We’ve been trying to finish up soybean harvest this week and finally accomplished that on Thursday night. We sat idle for two days because of rain, and we are sitting again here on Friday thinking about whether or not to start corn or popcorn. The intention was to start popcorn, but the combine needs a thorough cleaning to get rid any corn or soybeans that might get mixed in. We couldn’t delivery any popcorn today because the plant would be close by the time we got there. And we don’t think they’ll be open again until Monday. Corn might be looking better at this point going into the weekend.
Anyway, here’s a look at what we’ve done this week!
The big 4WD tractor came home nearly empty on fuel after running the chisel plow just over 300 acres of corn stalks.
This is the auger that feeds grain into the tank on the combine. I checked it for wear this morning. It has one small thin spot and is beginning to get a sharp edge. When these wear too much they can cause grain damage.
This is how we get fuel to equipment when we are away from the shop. Dad’s truck holds 90 gallons of fuel under the toolbox.
Here is Dad getting ready to back the 635F into the barn after finishing soybean harvest. We aren’t really quite done, but all we have left is beans that were planted as a double crop after wheat in late June. They are not mature yet. It’s all corn and popcorn for now.
I’ll do a full post on this another day about why our wheat seed is pink and why there are radishes in there.
Rock pile. I unloaded a few picked up while chisel plowing. This is what we collected this spring walking fields and during tillage.
It’s time to head the the John Deere dealer when it rains during harvest. The parking was full first thing in the morning with guys picking up parts.
The combine got an oil change today. For those not familiar with this type of equipment this machine takes 30.7 quarts. Your average car takes about 5.
We have a neighbor drill our wheat for us. This is the setup he uses to do it.
Brings back memories – while we didn’t do soybeans or corn, we did clover, oats, potatoes and peppermint mostly. A lot of the machinery looked the same. The farmer and his family doesn’t get a break this time of the year, so they?
As much as I hate to say it this year, I’d like a break from the rain, Judy. We’ve really only put in 3 or 4 full days of solid harvesting all day. We’ve got oats growing in a field this year with some radishes as cover crop!
Yes, I get that. The weather hasn’t been “normal” anywhere in the country this year. Did you grow up in a house where when the weather came on, everything else stopped? I was the only kid in grade school to ace weather in science class 🙂 And wouldn’t trade any of it! We would be digging spuds right now – the cold mornings will have killed the vines and set the skins.
I so enjoy reading these posts and going back in time to when we were doing some of the same things. Good memories. Thanks!
I had to take a weather class in college. I remember the professor saying “If you didn’t like physics, you won’t like this class because it’s pretty much a physics class.” It was a challenging courses.
Thanks for reading!