The Harvest That Wouldn't End....

....is now over....for us at least.  There are still quite a few people that are still plugging away at it.  There should be a huge sense of relief, but there isn't because a) everyone's to-do list is a mile long, b) a lot of the grain we harvested is right now worth next to nothing and c) J and K moved out of their "summer house" and back to Scobey (that makes me sad because I liked having that grandbaby closer).

My little John Deere girl

We had two weeks of good harvesting weather and the guys put in some long hours...enough that I was a bit worried about them and their lack of sleep.  We rented another combine so we had three going for awhile until the last rain delay and then we sent one back.  That one we had to pay for by the day whether we used it or not so it didn't make much sense to have it sitting for a week when we were close to done.  The other one we just pay by the hours used.  We needed about 2 more hours before the last rain delay to finish here at home, but we weren't that lucky.  Then we sat for a week with frost and fog and just damp conditions.  M did feel as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders when all the wheat close to home was cut so he didn't have to look at it standing there every day.

J had a couple of issues with his combine.  One of the inside tires on the front of the combine came loose.  Luckily, he felt that something was wrong while we were in the process of moving and stopped before it fell off and caused a really big problem.  The John Deere mechanics were there quickly, but it still took a few hours to get it fixed.  Then he had a shaft break in the spreader.  He was able to continue without it, and it still isn't fixed.  He was just hoping the pulleys didn't start a fire.

There are a lot of quality issues with the grain harvested late and with lots of rain on it.  The rain causes bleaching of the kernels and the kernels are not as hard as they are when harvested at a hot and dry time.  Of course, the elevators and grain companies seem to seize on any opportunity to discount the worth.  This was also not a year to raise wheat with high protein since we didn't have a hot and dry summer.  We tend to get more bushels and less protein in a good year.  Right now the protein scales are worse than I have ever seen them.  The price of wheat is low anyway, but if you don't have 14 protein you almost have to pay them to take it.  We heard a rumor of someone selling for 95 cents a bushel.  We have a 50,000 bushel pile of wheat on the ground right now that we have to find a place for--and we're pretty sure it won't be going to an elevator any time soon!  And, all of our bins are full.  Sometimes it makes you wonder why you're working so hard and spending the money to get the crop harvested when it's worth so little.  Hopefully, the market will settle down in a few months and make sense again.

The highlight of harvest was that M's dad came out three different days and rode the combine.  He hasn't been to the farm in probably three years and a few weeks ago wouldn't get out of bed so it was a big deal that he was feeling well enough to come out.  We were all pretty excited.  He took turns riding with J, C and M.  When he headed home the first day he said he would be back the next day.  We all thought he'd be tired and sore and would change his mind, but he showed up around 11 and stayed until the rain shut us down at 5.  He had a lot of catching up to do!

 

 

 

I love this three generation photo
 

We've been busy with a variety of things this week.  Friday morning we trailed some cows and calves up to the neighbor's.  Then on Saturday morning we rounded up the rest and brought them there, too, so we could vaccinate the calves since we ship in a couple of weeks.

J and C have been spraying to get some problem spots cleaned up.  M and R have been hauling the last of the hay bales, and M cut some late oats.  He was hoping it would make grain because he didn't want more bales to haul, but the frost took its toll so he swathed it and will bale it.

The next high priority is getting the corral water project completed since we'll have cows and calves there in less than two weeks.  We had a line break about the time we got all the cows moved out this spring and it was too wet to dig it up and fix it then.  They plan to modify the system now.  M has been pondering it all summer and now with input from C, J and R they've come up with a plan.  We also have cattle guards to dig in at R's and gravel to haul into his yard.  I finished clipping the wires for the last stretch of fence around the hay yard.  After 285 clips (and 57 squats) I was wishing R had made it just a LITTLE bigger--ha!  I also painted the barn doors.  We had some guys repaint the metal barn and they painted right over the white doors so everything is silver.  R's girlfriend and I thought it looked stupid so I finally had time and a nice day to paint; however, the paint was crappy and it took a gallon to do two doors and I'm not happy with the result.  I'll try again in the spring unless we have a string of nice weather still this fall.

I'd like to get my patio project done (or started).  I told M we had to get it done before haying.  Didn't happen.  Then I said he couldn't go on vacation until we got it done.  Didn't happen....I caved since I wanted to go on vacation, too.  Now he's so busy that I hate to ask for his help and may just have to do it myself.

Hopefully, the decent weather continues so we can get a handle on all of our projects before the snow flies.