The Little Farmer in the Making's Corn Harvest

We knew when we started the Little Farmer's corn field way back in April that we would have to harvest on the weekend.  There was no way that he was going to miss the combine going through the field.

Before we could go to the field, we had to do a little maintenance on the combine.  The windows were really dirty, so he helped Grandpa Art.

No, we didn't need to use the leaf blower on leaves, but it works really good on...

the air filter for the combine.  It was pretty dirty and yes it is a little bigger than the one in your car.

Finally, ready to go to the field!!!!!!

My absolute favorite picture of the entire corn harvest!  Watching the crop go into the wagon.

 

And we were all done.  Next, we will plant wheat in this field and let the cows eat the wheat and the left over corn stalks.

I hope you have enjoyed following this corn crop as much as our family has.  It has certainly been fun to watch the crop grow through an 8 year old's eyes rather than my old eyes.  The grain was hauled to the bins on our farm, because the elevator in town was clear full.  You might check out the post This Little Grain Went to Market to know where the corn will be used.

Stay tuned for another crop to follow with our 11 year old son.  He has plans and he has seed!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Random Thoughts of Wheat Harvest

During the first half of wheat harvest, I took lots of pictures that are all totally random, but pretty much sum up life around here during harvest.  I also have lots of random thoughts to go with them.  Yes, it is that dark when he comes home every night.  It was that dark when I came home most nights which would probably be why my kids are somewhat sleep deprived.

Yes, my husband comes home covered in black stuff.  Some nights he looks like he works in a coal mine and on the bad days, I do too.

After one day of soybean planting, it appears I need to find something to do with all the antlers they keep finding in the fields.  These puppies can do a number on a tire and let me tell you that tractor and combine tires are not even close to the same price as a car tire.

I really love taking pictures of the wheat.  This is one of about 50 I have taken.

While the sight of rain is good, especially after the years of drought our area has endured, I still don't like to see it rain on the field I am about to finish while the sun shines on the other side of the road.

Did I mention I like to take pictures of the wheat?

It is a long way down when you are standing on top of the combine.

The grain tank looks pretty big from the top, too.

The sun is really bright right before it sets, especially if you have to look into it to line up the auger on the combine to empty it and really don't want to miss.  If you miss, you get yelled at and then you have to clean up the mess and that auger can make a big mess before you get things shut off.

I love it when I have visitors come to the field and ride with me.  It gives me someone to talk to besides myself.  It is even better when they bring something cold to drink.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband?  Especially when he keeps my combine running properly.

Especially, when he listens to me when I tell him something is wrong and he figures it out and he doesn't make me go into the bowels of the beast.

Even weed seed heads can be beautiful with a Kansas sunset behind them.  Of course, those were on the neighbors side of the road.

If your husband calls to say he is stuck while trying to plant and then sends you the above picture, it might be a little wet where he is waiting to be pulled out.  I was so disappointed that they didn't gather enough for a crawfish boil though.  Those Cajuns don't have anything on us. ;)

Have a great rest of the week everyone!  Hoping for a little dry weather, so we can cut wheat and put up some hay.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Flat Aggie Adventures in Illinois Corn Harvest

I am so thankful for farmer friends that host Flat Aggie for 4 different classes in 2 states.  In October, Flat Aggie traveled to visit Katie Pratt and learn about corn harvest.  Katie be found at her blog Rural Route 2, the Life and Times of an Illinois Farm Girl, on Facebook and on Twitter.-KFM

Dear Mrs. Piatt’s Class: 

Wow! Did I ever have a corn-filled adventure with the Pratt family from Dixon, Illinois.  That’s all they grow on this farm – field corn, sweet corn, popcorn, decorative corn, seed corn and some soybeans.  I had a very busy time here because we harvested almost every type of corn, made dinner for the harvest crew and even taught a first grader class about . . . what else?  Corn!

The farm’s name is Grand Prairie Farms and they raise field corn, soybeans and seed corn in north central Illinois.  While I visited the weather was beautiful with warm days, cool nights and lots of sun. 

During harvest, Mr. Pratt starts his days at 5 a.m. and sometimes doesn’t stop working until 9 or 10 p.m. at night.  Those are long days, but the family enjoys working with each other and their neighbors. 

Our first project was picking seed corn.  Seed corn is the seed that other farmers will plant in their fields next year.  They raise seed for Wyffels Hybrids.  A seed corn picker strips the ear of corn from the stalk, piles it in the bin and then unloads it into the dump cart.  Instead of using an auger or conveyor to move the corn from one piece of equipment to the next, the entire wagon will lift up and dump.  

See the ears of corn bouncing into the bin of the seed corn picker.  Then watch as the dump cart literally rises up off is platform and dumps the corn into the waiting semi-truck.  It is dusty!

Because seed corn is such an important crop (these are the seeds for next year’s fields), the Pratts worked quickly to get the corn picked before the temperatures got too cold.  Some days there were three pickers working in one field, and one morning 12 semi-trucks were waiting for loads to take to the plant.  Whew!  

After the seed corn was finished, we moved into soybeans, and I got to drive the semi-truck.

The combine uses different heads to pick different crops.  You can see the roller of the soybean head here and the full bin of the combine.   

This load is ready to dump!  The auger swings out over the semi-truck and with a touch of the button, the beans unload.  The beans are taken back to the main farm and stored in a grain bin until it is time to sell them.  

 Soybeans are used in many things include food that we eat, feed that animals eat and fuel that powers school buses.  Soybeans are nutritious and full of protein. 

Not every day is work in the fields.  Mrs. Pratt works with a program called Agriculture in the Classroom and one day she taught three first grade classes about different types of corn.  I got to go with!

 

This is Mrs. Springman’s first grade class at Washington School in Dixon, Illinois.  During the lesson, they learned about the four different types of corn (field, sweet, pop and decorative).  They also measured themselves with a corn stalk from the Pratts’ field and learned how a combine works.  

This year the Pratt kids, Ethan and Natalie planted popcorn.  While the combine has been busy picking the popcorn in the field, Ethan and Natalie would come home from school, have a snack and then head to their popcorn patch to pick the ears by hand.  They spent a long time husking the corn in the shed.  Coco, the farm dog, even helps once in awhile.

But not every day on the farm is all about corn.  One afternoon, Natalie, Ms. Pratt and I went to their grandparents’ farm to pick apples.  I decided to climb the tree. We brought home boxes of apples and made applesauce, apple pies and other apple treats. 

Now that the seed corn and soybeans are picked, the family focuses on harvesting field corn.  Field corn is also called dent corn and is the type of corn planted most in Illinois.  Illinois ranks #2 in corn production in the United States.  Field corn is used for a variety of different things – feed for animals, fuel for cars, fiber and food.  

 You can’t eat field corn right off the cob, like sweet corn, but once the kernels are cooked down and separated into sugar, oil and starch, corn is used in all sorts of food products from soda pop to corn flakes, granola bars, candy, corn meal and so much more.  Corn oil is used to make plastic and corn starch is used in fuel filters found in NASCAR race cars.  

The combine now has the corn head attached.  As the combine moves through the field, it strips the cob from the corn stalk and shells the corn so that all that is left are the yellow kernels.  See all the dust flying from the back of the combine.  That’s all the leaves, stalk, husk and other “trash” coming out of the combine and back on to the field.  Even though this is called trash, it has a very important job.  It will break down during the winter adding nutrients back into the field and keeps the soil from blowing away when the winter and spring winds start to gust.  

All of their corn is stored in grain bins. They have three bins that will hold 600,000 thousand bushels of corn.  That’s a lot of corn!

During harvest every day finishes with dinner in the field.  On this night, we enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, apple salad and pumpkin cupcakes.  

Wow! I’m exhausted! This was a busy trip, but so interesting and so much fun!

Until next time,

Flat Aggie

Katie was even sweet enough to send the classes a box of corn samples.  They got to see decorative corn, field corn and even popcorn that they could pop in the microwave.  They loved the hands on part of that activity!

Be sure to check out Flat Aggie's other adventures.-KFM

Delaware Watermelon Harvest

 Here is part II of a series of posts by Cory of Cory's Produce on Watermelon production in Delaware.  The kids that read his report to Flat Aggie LOVED how the watermelons ride from the fields.  -KFM

In the harvest season a crew will walk the field look and decide which melons is ready and cut it the stem from the vine. We refer to this part of harvest as the cutters. 

After the cutters have begun across the field, we begin to send another crew referred to as loaders across the field where they pick up each melon pass them to one another and they end up bulk loaded onto trucks, wagons and most commonly retired school buses. 

Once the vehicle that is being loaded is loaded it is drove to our packing shed. At the packing shed the melons are unloaded labeled, inspected and put into bins according to variety, Seeded or seedless, and size. Once the bin is full with the current count it is moved to a staging area of the shed in preparation for being loaded onto refer semi-trailers to be delivered to the store. 

Generally melons will be in the staging area no more than 36hrs before an order is submitted and they head for the store. Being in Delaware, we have a large market for melons in the north east, although I have shipped melons as far west as Colorado, and south back to Fort Myers, Florida depending on the year and the market. 

When Delaware is in production so is the eastern shore of Maryland, as well as in some cases Southern Missouri and Indiana. Though, due to Delaware being centrally located on the east coast we have a logistic advantage over other states. 

 

After the harvest of a field is completed the melons are mowed off the raised beds. 

Once the beds are mowed we will leave it sit for a few days and then we will begin removing the black plastic and drip tape from the raised beds. This is done in a series of steps first we being by running a machine called a mulch lifter across each bed. This splits the black plastic in the middle and helps lift the edges of it out of the ground.

 Next, a crew will go through the field and pile the plastic and tape. Once that is done, they will begin loading the plastic and drip tape into trucks or loaders which then take them to commercial size roll off dumpsters which is then taken to the local landfills and properly disposed of. 

Once all the plastic, drip tape, and drip tape supply line called lay flat is removed, we will sub soil rip the entire farm and work it down and I will plant a winter crop of barley or wheat to be harvested the following spring. 

In cases where I do not plant barley or wheat I will plant a winter crop to use up any extra nutrients, control soil erosion, and run-off, as well as improve soil quality, and keep top-soil from blowing away during the winter months. 

Thanks for reading about watermelon production in Delaware it’s been an honor to explain all the hours work and process of getting everyone a MAR-DELicious watermelon the favorite summertime treat to their household. Just remember it’s MAR-DELicious if it’s been grown in MARyland or DELaware.

 Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about how watermelons are grown.  I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did!

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Soybean Harvest Video and Giveaway

This week I would like to share with you a video we did of our Soybean Harvest.  We completed it for a contest, but for some reason I had trouble uploading it to the contest site.  You all get to view the video instead!  The Farmer and I enjoyed doing this project together and our youngest son can tell you every one of the pictures that he took!

A few weeks ago I mentioned I would like to do something to celebrate that all of you have been so wonderful to share my blog and I reached 10000 pageviews and 350 followers on Facebook.  Here is the giveaway I came up with.  It isn't very original, but I will try to be more creative for my next milestone!

Enter here to win one of 2 Walmart gift cards for $25.00!!  Leave me comment on what your favorite post has been or what you would like to see me write about in the coming months  AND  you must follow me on Facebook.  I will put all the names into a hat and let the boys each draw a name.

Good Luck!  The winners will be notified on Facebook on December 11, 2012.

Linked on:
 Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Linked on:
Wife of a Dairyman

Common Knowledge or Science?

Another question from one of my Facebook followers and I got My Farmer to help with the answers!

Lisa asked, "First, let me say I am completely farming illiterate. I would really like to know how farmers know when to perform the functions of farming (ie: planting/sowing, harvesting, tilling, not tilling, burning a field, watering). Is it all passed down from generation to generation, or more trial and error? How much stock do you take in the Farmer's Almanac?"

First of all I want to say that I am so happy that I have those of you that are "farming illiterate" following me on Facebook and reading my blog.  That is exactly why I do this.  If you haven't noticed, I don't sell advertising on my blog which means I am making no money doing this.  I spend the time writing, so you know where your food comes from and how it is raised and if you have a question I can help you find a honest answer.  So thank you for following me especially if you don't know everything about what we do!!

Some of what we do is passed down from generation to generation, but honestly today most of our decisions are based on science and research.  Some decisions are somewhat personal preference and what works with your labor force and mindset.  Let me explain and try not to bore you to tears.

Let's start with corn planting.  Corn is one of those crops that is very dependent on temperature above and below ground.  We try not to plant corn until the soil temperature is at least 50 degrees.  If the soil is cooler than that, the seed will not germinate and will likely lie in the soil and rot.

Tilling and not tilling.  This is one process that is probably determined more by tradition than anything else.  We practice no-till farming which means we do not work or till the ground at all before we plant the next crop.  There are a couple other farmers in the area that farm this way, but most still farm similar to the way their fathers did.  My farmer has a degree in Agronomy and believes it is best for the health of the soil, earthworms and soil microbes.  We also see the benefit in reduced chemical and fuel usage.  

Harvesting.  The basis of determining when to harvest a crop centers around the moisture content of the grain and not the actual plant.  When grain is harvested and stored in a elevator or grain bin it cannot have excessive moisture.  Simply put it will spoil, large fans and heaters can decrease moisture some but there is no substitute for wind and sunshine to dry a crop.  Farmers must also harvest their crops before they get too dry.  If the grain gets too dry, it will shatter out and fall to the ground before the combine can harvest it.  This is good for the field mouse, but not the farmer.  -The Farmer

Burning.  Most crops do not require old dead material to be removed by fire; however, there are a few grass crops that can have tremendous benefits to having the old material being removed. For instance in the tall grass prairies of the Flint Hills, fire has become an important tool in managing encroachment of brush and trees.  These prairies developed under centuries of fire in their ecosystem.  Only recently has human intervention disrupted this process.  Now we have more residences in rural areas that need protection from wild fires and with these homesteads come fence rows, shelter belts and other areas that provide seed to infest native prairie with trees.  -The Farmer

Watering.  We personally do not irrigate our crops actually there are very few in our area that do, but my friends in California irrigate their almond trees.  Would you believe that their computer tells them when to turn on the water?  They have sensors buried in the ground that tell them when the ground is getting dry and tells them when and where to direct the valuable water. 

Farmer's Almanac.  To be completely honest, I don't remember the last time I read a Farmer's Almanac.  The Farmer and I were in a store the other day and laughed at the number of options there were for an almanac-I think there were 5 different ones in one store.    

I hope this answers your questions, if not ask me some more on Facebook.  I need some help on what to keep writing about.  I have ideas, but would love to answer your question if you have one!

-A Kansas Farm Mom