The Sun Sets on Corn Harvest

The sun has set on the County Line's 2014 corn harvest. What would harvest be without a little drama at the end?

 

As I arrived to bring supper to the field Tuesday evening, storm clouds floated on the horizon. We were on the final field, and Randy was hoping to get harvest finished before it rained.

After supper,  I climbed into the combine cab to take a final ride for the year. We got about 200 yards when there was an ominous clanking. The combine had a problem. Thankfully, I was already there in a pickup, so we drove back to the farm for tools.

As always, I offered to "hold stuff" during the repair, since that's about the extent of my mechanical ability. My offer was politely declined, so I did what I always do: I took photos. You might as well find the silver lining. In this case, the silver lining was right there in the western sky, though the peace and tranquility may have been somewhat shattered with the blast-furnace wind howling from the south and the clanging and muttering going on at the combine header.

The guys finally got the offending part removed, and Randy determined he could run without it. He filled both trucks, but, since the co-op was closed, he couldn't finish the field.

We got 0.10" of rain overnight, but Randy was able to finish Corn Harvest 2014 Wednesday afternoon. This was only our second year to raise corn on The County Line, so we are admittedly novices. Last year, during a drought, our overall average was 57 bushels per acre, with a low of 18 bushels per acre on rented ground that is primarily used for hunting.

This year, with good and timely rains, the overall average was 108 bushels per acre, all on dryland fields. We had a high of 145 bu/acre and a low of 82 bu/acre.  We know others who've had higher bushel totals for the year, but we are thankful for a good harvest.

And now here's a photographic recap of of 2014 corn crop:(Click on the blue links under each photo to read more about each stage of the corn life cycle.)

We began the journey in April with planting.

 Emergence

I used my human measuring stick throughout the five-month journey.

May

June

 

July

Another season comes to a close on The County Line. Today, it's time for a trip to the Kansas State Fair. I think I'll take a jacket - and that's a good thing!

Picking? Or Cutting?

Are we picking corn or cutting corn? That is the question.

Since we're relatively new to corn production here on The County Line, I fall back on my wheat harvest terminology and say we are "cutting corn." My Farmer says that there just might be an old fella or two at Joan's Cafe who would correct me. They are of the "corn picking" vernacular.

No matter how you say it, we started corn harvest yesterday. (I think my "corn harvest" semantics will please all "cutting" and "picking" camps.)

Our combine has an eight-row header. (In the photo below, you can't see all eight rows.)

I think they look a little like missiles as they move down between the rows. The corn ears are pulled off the corn stalk and are dragged into the combine with rollers. Inside the combine, the corn kernels are separated from the husks and cobs.

Then the cobs and debris are dispersed out the back of the combine, leaving it on the ground to protect the soil from erosion and return plant matter to the earth. (We may also fence it off and have cattle on corn stalks later this fall.)

Once the combine bin gets full ...

... it's time to dump it into the truck. Many farmers have a grain cart pulled by a tractor to do this step, but we unload from the combine directly into the trucks.

In this photo, you can also see the whole header.

This is the first time we've used our semi for harvest.

 

We had a good first day of cutting ... or picking ... or harvest. Take your pick of terminology.

 

And you can't beat a beautiful sunset to end the day.