Friday afternoon, September 4, 2026

Yesterday afternoon, we took the combines to the Dunn farm and cut the soybeans on the fields that were planted on April 1.  The beans were a 2.7 maturity, and we planted them specifically so they would cut early.  The first field did not have any replanted acres in them, so it was cut border to border.  The 2nd and 3rd fields had many strips and areas of replanted soybeans in them, and those were still green.  So, we had to cut around those.  It was rather cumbersome, as compared to the first field.  Field 1 and Field 2 at Dunn were on steep hills, but the third field was mostly flat, and near the Roberson Ditch (which flooded the field numerous times in 2026.   We cut around the replanted acres and finished there just after noon.  There are no other soybean fields that have the beans that are quite ready, so the combines are stopped for the weekend.  The next farms (Lett and Watjen) are on reclaimed coal mine ground, and they may be ready by Tuesday.  Emphasis on may.  If they are not quite there, we can begin on some corn instead.  I would expect the earliest-planted corn to be near 22-23% moisture by now, and with the extreme heat this week, it should be drying significantly!  We prefer to begin corn harvest at 23% or drier.

The final pass on the first field of soybean harvest. This field is rather steep.

These soybeans did not get flooded during the year, and they were pretty good (73bpa)  The fields that were flooded…. not so good.

With all the cutting around replanted patches, I often had to unload into the grain cart while stopped.

It’s helpful to have both combines be the same.  We can share guidance lines, and they work together much more efficiently.

So, this afternoon, we are doing some small repairs and getting the combines fueled and DEF’d for next week.  John is greasing the VT implement.  He wanted it hooked up now just in case of a field fire.  It is scary dry here.   We’ve had record temperatures of 100+ for 5 days now. (very rare here, it has been 4 years since we saw 100F).

At least the yard won’t need to be mowed this week!

We will have a time to enjoy the weekend and then see what next week brings.  The new part-time helpers begin then, and that will be an exciting time to see how they work into the team here.  I’m optimistic about them.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!