Thursday, October 26, 2017

Corn Harvest 2017...

It's been a terrific growing season for the corn this year...plenty of rain just when necessary, and just about the right amount of heat.  Some would say the corn could've used a bit more heat, but the humans are happy with what we had (or didn't!!)...

This was my view from upstairs last night around 9 pm, as the truck arrived and soon after, the combine...


They ran for an hour or so, until the truck was full, and then quit for the night. 

The combine and full grain cart were waiting in the field this morning.  When the truck arrived, the driver emptied the full cart, preparing it for the next load...


This is one huge machine! 



...a twelve row corn head...


...and no, it's not ours!

Jim and I rode in the combine for the last field.  What a fun view!


Looking behind the driver's seat, into the hopper, which is filling with shelled corn...


There was a little bit of downed corn along the edge of this field that plugged up the head for just a little, but it was no problem to get going again...


These machines are fascinating to me...sensors, cameras and computers are everywhere!  When this beacon light above the cab begins to flash, it indicates to the grain cart driver that the hopper is almost full...


...and he shows up just in time, driving along side the combine as we continue through the field, emptying our load into his cart...


Here's a shot of the computer in the cab which shows the yield, the moisture, the area of the field (the colors indicate the yields in different parts of the field), the weight and the bushels...

All the corn is now shelled, except for a few acres that Jim plans to pick to fill the corn crib again this year.  The corn here at home was still a little high in moisture.  We're docked (or not) according to those numbers, so by picking and filling the crib, we can wait until next to sell it, when it's dried out completely.

We're very happy with the corn yields this year...over 200 bushels per acre is great!  Some fields were close to 250 bpa, and we're thrilled with that! 

Next is the soybeans...

When Jim and I hopped out of the combine this morning on that last field, the plan was to switch to the grain header and begin on them.  That will take a little while...they'll show up here at home in a few hours and then I'll have an idea how they're yielding. 

The word from the combine driver is that they've been doing will this year.  We'll see!

7 comments:

  1. Your corn yields are much better than ours. We had hot and dry weather during pollination and head filling. I enjoyed your photos. That night-time shot was unusual. I loved the sky on the 2nd one. Congratulations on a bountiful harvest!

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  2. Neat! We yielded well on one field, not as good on another. Which here is odd...but Terry said the fertilizer guy must not have spread it well...as for water, we give it all the same amount of water (irrigation by furrow) and the sun was equal...that just left how the fertilizer went on. I enjoyed your ride on that monster machine they are so HUGE anymore. Our combine is only a four-row. Takes us much longer to get through a field than you do.
    Anyway...we are almost done also....maybe next week.!!!

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  3. Congratulations on the great crop of corn. That big machine sure is a jewel.
    The computer is amazing.. Thanks for sharing the harvest result with us.
    Hugs,Julia

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  4. Gosh that is just amazing. My goodness the tech on that machine is just so cool. Thing have sure changed. I am so impressed you got that much per acre. God is so good.

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  5. My goodness, but you guys do farm on such a large scale in what must be the choicest area to farm, judging by your yields. Compared to you, I don't even think we're entitled to use the word 'farm' in our name.

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    1. Oh my goodness...no! We are actually a small farm! Yes, we are very fortunate to live in a very productive area for farming...but it's nothing that we did to get these yields this year!
      As for the huge equipment...a lot of farmers in this area are relatively "small", and owning equipment like that is a huge investment. So, we get custom operators to come in and do the harvesting for us. They do that many acres for other farmers, that they can afford to own and operate it. I can't imagine the overhead they must have!!
      Please don't feel that way! :)

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  6. I jest - despite the difference in our yields, the 4Shoes still earns its' farm description.
    I remember my Dad & Uncle working at custom combining when I was a kid (in a province much more conducive to farming than this one); the crews would work in shifts and run 24/7, moving from one field to the next until all the work was done. Those machines were huge, but the technology of farm machinery today is so advanced & impressive - but (to me) also intimidating as heck.
    We chose the location of the 4Shoes to be close to Mr Shoes' family - actually left a far more farming-friendly province to come here, but what we don't glean from our fields is made up for in many ways by having Mr Shoes' brothers & our SILs who we love so dearly. So long as we keep working towards bettering the place, and so long as we can keep doing it, 4Shoes Farm will live on, small but precious.
    <3 Hugs to you Alicia <3

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I enjoy hearing what you have to say! Thanks for your comments!