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harvest Archives - Carolyn CAREs

Category: harvest

30 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 2: Harvest

CarolynCares Harvest Home

We are very thankful that we wrapped up harvest for 2013 on November 1st. This year was a tough corn harvest for us. We had a wind storm in September that blew down quite a bit of corn. We were more fortunate than some of our neighbors, and less fortunate than others. By the final day, we were down to a few acres of corn that just didn’t want to go through the combine. In spite of the annoyances that corn harvest brought, we are so thankful that the harvest was brought safely home.

Be sure to follow Holly Spangler, and the rest of the 30 Day Bloggers by clicking here.

Introduction to 30 Day Challenge

Day 1: Family

Throwback Thursday – One Year Ago

Snowy morning Oct 25, 2013
Snowy morning Oct 25, 2013

We are very thankful that field work was pretty much all wrapped up by this time last year. Jonathan and Laura were busy preparing to leave for a mission trip to Tanzania six days after this photo was taken.

This year, we are counting our blessings. We are thankful for each successful day – no one hurt, and corn coming out of the fields. The farmers and ranchers who have been impacted by early snows are on our minds and in our hearts.

If you would like to learn more about the plight of our neighbors to the west, head on over to the AgChat Foundation’s Razoo page.

First Week in October

“In harvest time, harvest folk, servants and all
Should make, all together, good cheer in the hall
Once ended the harvest, let none be beguiled
Please such as did help thee, man, woman and child.”
–   Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry

Late September begins harvest on our farm. We typically start harvesting soybeans first, then move to corn when the soybeans are all in the bin. This year, we got started a little later than usual, due to the late spring and cool summer.

A few years ago, I started running the combine. This year, we have a new to us combine, so I needed to get used to new controls. Jonathan was also really patient with me when I was sick in bed on Monday, and baked for Cottonwood’s Central Park Market on Wednesday. I did run the combine for awhile on Tuesday, which made me feel a whole lot better.

We combine our soybeans at an angle to prevent dirt from building up on the platform. We don’t roll our soybean ground to make it flat, since we cultivate the beans a couple of times during the season. The cultivating created ridges, which can sometimes cause dirt to get scooped up when we combine straight down the rows. Since we use AutoSteer technology in our combine as well, we are able to program it to follow the angle we want.

Harvesting Soybeans
Harvesting Soybeans

Wednesday evening, the predicted rain began to fall, and put to a halt our harvesting for this week. The guys worked quickly to move all of the equipment into sheds to keep the harvested soybeans dry.

Bringing the Soybeans In
Bringing the Soybeans In

This was the first evening thunderstorm that I can remember this year. Most of the storms we did get came during the day. I have always wanted to try taking photos of lightning, so I quick looked up a basic how-to for my type of camera, and started shooting. Now, I can’t wait for the next round of lightning!

My First Lightning Capture
My First Lightning Capture

The weather has been rainy and drizzly the past few days, and it looks like that pattern will hold until Sunday. It has been nice to be able to catch up on a few things in the house, and get a bit more rest at night.

Have a great week!

 

2011 Harvest – Oh What a Relief!

This year was my first year as full time combine driver. I learned how to harvest wheat, barley and field peas, and oats and field peas in the late summer, but Jonathan did most of that harvesting.  When it was “go time” for soybeans, we got the combine all ready, and headed out to the first field.

Jonathan started by taking off the buffer strips – areas of soybeans next to non-organic fields that need to be hauled into town for sale, usually 25-50 feet wide. I jumped in to learn how to operate the soybean head, and how to avoid things like rocks and tile intakes. While Jonathan was driving, we smelled smoke. Not good. Turns out that a small rock got wedged into the cylinder, causing sparks, which ignited the dry material inside the combine. We drove it to the neighbors and poured water on it for a long time, not knowing exactly where the problem had started. Once we determined its location, we concentrated water on that area until we didn’t see any smoke. Jonathan went out to harvest some beans to flush the water and wet beans out. He would need to handle those separately.   Once he got going again, I went out to start combining on my own. When I got to the side of the field he was on, I noticed that the smoke was once again pouring out of the combine, a little worse this time. Jon drove it home while I went ahead in the pickup and hooked up hoses. We opened everything up, and poured water on the area for a long time. We then let it sit overnight. What a way to start harvest!

Once the mechanic took a look at the combine and determined that no real damage was done, we once again went out to start soybean harvest. Things were pretty uneventful after that. I cleaned out the rock trap regularly, which is a very dusty job, but I wasn’t about to take a chance on another fire!

I had mentioned to Jonathan before harvest started that it would be nice if he could take my place about every four hours so I could stretch…and potty.  Confession time…I refuse to “take care of business” out in the field. Yep, I’m one of those ladies. (I also think looking good while working on the farm isn’t bad.) I have heard that a satellite can read a license plate. My behind is quite a bit bigger than that. I’m not taking any chances! I don’t like camping, either. Camping, to me, is staying at a Super 8. I have stayed at campgrounds in cabins with central shower houses and bathrooms, but it isn’t my first choice of places to stay. If it means spending time with family that I don’t normally get to see, I will put on a brave face and deal with it for a weekend.

Jonathan was usually pretty good about taking my place for my “breaks”, especially if I gave him enough warning. It worked well, I thought. Until the last day of harvest. We had about 5-5 1/2 hours of work left in our final corn field, and I really wanted to be the one to finish it. I brought my coffee with me that morning to make sure I could get an earlier start.  Everything was going quickly until the last three rounds.  There were cottontail rabbits and pheasants that couldn’t figure out that leaving the rows I was in would be smart.

By the last round, I really had to go. But there were four bunnies, and four pheasants running in front of the combine.  Running back and forth between the eight rows that were left in the field. I was just crawling along, growing more miserable by the second. It seemed like the longest round of my life!  Finally we were done! I just had to unload the combine, jump into the pickup, and hurry home.  I called Jonathan to tell him the good news that we were done, and he told me to be careful of the pickup door. What?! I was in a super big hurry! What if the door fell off and I couldn’t drive it home? Panic had set in. There were about 10 men working just across the tree line from where I was. There was no way I was going to be stuck out here! Thankfully, the door didn’t fall off, and I was able to make it home in time. Whew!

The 2011 harvest season was a huge learning opportunity for me. I really enjoyed my time in the combine, and it made me appreciate what the guys have gone through every year.  Mostly, I appreciate the patience Jonathan has had for me and for making this an enjoyable experience. And now that we have the crop safely in the bins I can say…oh what a relief!