Hurry up and wait

Still waiting to start back up on harvest.  Today was sunny and windy so it was a good drying day for the corn...not as good for the poor soybeans.  Quentin hopes to have the combine back out by tomorrow afternoon to try a little more.

Soybean pods

The later planted soybeans are putting on pods fast.  There are pods all the way up the stem now.  They will need a little moisture to fill out, though.

 

 

Corn harvest is still on hold.  We did not get much rain, but the moisture is still too high in the corn ears.

Showers

Corn harvest is on hold at least until the sun comes back out.  Quentin ran in to some higher moisture corn by Wednesday evening so he shut the combine down.  Yesterday and today have been overcast days with some light showers.  We are praying the rain will be heavier today so the soybeans will get a good "drink".

Then and now

Here are Clayton (1987) and Quentin (current) showing off their tall soybeans.  I hope the moisture holds so we have a great crop this year!

Back to harvest

The men are cutting the outside rounds on a field of Marilyn's.  It seems to be low enough moisture on part of the field, at least, so they will try and cut a few truckloads today.

Cutting the outside rounds
 

On hold

No fields dry enough to harvest today.  Quentin is filling his time catching up on some equipment maintenance.

A small start

Quentin was able to get the combine back in the field today.  We are very thankful to have his uncle here for a few days to drive the grain trucks.  They finished up one field down at Rose this afternoon.  They cut a test batch on a couple others, but nothing else was dry enough yet.

Dumping the grain cart

Corn harvest!

Corn harvest has officially begun.  Quentin was able to combine late Friday and on Saturday.  We received 0.6" of rain last night so they were able to take today off and relax.

Harvest time?

Is that the combine headed down the road?  No, Quentin is not just running it around the section to wind up the neighbors.  Corn harvest has begun!  Quentin is out trying a field down by Rose.  A small sample tested low enough on moisture.  The COOP is closed for the day, but he'll take in a load tomorrow to check the moisture.  There is a chance of rain tonight, and we are still hoping for a good soaker for the soybeans.

Throw-back Thursday: Pigs

I am very happy to report that we no longer have hogs on the farm.  While bacon ranks up there among my favorite foods, I am thankful the kids and I did not have to slop hogs this morning when we went to feed the cow.

Quentin's grandpa Clayton Peck feeding their pigs

Ranch hands

Quentin and Paul were both gone this morning so I rounded up my cattle crew.  Luckily, this time of year, the cattle are pretty self-sufficient.  We only had to feed one!

Rain report

Less than a 1/2" of rain today.  Hopefully, we'll catch another wave later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Getting dry out there

It's getting dry out there, but we have a good chance of rain tomorrow and Wednesday.  We are hoping for a good one to help finish out some of those beans.  Quentin is nearly finished getting the combine, trucks and grain cart ready for corn harvest, but I expect we are still a couple weeks away from getting started, depending on the weather.

What you DO NOT want to see in your soybean field...

 

Flowering beans

The later planted soybeans are flowering hard.  They will be putting pods on soon!

Where the magic happens

Quentin is working on the corn head.  Here is a look of it with the snouts up.  The men are adding stalk stompers this year.  They knock down the stalks in front of the wheels in order to save some wear and tear on the tires.

Throwback Thurs-hay barn

Top picture: 1983-when the hay barn was brand new.  If you'll look close, there is a combine in there.  It's a little smaller than the combine we park in there now! 

Filling out

Some of the early planted soybeans are filling out their pods quickly.  One more good rain and they will be in great shape! Unfortunately, we don't have any moisture in the forecast this week.  Prayers for rain!

Planted April 29

Lots of pods!

The early planted soybeans have loaded up with pods.  Now we just have to get enough moisture to fill them out.  If we can get another rain, these should yield well for us.

Nice ears

I wish we had a better rain report this morning, but we only got a small shower last night.  We are expecting some cooler, less humid weather for a few days, which will be a welcome change.  The guys need to finish up getting the corn head and grain trucks ready so will appreciate the cooler temps.  The hot weather has been good for drying up corn.  There are reports of harvest in the county south of us, but only on some very short season corn.  We may have something to harvest in a couple weeks.  Here's an ear from over by Leasure's.  It isn't the longest ear I've seen, but was nice and fat.  Deep kernels and 18 rows!

Chuckwagon crew

The men are getting the combine ready, and I'm getting the food ready!  We like to have lots of cookies for those packed lunches and dinners.  Thankfully, Quentin is happy with sandwiches and chips while harvesting...as long as he gets something sweet to finish him off.

Throw back Thursday

Not a far "throw back" this Thursday, but I'm hoping to find some old farm pictures to put up just for fun.  This one is Sierra this past winter checking out a new baby calf who took up residence on our back porch one cold morning.  Poor thing was nearly frozen, but perked back up after several hours in the heat.  He was back with his mama by nighttime.

Answered prayers...RAIN!!!

Is that what I think it is?  Could it be?  It's RAIN!!  More than we've had for over a month, I think.  It was a very hot and dry July here.  We got 1.70" so far this morning and have a chance to get a bit more later on this evening.  We have some very happy soybeans.  They were getting very stressed.  Hopefully, they'll be able to use this rain to go ahead and yield well for us.

Getting ready for harvest

Next on the list of things to do...get the combine ready for harvest!  The guys worked on changing the concaves in the combine today with a little help from two of our small farmers.

Bulging barns

Haying is officially finished!  The last of the hay had to be set outside.  The hay barn has bales packed high and tight around where the combine will be parked.  One side is actually bulging out just a bit.  The men had to do some measuring and rearranging to make sure Quentin could still get out of the combine once it was parked.  Guess I'll have to put him on a strict diet.

Almost done

The last of the hay was mowed this afternoon! The weather looks good to rake and bale it up tomorrow.