Another Non-harvest Harvest
Sunny, 57 degrees
Humidity 39%
Dew Point: 38 degrees
Wind: SSW@ 6 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Sometimes it’s hard to talk about events that don’t happening.
But then again….
almost all ‘fiction’ (storytelling, writing, movies, etc) is about things that don’t really happening. So….
Since this time last year Western Kansas harvesting is consistent. There isn’t any.
At least not much.
Wheat harvest 2022 is pretty good. The yield, perhaps a little less than one would like.
Guess it almost always is.
But 2022 wheat harvest is well worth the effort. Even a few fields here and there worth bragging about.
Corn harvest 2022….not so much.
By the time Carolyn and i got to the Farm to help with harvest, it was just photos on cell phones. Barely two days of picking. Didn’t even get out the grain cart. Just drove the combine to the edge of the field and dumped into the semi.
Fall slid into Winter and Spring was too dry to slide into anything but dust.
Summer 2023 saw a couple of days cutting wheat instead of the ‘normal’ 10 to 12 days.
Did get the grain cart out. More to give me something to do rather than actual necessity.
The dry Summer dusted into a dry Fall.
2023 corn picking is over in couple of days.
Milo is not much better.
Bruce put some milo in this year because it is a bit more dry-weather resistant than corn.
But not this dry.
The folks with irrigation seem to be doing fine. Even bragging a bit. But out our way there is not much irrigation. We’re mostly dryland farmers.
On the bright side we’re locked in on being the driest year in since 1923. And these non-harvest, harvests can be spent doing other things. Last year we painted Grandma’s house. This year….
this year we’re going to wire-up the Milk House Bar & Grill for WiFi.
Put in a widescreen TV.
Get ready for the World Series and….
the Chief’s winning the Superbowl.
NOAA Radio Weather All Hazards
Sunny, 95 degrees
Humidity 76%
Dew Point: 69 degrees
Wind: NNE@ 6 mph
Forecast: Sunny
The Deadly Three!
Boredom. Computer. Internet.
So…..
NOAA Radio Weather All Hazards.
All the equipment at the Farm have a radio setting for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Radio Weather All Hazards.
It’s nice to know that U. S. Federal Government has someone administrating the oceans and atmosphere. Although the times i’ve tried to call and let someone at NOAA know about weather conditions out our way i’ve gotten nowhere.
Very unsatisfactory.
Side Note:
NOAA Radio Weather All Hazards….U.S. Gubmnt’ mandates English as the official language then breaks with English language tradition by putting adjectives after nouns. Example: United States Opener, Can, Folding, Type 1, P-38….in Jarhead lingo a John Wayne.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour VHF radio broadcast. There are four NOAA centers containing 23 broadcasting stations in Kansas. Parts of Kansas are also covered by a center in Nebraska and one in Missouri.
Our local station is in Hays.
WXM35 at 162.450
The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards message is about a minute long and keeps repeating. Usually updates every hour or so. However, if the weather is changing rapidly then the message updates almost minute by minute.
On a normal day in the grain-cart tractor i’ll check the NOAA station about every hour.
Back to the Deadly Three.
Thinking about the NOAA Radio Weather All Hazards i decide to go to the NOAA site to see if there is a NOAA Weather Complaint Department.
There isn’t.
However, there is a world of information about the weather, including a Past Weather tab containing various dropdown menus for all kinds of info. A few clicks lead me to Kansas rainfall by month over the last 100 years. The year with the most rain; 1923 with 36.71 inches. The year with the least; 2022 with 8.75 inches.
So far 2023 has 2022 beat….but not by much!
I figure the U.S. Administration in charge of the weather has a lot on its plate. So this drought is just an oversight.
But who do you call?
After some discussion about weather at this Summer’s family reunion, Cousin Jen agrees to be in charge of the weather this year. She will probably have as much influence on the weather as NOAA but at least we have someone we can actually call and voice a request or complaint!
The way this year’s corn crop looks it’s probably time to call Cousin Jen.
Corn Harvest De’ja’ vu?
Sunny, 101 degrees
Humidity 62%
Dew Point: 66 degrees
Wind: NNE @ 6 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Well Wheat Harvest 2023 is officially the worst wheat crop in living memory.
When Carolyn and i are at the Farm this Summer i spend two lazy days in the grain-cart tractor. Often hauling wheat or corn from the combine,
in the field,
to the semis,
at the edge of the field,
can be exciting. Always on the go. 2022-23, not so much. This drought is sucking the life out of the grain.
Wheat harvest 2022 is a fairly good. Not record breaking, but well worth the effort.
Corn harvest 2022 is pathetic. As mentioned in our “Corn Harvest?” post last October; ‘Bruce says. “A couple of weeks ago John and i spent almost two days picking corn.
What is left is a negative crop.
Will cost more to cut than it will bring at market. Actually,” Bruce goes on, “we didn’t even attach the grain-cart to the tractor this Fall.”
A nice ‘stand’ of corn will come up to my waist. This year barely halfway up my shin.
Then it rains.
Just a little too late for the wheat.
But….
perfect timing for weeds and corn. So with wheat crop 2023 going down in history as the worst we have high hopes for the corn.
Middle of June….beginning of July….middle of July….beginning of August these hopes are drying up.
My heart thoughts naturally turn to American heroes who overcome the obstacles. Overcome the best society and nature can throw at them….Rosa Parks, Ellen Ripley, Neil Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Annie Oakley, Casey. Casey….
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And somewhere folks are laughing, somewhere children shout hey,
But there is no joy at the Farm—the rain has gone away.
Corn West of John & Jan’s
Just like Summer the weeds are doing well!
The Catbird Seat (6.26.23)
Sunny, 86 degrees
Humidity 37%
Dew Point: 46 degrees
Wind: SSE @ 10 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Red Barber is one of the great baseball play-by-play radio announcers of the 20th century.
Perhaps the best.
He started out calling the Cincinnati Reds games in 1934.
Moved to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938 and became a legend.
Born in Missouri and attending the University of Florida Barber spent his ‘formative years in the South. Developing a ‘down-home’ radio delivery, including many Southern idioms.
‘Walking in tall cotton’ (a great winning streak)
‘Slicker than boiled okra’ (a baseball that is hard to hold on to)
‘Tighter than a new pair of shoes on a rainy day’ (a close game or play).
His most famous phrase:
‘Sittin’ in the catbird seat’ (a player or team is in a very enviable position).
During harvest there is no question….the Catbird Seat is in the combine!
Rosie the riveter (6.25.23)
Sunny, 85 degrees
Humidity 27%
Dew Point: 64 degrees
Wind: NNW @ 5 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Several people asked about the use of the Rosie the Riveter poster in the post about our war with weeds. Was this a nod to the great effort during World War II? Or perhaps a nod to Elfriede’s efforts during WWII?
Yes.
And yes.
For those that don’t know, during WWII Elfriede Hilda Meier, like so many Americans, wanted to help.
Elfriede chose to work at the Wichita Boeing Plant. For over two years Elfriede was riveting on the ‘inboard wing’ of the B-29 Superfortress. She stayed until production ended in September 1945.
Lawrence Heisterman married Elfriede’s older sister Erna. Lawrence joined the Army on June 7th, 1944.
Lawrence was killed during the Battle of the Bulge in early 1945.
Green-side down (6.22.23)
Sunny, 90 degrees
Humidity 43%
Dew Point: 64 degrees
Wind: S @ 18 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Weeds.
Not only a threat to growing wheat but also a threat to fallow fields.
Side Note: Around here there is a rotation to the fields. Crop. Fallow. Crop. Fallow….
Weeds are well known thieves.
They steal.
They steal water. They steal nutrients. And leave weed seeds.
So, we get rid of them.
Since we’re not cutting wheat (still a bit to green….maybe next week) Bruce is ‘working’ next year’s wheat fields. This involves plowing the field. Turning the dirt over. The weeds go underground. They’ll decay. Add a few nutrients and moisture. And not leave as many seeds.
Side Note: These fields will be ‘worked’ again before the wheat is planted.
Around the Farm weed control is also in full swing.
Carolyn is weeding flower gardens. Around the house. The trees in front of the house.
Joyce is pulling weeds around their house.
I’m cleaning windows (combine, grain-cart tractor, field trucks) and, of course, weed-eating around the buildings.
No matter whatever one is doing, weeding is mandatory.
The weeds may have claimed the first battle. But the family is committed to the fight.
We will avenge this year’s wheat crop!
Weed Field with Wheat (6.21.23)
Sunny, 84 degrees
Humidity 52%
Dew Point: 51 degrees
Wind: S @ 10 mph
Forecast: Partly Cloudy
It’s always nice when the wheat is ‘as thick as the hair on a dog’s back’. As Elfriede says. One of the nice things about thick wheat is that thick wheat keeps out the weeds.
This year….not so much.
Most Western Kansas folks are dryland farmers. Dryland farmers don’t use irrigation. They rely on the moisture in the soil. Which relies on rainfall. Dryland farmers also make use of the land’s contours. Working the ground, plowing, cultivating, even harvesting often follows the contours of the land. Contour farming helps maintain soil moisture. Helps prevent rainwater from running off. Which helps prevent erosion.
This year rain is at a minimum.
Less soil moisture.
Leading to sparse wheat, that’s not very tall. Maybe a foot. Foot and a half. Plenty of room for weeds.
Then comes the rain.
Several inches in the last few weeks.
Too late to help the wheat though it will help the corn.
And the weeds.
Now the weeds are almost as tall as the wheat. May soon be taller than the wheat. Not good for cutting wheat. The green, wet, weed stalks clog the combine header and feeder housing.
Short wheat also means that we must cut closer to the ground. A lot easier to hit small dirt mounds. Also causing the combine header and feeder housing to become clogged.
Bruce and Lee tour the fields.
Lee owns a local AG business. They decide to spray several of the wheat fields to kill the weeds. Probably next week. Then we must wait several days before we can cut. Wait for the weeds to die and the chemicals to evaporate.
Ah well. Another harvest for the record books. This one in the ‘loss column’.
The upside for this city kid is that i will get some video of the air-tractor (AKA crop duster) skimming along just about the ground.
Way cool.
Even cool by country kid standards.
Wheat Harvest Begins (6.19.23)
Sunny, 74 degrees
Humidity 76%
Dew Point: 66 degrees
Wind: SSE @ 12 mph
Forecast: Sunny
Wheat Harvest 2023 begins….well almost.
Just like Corn Harvest 2022 this is going to be one for the record books. Lowest yield in memory.
Not actually the record one goes for….but it does happen.
Carolyn and I get to the Farm on Sunday evening. 9pm-ish. Say hi to Bruce & Joyce. Go home for a wonderful post-road-trip sleep.
Bright and early Monday morning the boss shows up. ‘Here’s your coffee & shovel!’
Well that’s a bit of a stretcher as Mark Twain says.
Actually Bruce gives us the day off. Says he’s going to clean out what wheat is left in the East bin on the Flagler. (There are two ‘new’ grain bins on the Flagler ground….check out ‘Moving the auger’ Wheat Harvest 2021). Of course Carolyn speaks up, ‘We’ll help!’
Naturally, knowing the ‘pecking order’, with great gusto I confirm her suggestion.
By 9am we are pushing & shoveling wheat into the bin auger. Where it heads straight to a semi and off to town.
By noon we’re home having lunch with the satisfaction of a job well done and waiting for the Ibuprofen to kick in!
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