June 18, 2021

Yeah, it’s a hot one out there… 95ºF (35C).   The wind helps a bit at 24 mph, making it feel a little like living inside a hair dryer!   But these conditions are speeding along the dry-down of the wheat crop.  It’s getting close to being ready to cut.  Ross checked on it twice today, and decided to wait, but it’s not far off.  Maybe Monday, depending on the weather.

The read-out on the dash of the pickup today gives the highest temp reading of 2021.

Late this morning, Gary the delivery guy from Alliance Tractor at Vincennes brought out our new RD40F header— just in time for the wheat crop, no?  We had to install the lock-up bolts in the cutterbar, and then we performed the many ‘calibrations’ for this new header.  We lowered the 4 off-the-ground sensors, and the header height control seemed to work very well.  So, tomorrow or next week, it will see some action in the wheat field!

John and Brandon install the cutterbar lock-up bolts.

After lunch, Pat and I drove over to Wheatland and checked in on the condition of the wheat.  To my surprise I found some grains that were dried down and quite ‘thresh-able”.  But of course, there were others that were still pretty soft and squishy.  Another few days of sunny weather will bring it down to where we can start.    Marketable wheat has a moisture content of no more than 13%, but we will begin harvest when the grain gets to 18-19%.  We will run it through our grain dryer to get it down to 13%.  The practice of artificial drying wheat also has a benefit of increasing the ‘test weight’ of the grain by about 2 pounds per bushel.  Test weight is a measure of the density of the grain, and a test weight of 60 pounds per bushel or higher is preferred.

After plucking a few heads off the stalks, you rub it in the palm of your hand to separate the grains. Then you can blow the chaff away. Take a bite of the grains of wheat to examine the moisture content. You don’t want any squishy sensation in your mouth, but the grains should have a firmness… something like a peanut.

Looking good!

Have a pleasant weekend, everyone.