Wheat Harvest 2026 begins.
It’s an early wheat harvest.
Bruce & John start Sunday (6.14.26). First go to Ness City John Deere to pick up Da’ Moose combine. Go to Jim’s field and start cutting.
Fill the semi before Sundown.
The East Coast crew get to the Farm Monday at noon. Start work at 2. When it’s time to cut…..
It’s time to cut.
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Washing a Moose #
Sunny, 86 degrees
Humidity 58%
Dew Point: 69 degrees
Wind: SW @ 8 mph
Forecast: Sunny
The washing of a Moose is a difficult matter.
It isn’t a holiday game. Even if it happens on the 4th of July.
You may think us mad as hatters when we tell you
The Moose must be clean before being put to bed…..
And it’s bedtime.
The combine and grain-cart won’t be in the field again until corn harvest.
Middle/end of October.
So, they must be cleaned. And dried. And lubed, before being set aside until Corn Harvest 2026. The tractors we use to pull the grain-cart are needed before then. Almost daily.
There’s a lot of other equipment that needs to be pulled around the farm and fields. Admittedly i’m partial toward the needs of the grain-cart. But if the grain-cart is going to be resting until October i guess it’s OK if its tractors work beneath their standards for a while.
Horizontal Rain #
Sunny, 78 degrees
Humidity 83%
Dew Point: 60 degrees
Wind: W @ 28 mph (gusts to 40+)
Forecast: Get inside
We push.
Then push harder.
Yesterday and today max effort. Get the last of the wheat cut. Rain in the forecast for later today. And we’re just off a seven-day rain delay. Something rare during wheat harvest. Something especially rare for Trego Center. There’s something about Trego Center.
An anomaly.
A vortex.
Something built into the Earth itself. Something that parts weather. The rain and snow go South. The rain and snow go North. The rain and snow go South and North. Other times the rain and snow run out. Just stop. Time and again. For 36 years i see this phenomenon in action. A phenomenon that is well known. Well talked about. (Trego Center Cyclonic Vortex/Wheat Harvest 2017)
When i check Sunday after church 80% of the comments run along the line of…..
‘We won’t get any rain.’
‘Happens all the time.’
Using my city-boy trump card i ask what is sure to be obvious West Kansas farm knowledge.
‘Why?’
‘Don’t know. Just does.’
Ah well. predictions of rain are taken with a grain of salt. Predictions of strong winds, hail, flooding are taken with a teaspoon of salt.
Of course….
we put all the cars and equipment under cover. For us the Shed and Quonset are soon filled. Doesn’t cost anything but a bit of effort. All in all it’s good practice to take care of equipment. Joyce leaves right after dinner to round up the dogs.
Bruce leaves a few minutes later to put John’s truck (the last to go under cover) in the Shed.
Then the rain.
Straight out of the West.
A storm more than moose enough to overpower the Trego Center Vortex.
I head out to get video.
Horizontal rain is, after all….
horizontal rain.
Catch and Release #
Sunny, 99 degrees
Humidity 23%
Dew Point: 53 degrees
Wind: S @ 20 mph
Forecast: Sunny
For years Nebraska is the undisputed leader for pheasant hunting in the U.S. ‘The Pheasant Capital’ with over a million pheasants shot annually. According to Fish & Game.
Kansas consistently comes in second with approximately 350,000 pheasants shot annually.
Kansas is also known for its nationally known WIHA program.
Walk-In-Hunting-Access
The state leases private land for public hunting. Free access to hunters where WIHA signs are posted.
Hunters need a valid Kansas hunting license.
Can only hunt during pheasant season.
Must follow ‘foot-traffic’ regulations.
A good hunting season (any hunting season) depends on the number of birds/animals around to hunt. The number of birds/animals depends on 42,378 variables. Most notably food, shelter, predators.
Most animals, deer, antelope and elk only deal with human hunters.
Pheasants, on the other hand, have a long list of animals looking for a pheasant dinner. Coyotes, foxes, minks, weasels, hawks, owls, an occasional cat or dog and, of course, people.
Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks (KDWP) runs hatcheries for game fish. Releasing about 39.5 million fingerling fish into the state water system. However, the KDWP does not have a pheasant repopulation program. So, many local landowners, especially farmers, raise and release pheasants. Usually when the birds are 12-15 weeks old. Usually between June & August. Usually on open land with good cover and access to food.
Like wheat.
(No matter how good the equipment some wheat gets left behind).
Bruce and several of his friends have been raising pheasants this year in a neighbor’s chicken coop.
Yesterday we set them free.
After first catching them!
Wi without Fi #
Partly Sunny, 81 degrees
Humidity 52%
Dew Point: 60 degrees
Wind: SW @ 15 mph
Forecast: Sunny & warm
Three years ago we get a UniFi Dream Router in the house. Run 200 feet of high-velocity waterproof, direct burial, PoE Ethernet cable underground in PVC pipe out to the Milk Barn Bar & Grill UniFi U6+ long range access point. We now have (and broadcast) blinding fast internet in the Milk Barn.
The Milk Barn Bar & Grill begins life as the milk-tank room. A 500-gallon stainless steel tank for storing and chilling the product of Trego Center Dairy’s milk cows’ 24/7 efforts. After years (many more years than i’ve been around)…
the cows are gone.
The tank is gone.
We now have a large table.
Seats eight.
A fine collection of spirits on one wall. An 84-inch TV on another.
The tank-room is now officially a place to relax. A place to raise a glass to cows gone by. A place for fun, food, friends & libations. All connecting to the world via high quality WiFi.
Until the beginning of June.
No WiFi in the Milk Barn Bar & Grill.
Great WiFi in the house.
No WiFi in the Milk Barn Bar & Grill.
When not cutting wheat we begin trouble shooting WiFi. Our Chicago guru, who directs our original efforts, graciously responds to my many questions.
We try this and that.
We try that and this.
Everything leads to the conclusion…..
we need a new cable.
After eight days of cutting wheat the rains come.
Four inches over a couple of days.
No cutting wheat until the fields dry.
We use the ‘downtime’ to work on stuff. The grain-semi gets new hopper door bearings and solenoids. The big tractor gets a radio. The laundry room at Grandma’s house gets a new sink.
The new cable arrives.
With shovels, baling twine, a hacksaw, some new pieces of PVC pipe, corners and glue, we pull out the old cable and run the new one.
We’re back to blindingly fast WiFi in the Milk Barn Bar & Grill.
Now if the Sun and wind win this West Kansas weather battle, we’ll be back to cutting wheat in a couple of days.
(Click on photos to see titles)
Fixing Hopper Doors #
Sunny, 98 degrees
Humidity 17%
Dew Point: 20 degrees
Wind: S @ 18 mph
Forecast: Sunny
One day when we are cutting up North, Gary, semi driver, reports the rear hopper door is hard to close. At least according to the guys at the elevator. The diagnosis is easily confirmed. The screech & grinding is obvious.
Even to a city boy.
Bruce sprays some silicone along the hopper door track. Maybe a bit quiter.
Not much.
A few more openings & closings demonstrate the need for further work. Certainly, don’t want to have the semi full of wheat and no way to get it out.
John makes a town run.
Returns with two bearings suitable for a hopper door shaft. Bruce, Gary & John tear into the mounting of the rear hopper door roller shaft. Takes serious work to get the shaft out and one bearing replaced.
Back to cutting & hauling.
Next day John & Gary replace the other rear hopper door bearing. Front door seems to be working well enough. Will replace those bearings after harvest.
The rain Saturday night (3 inches) brings all cutting to a halt. Monday’s rain extends our down time. Tuesday Bruce, John & Austin (visually recording the efforts) replace the front hopper door bearings.
Door still dragging.
Next step: replace the motor solenoid.
Bruce & John make a run to the John Deere folks in Ness City.
Rear solenoid replaced.
Hopper door sliding without difficulty.
As soon as the fields dry we’ll be back cutting wheat.
Fishing? #
Sunny, 78 degrees
Humidity 22%
Dew Point: 45 degrees
Wind: S @ 7 mph
Forecast: Partly Cloudy
It’s been a while since we’ve been to the ‘lake’.
Cedar Bluff Reservoir
A few years ago, concerns arose about increased levels of Per/Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the fish.
First mistake: Googling what are PFAS.
1) Really popular ‘non-stick’ chemical coating.
2) Flakes off and gets into water supply.
Second mistake: Downloading a complete list of PFAS chemicals from Google Scholar.
1) There are over 12,000 PFAS.
Third mistake: Searching the Kansas Department of Health & Environment website for PFAS testing.
1) ‘Kansas focuses its PFAS water monitoring primarily on finished drinking water systems and targeted surface streams rather than tracking raw water in inland reservoirs.’ Not good.
2) Searching for results about Kansas ‘coastal reservoirs’ leads to the Western Interior Seaway.
a) Virtually no PFAS chemicals!.
b) However, the data is over 100 million years old.
So…..
After several years free from increases in health problems we’re all back to fishing.
Most folks will keep medium size fish and release big fish. And, of course, small fish. PFAS accumulate. Figure if there is any accumulation it’s greater in big fish. And an afternoon fishing…..
always beats an afternoon of changing bearings on semi hopper doors.
as Goldilocks says
Leaky Semi #
Sunny, 85 degrees
Humidity 45%
Dew Point: 63 degrees
Wind: SE @ 6 mph
Forecast: Partly Cloudy
One of the biggies about driving the grain-car is don’t spill the wheat!
It’s a basic.
Grain-Cart Rule #1.
(‘Grain Cart Rules’ in Wheat Harvest 2013)
John is back in the field. Been on break. (Field-Hand Union stipulations).
When he gets back to the field he sees a pile of wheat under the front end of the semi. Not something you want to see.
After a quick investigation he realizes that the hopper door is not closed all the way.
Open about two inches.
With incredible lightning reactions, he closes the hopper door.
John saves the day.
We take the semi into town and dump the wheat at the grain elevator. The semi driver drives over grates leading to massive underground augers. The wheat gets dumped out of the bottom of the semi by opening the two hopper-doors.
Opened by the elevator crew.
Once the wheat is out the crew closes the semi’s hopper doors.
The semi driver heads back to the field. Parks the semi on the edge of the field.
The grain-cart driver brings wheat from the combine to the semi.
Unloads wheat into the semi. The ‘circle of wheat harvesting’ continues.
Like any good organization there are checks and balances. The grain elevator guys check to make sure the hopper doors close. The semi driver, after parking the semi on the edge of the field and checks the hopper doors to see that they are closed, using the handheld remote control. The grain-cart guy drives up to the semi and before unloading any wheat, checks to makes sure the hopper doors are closed. In accordance with grain-car rules #1, #4 and #8 (don’t spill any wheat).
In the whole chain the grain-cart guy is blessed with the final and absolute responsibility to make sure the hopper doors are closed. The wheat coming out of the grain-cart auger must go somewhere secure.
Positions rotate in the field.
With one exception.
Bruce & Clayton can drive the combine, grain-cart and semi. John can drive the combine and grain-cart.
Bob is a one-trick pony.
I just drive the grain-cart.
Because the first two links of the semi-hopper-door are so secure i’m often lulled into complacency. The semi hopper doors are always closed when the semi is in the field.
Always.
Except when they’re not.
One of the nice things about working with the Trego Center Dairy Field Crew is that castigations are never cast.
Accidents happen.
So do mistakes.
But all afternoon the words of Father Dole swirl around the grain-cart tractor cab……
Mea culpa.
Mea culpa.
Mea maximua culpa.
Mobile Service Station #
Sunny, 6 degrees
Humidity 81%
Dew Point: 59 degrees
Wind: SSW @ 12 mph
Forecast: Sunny
It can be difficult do repair work in the field. Even simple things like adding fuel, oil, changing parts, putting air in tires.
When the John Deere mechanics hit the field, they arrive in service trucks. Trucks stocked with tools, parts, equipment and lube to do about anything that can be done.
Except paint.
In a flight of generosity i propose buying one for the Farm. The $230,000 price tag leads me to getting a new roll of Wifi cable. It is, after all, the thought that counts.
We do have a well-equipped flatbed service truck. (See ‘Bob’s Service Vehicle’ Wheat Harvest 20XX). The flatbed is steel. Welded up by Eric. He’s local welder born and raised in WaKeeney. Grew up right down the road from the Farm.
The Farm service truck allows us to carry fuel, tools, an air compressor and has enough room to carry just about anything we need to the field. If the Farm flatbed can’t carry what’s necessary….
speed dial the John Deere folks.
Mules in the Field #
Sunny, 78 degrees
Humidity 14%
Dew Point: 46 degrees
Wind: S @ 18 mph
Forecast: Sunny
I’m used to seeing new and wonderous things in the country.
Sunrises.
Sunsets.
Amber waves of wheat.
Cows with mules.
Mules?
We’re cutting wheat. The pastureland across the dirt road just south of us has cows.
Not unusual.
Mules?
We have a mule named Billy.
Billy hangs around with Norman, the bull, and Teeter, the horse. These three are at the Farm just because it’s nice to have big animals at a farm. They have the run of the field next to the homestead. Their contracts stipulate good care, good water, veterinary services in exchange for keeping the grass in control and providing an occasional photo-op.
The cows across from where we’re cutting are beef cows. Not sure about what their contracts say. But being curious animals, they wander up to the fence to see what’s going on across the road. Quickly figure out that no one is bringing them a salt block or mineral block or just coming by to talk.
The cows go back to grazing.
So do the mules.
A little later, Gary, the semi driver, and i are standing by the field-truck. Taking a well-deserved break. Gary’s almost as old as me and has seen just about every country thing that can be seen
I ask about the mules.
It seems the mules eat Catclaw Sensitive Briar (Mimosa nuttallii / Mimosa quadrivalvis) a quick spreading common field weed. It’s covered with sharp, backward-curving prickly barbs. A good pasture can be quickly overrun by Catclaw weeds. It’s the kind of weed that is very colorful. So colorful that you just know it does not belong in a field.
Mules have tough lips and mouths and can eat the weed without being bothered by the barbs.
So some folks have mules to keep the catclaw in control. The bigger the field the larger the number of mules.
Out here a city-boy learns something new every day.
Good Wheat….Bad Wheat #
Sunny, 88 degrees
Humidity 42%
Dew Point: 62 degrees
Wind: SSE @ 18 mph
Forecast: Partly Cloudy
Some wheat is good wheat. Some wheat is not good wheat.
Some wheat we don’t talk about.
Some of this year’s wheat is very good. Perhaps not awesome, but well worth the farming effort involved. The wheat on this field is…..
Not good.
Almost unmentionable.
And it’s short.
This means the cutter (guy driving the combine) must go slow. So it takes longer to get the combine’s grain tank full. All leading to the grain-car driver having more time between trips to the combine and trips to the semi.
To save fuel and see what the day is really like, i turn off the tractor whenever the opportunity allows. Open the door. Open the back window.
There’s a sociable breeze full of bird chirps and rustling wheat.
A warm wind.
Not too warm.
Just right. As Goldilocks says.
A great place for praying and meditating and relaxing and breathing.
Breathing is important.
Without breathing it’s hard to meditate and it quickly becomes very hard to relax. However, not breathing, according to Father Dole a Navy Chaplain from my distant past, can lead to some serious praying.
Today all goes well.
The breeze also brings the far-off sound of a combine and a few meadowlarks. Not that i’d know what a meadowlark sounds like, but my Merlin bird app does! Rain clouds in the West seem stuck on the horizon. The East wind is winning.
This moment in this West Kansas wheat field, the quiet screams for me to relax. Let go of all worries. Drift away into…..
‘Bob! You got a copy?’
My radio suddenly fills with John bringing me back to the human job at hand.
‘Read you loud & clear!’
‘Come on over.’
Find the combine.
Pick up the wheat.
Haul it to the semi.
Put it in so Bruce can take it to town.
Hmmmm there may a song here.
