harvest around here. You have to start about two days before the wheat is dry enough to harvest. We grind the green straw through the combine and take the wheat to the elevator. It has very good quality like this but difficult to harvest. Then by day three when everything is perfect and the combines can make good time. The elevators are stuffed full of wet wheat they need to dry and can only take the wheat as fast as they can dry it. The lines get very long and it gets really hard to keep empty trucks available for the combines. If the weather holds that last about two days and everyone starts bringing dry wheat. The elevator has room for dry wheat and the lines get shorter. The combines cruse and the trucks quickly make their round trip.

Everything is running like clockwork and then it rains. The humidity goes up and the wheat that isn’t harvested yet wants to sprout standing in the field yet. As soon as it starts to think about sprouting the starch converts and the falling numbers go down (not milling quality anymore).

Sure does put the stress on what would otherwise be an enjoyable harvest.

All in all we did good. We had a few loads that had deductions for numbers right on the edge. One load that was feed wheat. Many that were just above deductions.

I’m so relieved that our wheat is harvested. It truly is the most stressful and risky crop we grow. And we grow some pretty risky crops.

Finished just in time. Just finished the last of it and was blowing off the combine with leaf blower when a little shower came through. Warm and humid. I’m sure that any wheat left will be feed wheat now. I really don’t know why we grow this stuff. I can’t tell you how many times this same scenario has happened. Or that we were a day a or two away from being done when the rain came and we were left with feed wheat.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

The last pass of wheat to harvest.

[bjrogg]

Just in time.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

It appears every time I get to a new page I can’t see or reply from that page. I have to reply from a previous page. Hopefully after a few replies on that new page I can then see it and reply again

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Yep that worked I’m back.
Bjrogg

[M2A]

Nice to hear you got that wheat in! Real awesome pics of the harvest. Give folks a perspective they could only understand with the pictures.
Mike   

[DuBois]

I want that!

[bjrogg]

Thanks Mike, glad you enjoyed the pictures. They definitely help tell my story.

DuBois I would love for you to have it too.  I do truly feel blessed to be part of this. It is a tremendous amount of work, but I find it personally very rewarding. I’m mostly showing the fun stuff though. We have to do a lot of stuff that isn’t so fun to get to the fun part. I think it’s worth it though.

My youngest son had the day off from work and asked if I wanted to go to the Mission Impossible Movie. Been a long time since I went to a movie at the theater. Pretty good show and was fun to do it with my son. While we were there we got a nice rain. Anywhere from 1.3” to .8” .  So glad our wheat is off.

Bjrogg

[PaSteve]

Most definitely looks like a lot of hard work BJ.  Happy for you, that you were able to take some time off and enjoy the movie with your son. I don't know a thing about running a farm but I do know farmers are the heart and soul of this country. Thanks for taking us along.

[bjrogg]

Thanks Steve . It is a lot of work and probably half my friends my age and even younger are retiring already. I just really hope I can stay a part of this operation for awhile yet. At this time I need it. And it needs me.

There are lots of people who are the heart and soul of this country though. It takes all kinds of us.

They did manage to get some straw bailed before the rain. It wasn’t crispy dry but it should be ok.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

I went out scouting my black bean fields after the rain. They are looking really nice. Too nice. We have been getting fantastic weather for beans. They like the little showers and the temperature here has been highs in the 70’s lows in the 60’s. Perfect for setting pods. They are loaded with blossoms and pin beans.

The protectant we used only provides about 10 to 14 days of protection. With the forecast and growth we have I’m pretty sure we will need to protect them again.

This is one of the reasons we like to plant beans in 30” wide spaced rows instead of 22. The first picture is looking straight up the rows. There is very little space between the rows now. The little that is will help with providing a little air.

Bjrogg

[bjrogg]

Between the rows

[bjrogg]

Blossoms and pin beans

[bjrogg]

Across the rows

[GlisGlis]

Nice to see that everything's great. Your beans look vigorous.
How's your brother doing?