A Buzzard Circles: Cue the Harvest Saga

A buzzard was circling the combine when I went by yesterday afternoon. It wasn't there for the combine, but it might as well have been.

The buzzard was dining on the big, well-fed raccoon who had been eating an all-you-can-eat wheat buffet inside our combine. When Randy started the combine up to move to our remaining 275 acres of wheat, the coon went through the machine, tearing up the radiator and assorted other parts.

The buzzard didn't come for the combine. But Straub's International did. If you are one of those people who thinks raccoons are cute, you are welcome to pay our repair bill!

It was just another part of the Wheat Harvest 2016 saga. We started June 15. Yes, way back then, it looked so promising. And, the wheat we cut early was well above average. Then it began raining. We think it's rained seven times since June 20. We had a hiatus from July 2 through July 11 because the ground was just too soggy.

Thankfully, our neighbor, Gary, rescued us yet again. He had already planned to help us cut to finish up. Now, his machine will harvest our remaining crop. Randy got a quick lesson in transitioning from red to green, and he's been driving the borrowed combine. It has 4-wheel drive, so it has been helpful on the still muddy ground.

I'm glad I took photos of harvest earlier. The photos of beautiful wheat are long gone. From the road, there are so many weeds coming through that you can hardly tell we're cutting wheat. The straw spreader looks more like a lawn mower tossing mulch as it chews through grass.

Photo taken June 15, 2016

But we are thankful to again be cutting. We got a sprinkle of rain overnight. Now, if the rain can just stay away for a couple of days: Fingers crossed!

Who would have thought I'd have to juggle getting set up for the Stafford County Fair with running meals to the field? As superintendent of 4-H foods and nutrition, I'm setting up this afternoon. Judging begins bright and early Wednesday morning. In our current situation, I'm thankful that our active 4-H days are over and we aren't trying to get livestock and a dozen other projects ready to go while still trying to finish up harvest.

I hope that we'll be able to say we're done with harvest sometime before the fair is over.  If all goes well and the "creek don't rise," we should be done sometime on Wednesday.

"If all goes well ..." I don't think I'll count on that.

We are ready to put Wheat Harvest 2016 in the rearview mirror.

Up A Creek: Wheat Harvest 2016

Progress on Wheat Harvest 2016 is up a creek ... so to speak. You know the old saying, "God willing and the creek don't rise." Well, our 4th of July had a rising Peace Creek, so there was no wheat cutting then or for the foreseeable future.

As the clouds moved in again Friday night, we finished up a field near our house. If you look closely (photos below), you can see weeds poking through the wheat. With more than 6 inches of rain since harvest began June 20, we are going to be battling weeds, muddy fields and downed wheat as we try to salvage the rest of the crop.

 

Yesterday, on the 4th of July, we surveyed the 275 acres of wheat we still have to cut north of Stafford. You don't have to look too hard to find the weeds in those fields.

We also don't have to look far to find hail damage. This particular location has gotten hail twice during harvest, so there's quite a bit of wheat on the ground. Some of the corn leaves have also been shredded there.

While the weather hasn't been conducive for wheat farmers, we did find a creature who is really liking the soggy weather.

The guys had to pull a wheat truck out of the field this morning. It's been sitting there since Friday night, since the co-op wasn't open over the holiday weekend. (There was no need. No one could cut wheat.)

Hopefully, the sun hasn't set on Wheat Harvest 2016 quite yet. We'll have to see what this week brings. Until then, it's hurry up and wait.

Road Trip: Wheat Harvest Version

My first job on the farm was driving a pickup while my dad picked up fence posts. I was in elementary school at the time. Long before I had my driver's license, I moved trucks around in the harvest field. These were the days before my dad had a grain cart to haul the grain from the combine to the truck. So I'd move the truck closer to the wheat so my dad didn't have to go as far to dump the bin load each round.

When I got my farm permit, I drove the wheat trucks to the Iuka Co-op. Our hired man, Ed, was my patient navigator the first year. He taught me the fine points of waiting in line, unrolling the tarp, how to dump the truck and instructions in the fine art of elevator etiquette. But, after that, I made dozens of trips to the elevator during wheat harvest each year.

When Randy and I were first married, I worked at The Hutchinson News, so I didn't drive the truck, except on weekends. After I "retired" from that job and the kids got a little older, I was back in the driver's seat again.

However, I've never driven our semi. This is the second wheat harvest we've had it. I know I could learn. But we've had a hired man available to do it, so my job has transitioned to go-fer and cook.

The other evening, after one of our rain delays during harvest, our hired man wasn't back yet, so Randy asked if I'd like to go with him as he drove the semi with a load of wheat to Zenith.

It's definitely a different perspective, viewing the familiar Zenith Road from a loftier perch.

We arrived at our destination - our favorite prairie skyscraper.

Randy unrolled the tarp.

He pulled the semi onto the scales at the co-op office, where they weigh the loaded truck. With the orange probe, they get a sample of the wheat and test for quality, including weight, moisture, protein and foreign matter.

This was taken in 2015. This trip, I was inside the truck cab.

Through the rearview mirror, we could see that they wanted us to take the truck to location "B" - inside the elevator. 

These elevators were designed long before there were big semi trucks. It's a tight squeeze.

If I were the driver, I would much rather dump at the outside pit, location "C."

Photo from 2015 - the outside dump location

I captured Randy's shadow in the mirror behind us as he waited for the wheat to flow into the elevator pit. After so many harvests, I like finding different images that tell the story.

Photo from 2015, showing co-op guys opening the hatches.

Once the truck is in position, the co-op workers open the hatches underneath the truck. The semi truck is emptied through gravity. (We also have a tandem truck that has a lift to dump the grain. For photos of that, click HERE.)

With the grain unloaded, Randy pulled back onto the scales for an empty weight. We also pick up the ticket which gives a record of how much wheat we delivered that trip and its quality. 

Then, it was back to the field to fill 'er up again.

The farmer or landlord pays a storage fee to the co-op based on the amount of time the grain was stored before being sold. Then, it belongs to the co-op. When the co-op sells it, most is trucked out of the elevator to the buyer. (In the past, rail travel helped move a lot of grain, too, but most of it is trucked these days, at least in this area.)

FYI:  When I pulled up a blog post from last year, I saw that wheat was $5.15 on June 23. Wheat closed at $3.15 on the board at Zenith yesterday. 

Thankfully, we were able to start cutting again yesterday afternoon after our Tuesday rain delay. We had to move to a different location. It is a slow process, since the wheat is down fairly badly and he's still having to battle some mud. But the wheat yields are still above average, though quality has suffered with the rains.

Still, we're glad to be back at it! Every swath puts us a little closer to done.

Field Report

The Crayon box has a color called Yellow Green. If you look at it by itself, you'd say it's as "green" as Kermit the Frog. But put it up against plain old Green and there's definitely a tinge of yellow in it.

That's kind of how the 2016 wheat crop is looking these days. Even with all the rain and the cooler temperatures earlier this month, the crop is beginning its transition from green to golden.

We got another 1.40" of rain Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning, depending upon  your perspective).

And while there may be a grumble or two about all the rain at the local coffee shop, most farmers would prefer being delayed with spring tasks with rain instead of looking to the empty skies during a drought.

For the first time since July 2010, Kansas has been classified as "drought free," according to Mary Knapp, assistant state climatologist.

The rains and cooler temperatures have given the wheat crop good "filling" weather, creating plump heads filled with wheat berries. We have been fortunate to avoid hail and tornadoes during this active weather pattern which brought devastation to the areas around Dodge City, Abilene and Chapman the last few days. (Thoughts and prayers are with those who are cleaning up.)

So we choose to be thankful - even if the farming "to-do" list is not getting crossed off as quickly as we'd like. After all, only two months ago, the wheat fields looked stressed. A dry winter had taken its toll. We were anticipating another ultra-early harvest, (like 2012) but this time, it would be because of lack of moisture.

Now the outlook is totally different.

Details create the big picture.

Sanford I. Weill, American businessman

I look at the "big picture" as I drive by fields, hurrying from one place to the next. But yesterday, I also decided to look a little closer.

Six weeks ago, the alfalfa was drought-stressed and was getting devoured by weevils. Randy has been wanting to begin harvesting it for more than a week now. But, on the other hand, it's lush and thick. While it is getting some blooms, it's not yet past its prime.

Just ask the butterflies that flit and float through the field.

The corn crop is off to a good start, though its "feet" are getting wet. 

The corn we had to replant is now up and growing next to its bigger "brothers."

Last Friday, there was enough of a window for Randy to plant forage sorghum and milo.

It's not up yet, but there is plenty of moisture in the ground for it to draw from.

There's a running joke that farmers are never happy with the weather. (Jokes often are born from a modicum of truth.) While there may be some grumbling at the parts counter or the restaurant, most of us are singing a different song, kind of like the happy trill I heard from the meadowlark yesterday afternoon as I chased butterflies across the alfalfa field.

And we are thankful.

Million Dollar Rains

 

Randy says these timely spring rains are "million dollar rains." Now, before anyone starts lining up for a loan, he's not saying that it will put a million dollars in our bank account. But after a dry winter, the 6 inches of gentle rain we've had during the past month will improve the Kansas wheat harvest overall. (And, on a personal note, it will help pay down our operating loan at the bank.)

This latest rain brought another inch of valuable moisture to our 2016 wheat crop.

 

 The cool temperatures have been ideal for filling the wheat heads with grain.

 

 Our alfalfa fields are looking much more lush and productive than they did earlier this spring.

  

Randy plans to start putting down alfalfa next week, depending on the weather forecast.

Earlier, we had the co-op spray the hay fields with insecticides after they were being chomped by weevils. An army of ladybugs is now feasting on aphids in the alfalfa.

The rains have provided the moisture Randy needs to plant forage sorghum and some milo. That's on the agenda for today.

I took this photo last week when Randy was having to replant in a corn field.

Since we are dryland farmers, our 2016 corn crop wouldn't have happened without the April rain, and the subsequent rains have helped bring it up.

Peace Creek during the "golden hour"

The rains also have helped fill ponds and creeks, as well as bolstering the grass in our pastures, where are cows and their calves are "vacationing" for the summer. 

 

And, speaking of "vacations," my farmer likes spending his time off at the golf course. The spring rains have really made the Stafford course look beautiful.

Some people complain about rainy days. But for farm families, a good, gentle rain is just about the best antidepressant there is.