Monday, September 4, 2017

Crops Update

The farming season rolls along here as always, some crops now harvested, and others still growing.  Here's my August report on our crops in the valley.

I've seen a lot of farmers out getting a second cut of hay, or maybe even a third.  Probably a little less of the grass species in the mix, and more of the alfalfa, which matures later in the season.

As often as not the mower is followed by the gulls, a common sight on recently cut fields.

Two crops will still grow awhile yet.  The corn is high and the corn cobs are well on their way.  

And there's just the hint of yellow in the soybean fields.  Neither will be harvested until later in the fall.

As for the mixed grain, it's a mixed bag.  Several fields I've seen have been combined, and the straw baled.  Here the dark bales in the foreground are straw, from the field of mixed grain, and the white-wrapped bales are hay.

But this field of mixed grain, just around the corner, hasn't been harvested yet.  It's certainly ready though.

Earlier in the season, the barley stems were higher, but as the oats came on they surpassed the barley, so the oats are standing tall now.

And that one field of canola I've been following looks ready for harvest, the tiny seed pods just about dried out.

If you've never seen canola seeds, crushed to make oil, they are really tiny, by far smaller than our other grain crops.  I guess there'll be one more 'Crops Update' in the fall, when all the harvest is finished.

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20 comments:

  1. I have really enjoyed the crop series...

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  2. That area certainly grows a wide variety of crops.

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  3. Your hard work has given you a good yield of crops. Keep going:)

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  4. The crops are looking good. With the excess rain it must have been a difficult growing season.

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  5. Very similar to the harvesting going on around us in n. Ireland but lots of rain has meant several barley fields have blackened with mould and been tamped down unfortunately.
    I do love to see golden fields harvested with lots of round bales. Great report!

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  6. Somehow I enjoy harvest time much more now I'm no longer having to do the work!

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  7. Earlier and earlier first cuts of hay are a death sentence to birds that nest in grasslands.

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  8. The farmers round here busy harvesting their crops as well, always a busy time of the year

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  9. cool images of the fields. i did not know that about the sea gulls....

    we bought corn on the cob yesterday and it will likely be the last of the season!!!

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  10. The potato harvest has begun here already. A sure sign of autumn!

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  11. Hello, love the shot with the gulls. The barn scene is pretty too. Great photos. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

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  12. Nice update again, the farmers are sure busy no matter where you travel.

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  13. I like those scenes of the different kinds of grain. And that corn does look almost ready to harvest. :-)

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  14. Those are some tiny, tiny seeds. I wonder how they are harvested.

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  15. And the circle of the seasons keeps on turning.

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  16. Nice, simple beauty!

    I wonder who ever looked at those tiny seeds and thouht they'd be useful.

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  17. Such a busy time of year for them. I imagine even winter's busy.

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