Tractor Fever

Tractor fever: It's a malady that can strike at any time. Symptoms include restless leg syndrome, tapping fingers and a general malaise.

The cure? Getting behind the wheel of a tractor and actually getting some field work done. (The previous cure was getting in a car and driving 3,255 miles.)

It has been so dry this summer that the guys stayed out of the tractor cab for most of June and July. At the County Line, Jake is often disking wheat stubble during or right after harvest. This year, even the weeds were struggling to survive.

It wasn't until we got about 2 inches of rain within the past 3 weeks that the weeds have started to thrive. And the guys could begin the road to recovery from their drought-imposed tractor fever.

Randy chose to use the fallow master on the wheat stubble fields, rather than a disk. The fallow master leaves more residue on top of the ground, decreasing the chances that the ground will blow.

(Pulling the fallow master.
Sorry the photo is a little blurry. It was bouncy in the passenger seat of the tractor!)

Who'd think we would welcome the sight of weeds in the field? Well, we didn't really welcome weeds. But having that little "rough around the edges" look gave us a little hope that something besides weeds might grow too.

I, for one, prefer the well-groomed look.