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Well, we started picking corn Thursday, but it's not your normal run through the field. Last year I started picking, and I ran the combine between 4-5 mph, unloading on the go. This year is a very different story, at least for some of our corn.
Back in July, July 23 to be exact, we had two storms come through the area. I remember them because they were big, and we were in the middle of our county fair. The first one brought a bit of wind and a lot of rain, but the second one came around 10:00 at night, and it had wind. In hind sight, it also had some rotation. The result was about 20 miles of corn from Dunnington to north of Kentland, Indiana being tangles up or rather down. This is west of US 41, where several our farms are, so we are in the middle of this mess.
The good news is that the corn did not die; it continued to grow, with the ears filling out fairly well. The bad news is it is a real.....well let's just say it's a pain to pick. We are going one mile an hour and can only pick it one way. That means at the end of the row, my father-in-law is driving the combine all the way back to the beginning of the field to pick the next round. Not too efficient on time, fuel, or energy of the human kind. There is a bit of a silver lining in that we are breaking in a new drying system, so the corn coming in slow helps with all the hiccups we have been having with it.
Here are some pictures of the first field we are picking. I am sure there will be more.
But it is all worth it to see the semi filling up with this lovely gold stuff!
I kind of liked this picture
See, the corn ear doesn't look too bad. It's long and filled out. According to the experts, though, the rows of corn should not be spiraling. They should be in straight lines and tighter, which means each row is a few kernels short.
Sadie doesn't much care though. All she knows is that she has a new healthy toy to play with and chew on! This girl loves her corn!
Very interesting post, Lana. I learn so much from you. I'm just glad that the corn continued to grow--even though it was very hard to harvest... Looks great though... Congrats!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Dad put his reel on the combine as well but so far hasn't had too much downed corn. Good luck and be safe out there!
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never thought about having to harvest tangled corn. Great post Lana. I sure learn a lot from you too...one of the great things about blogging :) Hoping the rest of harvest has more silver linings.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never thought about having to harvest tangled corn. Great post Lana. I sure learn a lot from you too...one of the great things about blogging :) Hoping the rest of harvest has more silver linings.
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ReplyDeleteI have a corn question. This weekend my cousins and sister and I stopped at some farm stands out our way and we saw the beautiful "indian" corn. We were wondering, how does that get made? Is it a type of corn? Does it grow that way? Chemicals? Minerals? Hand painted? (haha)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! But what a pain to pick, huh. Hopefully next year the twisting storms will stay away from your fields! I'll be interested in watching them pick the soybeans in our field. The pods grow right down along the ground. You'd think it would be a touchy thing to get the head down that far without getting stuck in the soil. Well, we'll see. Beautiful corn photos!
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting the corn picked. Here in PA we are dealing with wet wet wet fields. The guys haven't been able to get in them for weeks and boy are they frustrated. Today is a semi-sunny day that we have all been looking forward to. My husband said perhaps tomorrow they will try to get in with the combine but probably will result in ruttin' the fields up and having to be pulled out. "All we need is 10 weeks of good weather and we would be done" he says...ah the frustrations of the farmer and his wife. :) Good luck to you!
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