Sunshine Comes Softly Through
Sunny, 55 degrees
Humidity 43%
Dew Point: 33 degrees
Wind: NE @ 28 mph
Forecast: Sunny, High clouds
Happy days are here again!
After six days of fog & drizzle punctuated with rain….there is sunshine. Not only is there sunshine but there is sunshine here! On the field two miles North.
By midmorning we’re pickin’
John in the combine. Bob in the grain-cart. Bruce in black semi. Larry (friend of Bruces) in the white semi.
Looks to be a great day.
Retirement Party
Cloudy 69 degrees
Humidity 80%
Dew Point: 62 degrees
Wind: SW @ 4 mph
Forecast: Rain
Although we can’t pick corn we can party! Well….we can start Carolyn’s retirement party when chores are done.
Regularly scheduled work on a farm are called chores.
Carolyn starts work at four. Dogs to feed. Eggs to gather.
Farm kids start chores early.
At this point she has 45 years as a Registered Nurse. 21 years as a Certified Nurse Midwife with 2321 deliveries to her credit.
This party is in the works for weeks.
A surprise party.
Ultra secret.
I find out by technological chance.
We’re using the big field tractor to pull the grain-cart for corn harvest. It has all the tech we have.
GPS.
GPS that links the tractor and combine….(Look Ma No Hands!).
Auto-steering.
Onboard Bluetooth
A cab full of computerized controls.
I discover the onboard Bluetooth capabilities while tinkering with my phone. By linking my phone to the tractor radio (via Bluetooth) i can play all my media downloads, songs, podcasts, etc. through the tractor’s speakers.
Surround Sound no less.
Perhaps not as impressive as a home theater system but the tractor’s surround sound speakers are only eight inches away in the cab’s headlining. Very nice. Especially during wheat harvest when there is more grain-cart ‘downtime’ waiting to offload the combine.
Of course there are rules.
Grain-Cart-Shorty’s Grain-Cart Rule #23
Always turn off music while loading/offloading grain.
Turing off the media, especially old-school rock and roll, makes sure all my senses are focused on the job at hand. Without those pleasant distractions i can focus on the sound of the tractor engine, the power take-off, grain running up the auger, grain piling up in the semi. When all is going as it should these sounds come together to create a pleasant melody.
Worthy of a Grammy.
John’s voice fills the cab. My attention finaly focuses on the tractor cab ceiling. John is supposed to be at the Farm. Maybe on the way back to the field in the field-truck.
Bruce is in the combine.
I’m in the grain-cart tractor.
John’s disembodied voice should not be coming out of the cab surround sound system asking questions about the party.
‘What party?’
John throws back an equally startled ‘Bob?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m talking to Bruce.’
‘You’re now talking through the grain-cart tractor radio.’
Sit back. ’Oh. Well, the…..’
Bruce is finishing offloading the corn. The combine begins pulling ahead taking John along.
Seems the tractor’s Bluetooth set up automatically preauthorizes Bruce’s phone. Once the combine and grain-cart tractor are close enough the tractor Bluetooth grabs the signal and puts it through the tractor cab’s speakers. As soon as some space develops the tractor loses the signal and i’m left alone wondering what party!
A minute of two later Bruce calls.
His voice now coming through the cab’s speakers.
Bruce explains about the surprise retirement party for Carolyn. This Friday evening.
I’m bound to secrecy and allowed to return to my downloaded playlist.
Rain Delay
Cloudy 64 degrees
Humidity 86%
Dew Point: 52 degrees
Wind: NW @ 6 mph
Forecast: Gentle rain
Absolutely perfect weather for the Hard Red Winter Wheat just poking out of the ground.
Lousy weather for picking corn.
Friday morning finds all the equipment, except the semis, back at the Farm. Although the weather draws a halt to picking there’s always plenty of things to do.
Fueling.
Fixing.
Fiddling.
Once all that can be done on the equipment is done there’s the rest of the Farm. A farm is like a small town. Almost any service needed in daily life can be found on a farm.
Plumbing.
Carpentry.
Painting. Sewing. Tire repair. Automotive. Mechanical. Electrical.
A fulltime farmer can do just about everything that physically needs to be done.
And manage a business.
Although a rain delay at Wrigley Field may be an excuse for another hotdog & beer on a farm the work just moves inside….
if you’re lucky.
Look Ma! No Hands!
Sunny, 82 degrees
Humidity 22%
Dew Point: 47 degrees
Wind: NW @ 8 mph
Forecast: Sunny
I’ve never thought of a self-propelled auger. Not once.
GPS linking…..
Think about this a lot.
NASA does it.
A couple of years ago we hear of linking a grain-cart tractor with a combine. Should be helpful when offloading grain from the combine to the grain-cart while still moving.
Offloading ‘on-the-go’ is a basic farming skill.
Over the years the folks at Trego Center Dairy have become very proficient at offloading while on the go. After 15 years i’m now an ‘advanced novice’!
Not bad for a city boy.
The artistry comes in putting the grain-cart ‘exactly’ where the combine operator wants. This is the dream. Of course, the devil, as they say, is in the details.
Making sure the grain-cart is the right distance from the combine.
Making sure the grain-cart is moving at the same speed as the combine.
If these two conditions are right then the cutter (combine driver) can offload the grain in the right place. Usually the center of the grain-cart.
But the ‘right place’ changes.
As the grain piles up in the center of the grain-cart the cutter may want to offload some grain in the front end of the grain-cart. Or back. Or the side closer to the combine. Or the side further from the combine.
Radios help.
But speeding up, slowing down, moving right, moving left takes good hand-eye coordination.
And there are two machines involved.
And the cutter is still cutting!
The combine and grain-cart need to be one machine.
Enter 21st Century GPS linkage.
Both machines have GPS. Both machines can link their respective GPS signals. Designate the combine as the ‘primary’ signal, throw in a good computer program, and the combine can control the movements of the grain-cart tractor.
The grain-cart driver can kickback.
Drink coffee.
Read a book.
Take pictures.
Of course, electronics can develop glitches. There were several YouTube videos of combine/grain-cart setups with the grain-cart tractor (without a driver onboard) rushing to get to the combine by driving over the uncut crop. One video has the grain-cart tractor crashing through a fence at the edge of the field in its eagerness to get to the combine’s side.
So, keep the grain-cart driver in the tractor.
Just in case.
However, the new system is beyond cool. And like everything it takes a bit practice. Initially there is an almost overwhelming need by the grain-cart driver to take hold of the tractor steering wheel. Or change the tractor’s speed. Any input by the grain-cart driver breaks the link to the combine. It takes discipline to overcome years of old-school offloading on the go.
Today…..
Establish the link.
Breath deep.
Sit back.
Take pictures.
Way cool!
Getting Busy
Sunny, 88 degrees
Humidity 20%
Dew Point: 49 degrees
Wind: N @ 13 mph
Forecast: Sunny
According to the State Ag folks:
There are approximately 1,000,000 wheat berries (grains) per bushel.
There are approximately 100,000 corn kernels (grains) per bushel.
Ergo…..
It takes approximately 10 times longer to fill the combine tank with wheat berries rather than corn kernels.
Ergo…..
The grain-cart driver’s goofing off time in the field, waiting to unload the combine, is approximately ten times less during corn harvest. May have to take this up with my Union Steward!
The corn from these fields West of the Farm are going into one of the new grain-bins. This means that Bruce has to drive the semi from the field to the bin….unload the semi….drive back to the field. Takes a lot less time than driving into town to one of the elevators. Even so John and i can fill the grain-cart and combine by the time Bruce makes the round trip to the new grain-bin. He’s always on the go.
Hmmmm…..may have to bring up our semi-driver’s plight to my union steward.
Top Dog
Sunny, 78 degrees
Humidity 37%
Dew Point: 40 degrees
Wind: N @ 18 mph
Forecast: Sunny
This is Cora’s first time at the Farm.
This is Cora’s first road trip.
She goes to the beach on occasion. Atlantic Beach. About 75 miles. She does well.
Has some reservations about waves.
But the traveling goes well.
This road trip to the Farm is right at 1500 miles. Including numerous stops. Some for gas. Some for visiting roadside dog walks. Some for sightseeing. Some for visiting family.
On this trip Cora meets several cats and dogs and people. All and all she’s doing very well. Must be her mother’s Labrador coming out. Which is saying something since her father is a Doberman. Cora rarely ‘picks a fight’ but her Doberman genes mean she won’t back down when challenged.
Her father is no doubt very proud.
At the Farm there are three dogs. There are always three dogs.
Well not always…..but nearly always.
This year the current head-dog is Akelah. Akelan and Cora share many traits. Akelah’s mom is a Labrador. He’s dad is a Rottweiler. We figure this may lead to some conflict.
They meet.
They sniff.
They growl.
They fight.
Bruce and i are both referring the meeting and the fight. We see to it that it is a very quick fight. But during the brief bout Cora draws blood. She gets a piece of Akelah’s ear.
To heal any bad feelings Bruce suggests a ride in the Ranger. Dogs that ride together work together.
So, Akelah and Carolyn take the back seat. Bruce Cora & i the front.
Sure enough.
A good time is had by all.
Now we need to see about the working together.
Setting up the corn bins
Sunny, 82 degrees
Humidity 37%
Dew Point: 46 degrees
Wind: S @ 10 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Thursday late morning Bruce and i head to the West corn bins. A proper farm procession….
Combine
Field truck with attached trailer & lawnmower.
Grain-cart & the big field tractor.
The plan is to get equipment out to the field and clean up around the corn bins and set up the augers.
One auger to put corn into the top of the bin.
One auger to take corn out of the bottom of the bin.
Some of this corn is being sold to a broker. The broker has their own sems & drivers to come and get the corn. So, as we put corn into the bin they will come and take corn out & haul it off. Despite the wind we get the first auger set up and tied in place. We can now put corn in the bin.
Bruce finishes setting up the first auger.
I get on the mower and cut weeds.
It’s a lot more enjoyable working without wading through weeds.
Coming around the East bin i stop the mower.
Stare.
Get off.
The new blue auger is moving by itself!
In my experience augers are pulled with a tractor. Perhaps, on occasion, pulled with a pickup. But they don’t pull themselves around the Farm.
Closer inspection reveals Bruce’s legs on the other side of the auger.
Just walking along.
Bruce is a strong guy. And tall.
All Mais are tall.
And strong.
I’ve seen Mais, and other farmers, shift an auger a foot or two to get it lined up with something else. But no Mai, present or past, moves an auger by walking along beside it. No one does…..well maybe Paul Bunyan or John Henry. But they don’t live around here.
Abandoning the mower i head over to get a close look at this possessed auger.
Sure enough. The auger is moving by itself.
Bruce is casually walking along beside the auger. Occasionally adjusting a lever.
The auger has a motor.
Moves under its own power.
Not enough power to run down the road but certainly enough to move around a grain bin.
Way cool.
There’s always something new at the Farm. Not only self-propelled augers but also using the big field tractor topull the grain-cart.
But that’s a different story.
Corn Harvest 20205 Begins!
Sunny, 76 degrees
Humidity 35%
Dew Point: 39 degrees
Wind: S @ 25 mph
Forecast: Partly cloudy
Greens, including Cora, get to the Farm on Wednesday. This is Cora’s first ‘road trip’ and first time at the Farm.
But that’s another story.
Thursday, after Cora meets the Farm dogs, Bruce and Bob begin moving equipment around.
We’ll start picking ‘Back West’.
All the fields have names, often descriptions of location. Descriptions of where the ground is relative to the farmyard. Or the names of who originally owned the ground. So Back West is truly about six miles straight West of the Farm.
By early afternoon the combine, grain-cart and semi are all ‘Back-West’. In the field and ready to pick.
Bruce picks around the South & West edges of the field.
Dry enough to cut. Soooo…..
By 7pm the semi & grain-cart & combine are full.
Best corn in five years.
(Please note tongue-in-cheek)
The last five years of drought have decimated wheat & corn crops in Western Kansas. This year we’re on the mend.
John will be here this weekend so Corn Harvest 2025 will be in ‘the swing’ as the great Ella Fitzgerald says.
For more day-to-day photos of what’s happening our at the Farm please check our Instagram feed: @graincartshorty
or follow the QR code.
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