Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The ground is pretty damp this morning with a very heavy dew.  And there is fog in all the valleys.  You can see the fog drifting by in the gentle breeze.  It will take several hours of sunshine before the combines can run in the soybeans today.   While we wait for the dew to burn off, there are other things to do.  John and Brandon are off in the semis to deliver beans on contract to ADM at Newburgh, Indiana.  I’m working on entering scale ticket information into our database in the computer.  There will be time to take the Gator this morning to spray some johnsongrass along a couple ditches here where we harvested.

As we started our #harvest16 only yesterday, we discovered a little-better-than-average yield on these soybeans, with a moisture level averaging about 13.1.  yesterday.

The valleys are filled with fog this morning, signaling a later return to cutting soybeans

The combines wait in the edge of the field for the dew to burn off

Yesterday was a wonderful ‘first day’ of harvesting.  We got started just after lunch, and worked on the first-planted soybean field.  As it turns out, it was the first-harvested field in 2015.   The weather was simply beautiful, low 80s temp, bright blue skies, and a gentle breeze.  Harvesting soybeans is my tip-top favorite thing to do.  It’s not work, it’s fun!   And yesterday was a fun day!

Pat sent me this picture yesterday afternoon, showing the harvest activity.

As we opened up that first field, the combines were working smoothly.

Of course, we were not the only ones to begin harvesting yesterday.  It seemed like everyone had their combines going.  I got a text from a young farmer in our church.  Attached was a heart-warming picture of his 3-year-old son.

Cole watches his daddy. A future farmer here, I’m wagering.

It was a really good start to #harvest16.