Harvest Season

HAPPY HARVEST EVERYONE!

This harvest has been VERY exciting for me for a couple of reasons:

• I am the farm manager for the first year of Triple L Farms (40 acres of corn and 40 acres of soybeans)
• I have had lots of time to help with harvest as my "real job" has been slow this year
• I learned to operate the combine, harvesting both corn and soybeans!

THE COMBINE LESSON: Dad was less than chipper when he taught me to run the combine and after some "I'm not yelling, I'm talking so you can hear me" and "If you don't stop yelling at me I'm going to punch you in the ****" I was off and running SOLO... YOLO? Later that evening dad admitted that he gave me the same lesson that was given to him... these buttons do this and that, figure everything else out yourself. And I did. After finishing the bean field with only one little miss (something happened with the GPS guidance and I had to go back and pick up a little patch of beans) I was proud to say I didn't spill any grain while unloading on the go and I didn't break anything!

BUT that came back to bite me while harvesting the corn field. I was doing great, picking corn while unloading on the go into the auger cart when suddenly one row began to bunch/clog. Naturally I panicked. My first instinct was to stop the combine, which I did, but, of course, the auger cart kept going and before I could shut off the unloading auger on the combine, I spilt some corn on the ground! It was maybe two bushels, but there goes my spotless record right out the window! Turns out it wasn't a clog but a busted gathering chain and after a quick parts run and some time in the shop with a cutting torch and impact wrench we were back at it again. Thanks Wayne for coming to the rescue!

I really enjoyed combining, though stressful, it was empowering! I'm beginning to think I really can be a farmer! It feels good when you get home and have to shower to wash off the dirt of a hard day's work.

After harvest is over I'll share some final yield figures. Today is test plot harvest day! Remember when we planted the 2013 Test Plot?