Beating The Rain

Living on a farm we have many tasks that are sent our way. I will explain what I mean. In a diversified crop farm we have many different seasons each tailored to a certain time of year, and this time of year is wheat harvest.  Kansas and mid-west plain states are considered the bread basket which is where most of the cereal grains are produced.  Kansas is the leading wheat producer in the United States with 8.8 million acres planted to hard red winter wheat this year.
Our wheat harvest started yesterday around 3p.m., the reason harvest didn't start at say eight o'clock in the morning is because we have dew on the wheat. The dew that is on the wheat causes the wheat to gain moisture which makes the elevators (grain storage) not able to store the grain without problems. The increase in grain moisture gives us a dockage,a penalty, and can cause the elevator to have hot wheat and can cause an explosion if not handled correctly when brought in. The high moisture also causes the combines to have a hard time cutting the straw to collect the grain.

Grandpa in grain cart and Warren unloading.

The harvest crew consists of Mark and Warren in the combines, Grandpa (Ron) in the grain cart, Barb, Grandma (Dora), and I in the grain trucks, along with Anita and Sarah helping with meals and other errands. And we can't forget Nathan he is the lucky one who gets to run around doing errands, fueling the tractors and combines, along with being sent to help out with the hay.  We take most of our grain into the elevator, but we also store some for the next year's crop in grain wagons. The wheat harvest was off to a fairly good start and all was going well but in Kansas you expect the unexpected.

After we had stopped harvesting for the day dad and I took off to see if our hay was baled, in large square bales.  We got to the field where the alfalfa was down and found out it was still too dry to bale.  When baling alfalfa we have to be careful that we don't get the hay baled when it is either too wet or too dry. If the hay was too wet the bales could heat up from all of the moisture and start on fire or do what we call 'cook' inside the bale and over heat.  This causes problems when you try to sell the hay because the buyers are very particular in what they buy to feed to their animals. So we try our best to make sure that the hay is correctly put up for us and the customer.  Since our fields weren't going to be baled until later during the night we decided to go back home and try and get some shut eye and rest from the busy day.

Harvest Moon

Busy was the least of it.  I was then told, once home, to set my alarm for 5am so that we could go pick up the bales and put them away before things get hectic for harvest.  Five o'clock came and I got up went down to see if dad was up and ready to go, but I didn't find him anywhere, along with not finding mom either. So what do you do when you find out both your parents are not home...call them. Dad answered his cell, and he told me that they were out picking up the bales which I was supposed to be helping with. That is when I noticed the lightening. It was all around us. The thunder was booming like crazy and so I knew what that meant. Dad then instructed me to go over to Grandpa's and help him pick up his square bales with our 4020 John Deere loader tractor.  So I jumped in the pickup and high tailed it over the two and half miles to grandpa's house. They were already done loading one trailer load and getting ready to unload it when I pulled up. So I jumped on our tractor and started to help unload. In past years I have been the bale mover, not usually the square bale mover but mostly the round bales.  But moving bales is moving bales and you use the same concept. You try not to get the weight of the bale too far forward on the forks and you have to try to get it in the center of the bale. Square bales are extremely touchy because unlike a round they are only held together by six to eight strings as where a round bale is completely wrapped with mesh.  And instead of being wrapped up in a continuous roll, kinda like a swiss roll, the square bales are more like a layered jello salad, where you can define each layer and flake it off piece by piece.  The square bales are also heavier than the round ones. Ok, let's get back to the story.  I was on the tractor helping grandpa unload the first load of bales. While I remind you it is still lightening and starting to sprinkle. We finished the first load and went out to load the last load. Grandpa and I were both out there in full force with grandma driving the truck and trailer that way we don't have to get off the tractors and move it every time we are finished with a set of bales. The bales were easily loaded and we took off for the shed.  There were three leftover bales that wouldn't fit onto the trailer so I brought them home one by one, being very careful to not go to fast since they were so heavy.  The lightening was beginning to get closer and I was getting worried that it was going to hit close to us, but we kept pushing. We finished unloading the last bale, put the tractors and grain cart into the shed, and headed into the house. Just as grandma and I got into the house it started to down pour and I mean to tell you it let loose! Grandpa got caught in the shed when it started to rain. I then gave mom and dad a call and asked if they got everything put away and mom said they just did right before it started to rain.  It makes a difference when you have family that is willing to get up at any time of day and go help out. It is thanks to the family that everyone got the hay put away. Grandma asked if I would stay for breakfast and wait out the rain, knowing that everything was finished I did. By this time it was only 6:30 a.m. So I was sitting there talking and having breakfast with grandma and grandpa and I began to think of all the times we have made and had cookies, pies, donuts, crawlers, and syrup dippers at grandma's house. Those are some of the best times at grandma's.
So, we beat the rain with the hay, but now it is time to wait once again for harvest to come. We had a taste of it and now are geared  up and ready to roll. Since we got rain we need to wait til the grain is dry once again. We should be up and cutting wheat, or threshing, which ever you like to call it in about two days or at least try it on this Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully all goes well and we have a smooth harvest with little or no break downs and no other problems. As always God Bless in your endeavors.

Summer time

Once again time has flown by and it is now time for the summer work to begin if it hasn't already.  Here on our farm it is  time to make sure that all the cattle are doing well on the pastures. So there is the constant job of checking the pastures for thistles, fencing problems, and putting out mineral for the cattle.  The reason we check our pastures is to ensure that the cattle are not having any health problems along with making sure that we are not spreading any noxious weeds. One of the biggest around these parts is the musk thistle which is pictured below.  This is one weed that us kids have started to hate.  We are the ones who are usually sent to the pastures to check out everything along with combing the pastures for this stubborn and noxious weed. There may be some who think this is a beautiful and pretty flower, but looks can be deceiving and such they are. This weed can grow anywhere from a couple of inches to many feet tall.  The plant flowers and then once it is done flowering it will spread many hundreds of seeds which are very light weight and kind of look like a large dandelion seed. Once the plant hits this stage we hope to have them already sprayed and killed so that it does not spread  further into our pastures or any neighboring pastures.  This control of the weed takes lots of time on the four wheelers with the sprayers on back and a mineral bag to collect the flowered heads in, so we can burn them later so they will not spread. Many others also use a shovel which is another good tool to take out this nuisance.

 

We also are trying to get all of  the fall crops into the ground which isn't possible right  now since we had about an inch and three quarters of rain two nights ago.  We were glad  to see the rain come but not so happy to see some hail.  The hail we received was anywhere from pea to quarter size in diameter.  This now gives us time to catch up on the small projects around the farm such as getting all the winter equipment greased and put away for the summer.

As the summer comes we are looking forward to a busy and hard working time.  Summer brings many tasks along with it some of which are made for the men and some are made for us 'kids' to do.  Although we all chip in where needed there is always something to do whether it be the dishes or checking the pastures there is never a dull moment on our farm. I hope you all enjoy your summer if it is a break from school or just that time of year once again, have a safe and fun summer.