Harvest - Epilogue

A little closing information on the wheat harvest pictures that were posted earlier.

The field being harvested yielded 57.7 bushels/acre, which is a great result for this field. Average test weight was just slightly under 60 lbs/bu, average moisture 12.4, and average protein 10.4. The test weight and moisture are right on hard red winter wheat. The protein is a little low, but to be expected with the high yield.

Harvest - Day 4

The last task at the farm of turning seed into grain is moving the harvest to town. It is from here that, combined with the yields of numerous other farms, the grain moves to the miller domestically or overseas.

Here is the wheat coming from the combine harvester in the field to the trucks. This year the fields are soft and trucks can get stuck. This wagon can carry enough grain to nearly fill both trucks at once. With one driver on the wagon and one shuttling trucks to town the crew can keep up with the combine better than two truck drivers without a wagon.
Here is Travis, driving to town to deliver grain. Travis is a seminary student in Denver. He comes out to work on the ranch during his breaks from school. He is a college friend of several family members.
Here is a truckload of grain being unloaded at the grain elevator. At this point the grain is delivered. The farmer's bookkeeping with the grain dealer is all in terms of the delivered amount and quality. This truckload was about 480 bushels / 28,800 lbs of grain

Harvest - Day 3

Day three woke up gray and humid. When the humidity is high, you can't harvest the wheat because it raises the moisture of the grain, and the threshing is much more difficult. The humidity and the clouds kept harvest shut down for the day

Harvest - Day 2

Thursday started off cloudy, but it soon warmed up with a breeze. It was cloudy at Enders until mid-afternoon (and it was sunny at Imperial eight miles away!) It appears that the front was setting right over us (see the next entry).

With the early moisture and higher humidity the crew didn't get started until late morning. But they cut all day until sundown with a crew of three: Joel in the combine, Rebecca running the grain cart and Travis driving the trucks to town.

Here is Joel at the controls of the combine. It is a complex machine, and has devices that measure the quantity and quality of the grain as it is harvested.
Here is the view of the wheat field from the cab of the combine. This field has soil conservation earthworks call terraces. The top of one is the ridge at the right of the image. The tractor and grain cart are sitting behind the terrace. You can see the farmstead in the background of the photo.
The grain cart is used to transfer the harvested grain to the trucks at the edge of the field. Trucks can be used out in the fields, but this year things are soft underfoot due to all the spring rains. So they use the cart and keep the trucks on the roads at the edge of the fields.
This is an image of the cut stubble in the sinking light near the end of the day. I enjoyed the pattern of the tracks and how they swept towards the village.

Harvest Has Started!

At 7:40 PM Wednesday evening wheat harvest began on Grosbach Farms. Joel and Travis arrived with the combine early this evening and after a few adjustments cut a few acres to test the quality and the readiness of the wheat. Things look good. If the weather holds warm and dry they will be harvesting at full speed tomorrow.

Here is the combine making the first pass through the field

Here is the first grain being unloaded from the combine for delivery to town.

Vacation Photos - Day Four

My niece Nora and I went out early on Wednesday morning. We traveled north to visit another valley and the northern part of our family farm.

This image is of the end water cannon on what is called an Irrigator. An irrigator is a system of a 1/4 mile of water pipe on wheels fed by a well. I like the juxtaposition of the modern water technology and the old windmill in the background.

This image I call "The Old Corner". The corner post of a pasture fence is usually larger and more heavily reinforced than the rest of the posts. This one has been doing its job for many seasons.

Vacation Photos - Day Two

We were up early this morning to see the sunrise on the valley. The wheat harvest is close but not quite ready. The weather has been pleasant, but it is going to turn hot. This is something the crop needs to finally ripen.

This photo is taken from 1/2 mile south of our family farmstead (the trees and buildings on the horizon. The day dawned clear and cool.