Harvest Continues

I finally caught up with a farmer combining a field of mixed grain the other day.  Wheat harvest appears to be over, and mixed grain is underway.  Soybeans and corn will wait into the fall.

I actually heard this combine before I saw it, the dull roar from two farms over when I was out walking the dog.  I hopped on my bike when I got home and rode up the road and there it was.  This is a moderate sized combine, probably owned by the farmer himself, the type that has a built in grain hopper.

He got to the end of the row, parked beside the grain wagon, and the auger swung out to transfer the grain.  Fairly small wagon too, not like some of the huge combines that are followed around the field by a second tractor pulling a big wagon, and a transport truck waiting at the end, with the large custom operations!

The auger transfers the grain quickly, and he headed back down the field.  You can see a bit of the head of the combine on the right.

 Inadvertent shadow self-portrait.

On a different field, where the wheat was harvested a week or two ago, I saw this enormous outfit.  I stopped to get a picture, and guess who pulled up beside me - the farmer!  We had an interesting chat about the equipment and their operation - obviously a big one!

At first glance this looks like the epitome of industrial agriculture.  I'm torn two ways when I see equipment this size.  One of the nicest things about living here is the availability of local food direct from farmers, but increasingly farmland is selling for a good price as world crop prices rise.  We do need to feed people.

Once I looked closely, I realized the investment these farmers had put into their operation.  The wide tracks on this tractor minimizes any rutting in the field, though you hardly ever see this style of tractor here.

And the huge wide tires on the manure tanks do likewise.  The liquid manure system didn't smell, and with enough storage is a way to ensure that the manure gets applied when it should, just before a crop is planted which will use up the nitrogen, which is the case here.  Personally I think liquid manure is a better choice than a heavy dose of artificial fertilizers.

A day or two later the farmers were back with a different outfit, this time a huge chisel plough, getting the field ready for planting - probably winter wheat or a cover crop.

Behind the chisel plough (designed to minimize erosion), came the rollers.  What a change from the days when it might take a few weeks with a horse-drawn plough to prepare the fields on this farm.  With this outfit it probably only took 2 or 3 hours.

Whatever you think of modern industrial agriculture, I come down on the side of respecting the farmer himself (usually it's a him doing the field work) for the work he does.  I enjoyed meeting the farmer in this case, and will now watch these fields with a bit more interest, and perhaps try to have some conversations with other farmers in the area.

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