wheat Archives - Carolyn CAREs

In a past blog, I’ve talked about how we are following in Grandpa’s footsteps by raising seed. As we look at the history of our farm, and the men who have built it to what it is today, we find little gems that make us squeal with delight.

I may or may not have jumped up and down like a little girl when we found a newspaper article featuring Grandpa Nuel, and Uncle Bob. The article talks about what it takes to raise seed, and why they do it. It also talks about why Bob built the shop that still stands at our place.

When I first read the newspaper article, the thing that struck me is how similar the seed production requirements are today as they were back in that time (we’re estimating the article was written around 1950). The author does a great job of explaining the whole process from planting, to harvest, to storage.

We live in a world where everything has to be the latest and greatest. If it is shiny, updated, loaded with features, we will do what we have to in order to get it. We “need” the software that organizes everything, the farm apps that keep cropping and livestock records, and iAnything to make our lives run efficiently. I will freely admit that I love my electronics!

Sometimes, though, we get little reminders that the “old” way isn’t as outdated as we thought. While our field inspectors may record things on their laptops, we still need the inspectors’ feet in the dirt, looking for things that could prevent us from selling our crop for seed. The process, as a whole, is solid. While we may have an easier time tracking lot numbers and field information with computers (and let’s be honest, hello printing capabilities! I can’t imagine hand writing out tags for 3000 bushels of seed!), the steps to go from seed to plant to grow to harvest to seed is still pretty good.

Like Grandpa is quoted as saying in the article below, we enjoy producing high quality seed. Some things never change.

(Click on the article to make it bigger)

On April 29th, we started seeding fields of wheat as well as fields of barley and peas. We raise a few varieties of wheat based on the needs of Albert Lea Seed House, who we raise seed for. This means we need to clean out the grain drill and the seed tender between varieties. We like to use a ShopVac® to get as much seed out as possible from the inside. We save the unused seed in case we need to replant a wet spot, or we’ll use it as part of a cover crop mix.

After the insides are vacuumed, we need to drop the trap door at the top of every seed tube. There are 60 seed tubes on our drill. I know that, because I count them every time I drop them.

After the seed is emptied, I make sure each meter trap door is adjusted correctly for the type of seed we are using. Wheat seed is set with the narrowest opening, field peas have the medium opening. If I don’t get the openings set correctly, we’ll either lose a lot of seed, or won’t get the seed planted at the rate we want. In this photo, you can sort of see the little lever I’m grabbing to drop the seed. That same lever is the one that sets the width of the opening.

Once the tubes have been emptied, and the levers are on the correct notch, we are ready to refill. The drill is brought out to the field, switched from transport mode to field mode, then we are ready to load it up with seed.

More farmers are now using a mini-bulk system. Each mini-bulk bag holds the equivalent of 40 bags of seed, which saves on labor and paper bag costs…and for me, this year, chiropractor costs. The bags are hoisted up by the forklift, and dumped into a seed tender wagon. The seed tender has an auger system that is powered by the tractor’s hydraulic system.

Emptying a mini-bulk into the seed tender wagon

After the seed tender has the right amount of seed in it, we pull it to the field with the tractor. Not a job I’m particularly fond of, but sometimes you just have to put on your big girl panties and do it. I hate transporting equipment on the tar roads, mostly due to the impatience of other drivers. If everyone slows down, and gives farm equipment plenty of room, all will be happier.

There are times when we still use small bags, depending on how much of that particular variety we are going to plant. For those situations, we drive the pickup – which has been loaded with the seed – out to the field. The end gate is about the same height as the walking platform on the back of the drill, so carrying bags from pickup to drill isn’t too difficult.

A little something for my South Dakota friends

After we get the drill full of seed, Jonathan can start seeding.This brings up a question that I asked when I was still a new farm wife. Why is it called seeding wheat? When we use the grain drill, we use the term ‘seeding’. When we use the corn planter, we use the term ‘planting’. Soybeans can either be seeded with the grain drill (we call it solid seeding the soybeans), or planted with the corn planter. We plant our soybeans with the corn planter, because that is what works best for us. Just like everything else, different farms have different things that work for them.

Some of the photos above were taken at night, and some in the morning. If we were close to finishing a field, Jonathan would push it a little so we could get done with that field. There were a few nights of little sleep, but we got it all in before we received a nice rain. As of Mother’s Day, we can see the first wheat fields starting to show a green haze. One of my favorite things in spring is seeing the seeds pop, and the fields slowly turn green. (The photo below is barley, but the wheat field looks very similar…the barley was across the road from the house, so it was the easiest to photograph.)

This is barley, but the wheat looks about like this — First flush of green!

Category: wheat

Fun Fact Friday – Some Things Never Change

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Seeding Wheat

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