Custom combining Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Brown Acres Custom Harvesting

Catch The Moment 30 July 23-29, 2014

We’re still custom harvesting in South Dakota. The fields have been yielding pretty good for this area. The weather was a little cooler this week 95F most days. We harvested about 40 miles southwest of Murdo most of the week. We tend to think we live in the middle of nowhere, but these guys are even more in the middle of nowhere than us! Here are some of my captures from the week…

This was the ‘shortcut’ to our next field. Around here there are no ‘shortcuts’. We drove very slow through a very narrow rough pasture. Everybody was glad to be done with this trek!

This was on the way to the field. We had 12 miles of this to drive through. It was very hilly, curvy and narrow.

An old narrow bridge we had to cross on the way to the field. On the way out the combines had to use the river to get across since they are too wide for the bridge.

Some of our equipment moving to another field.

Chevy was prancing with a rabbit she caught as Brett watched. It was such a beautiful day.

Our combines harvesting winter wheat southwest of Murdo, SD.

This is one of my favorite places in the area. It’s such a beautiful spot in Pierre.

I just dropped our dog, Peaches off at the vet in Pierre, SD. We didn’t know what happened but her leg was swollen and after a midnight phonecall to the vet we decided she would be ok until morning. She was bitten by a rattlesnake and spent the night at the vet. She is a great hunter so she probably put up a good fight. The vet said she had a good dose of venom. She is recovering but it is a slow process. Until next week…
Erica

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Catch the Moment 29 July 16-22,2014

We finally caught up with the crew! We are harvesting winter wheat in South Dakota. We set up camp in Murdo, SD – a small tourist trap town east of the black hills along the interstate. The fields we are harvesting are hidden through deep back roads on narrow curvy steep hills. It is not easy or fun to drive the combines and trucks on. The temps have been hanging around 100°F. 85°F at night feels very good! We’ve had pretty good weather with minimal rain – at these temps it doesn’t take long to dry up! We’ve already come across several rattlesnakes. Luckily, most of them have been on the road in the evening. Our 6 year old wants to get back to North Dakota “because there are no rattlesnakes there.” Here are some of my captures from this week…

My cosmos were just starting to open today. They’ve become one of my favorite flowers over the last few years. I love how they get so big and the blooms continue until freeze up.

We watered our potatoes with a sprinkler that shoots water in a circle around it. The black dog, Chevy was not so sure about it. She tends to be by my side in the garden, however this obnoxious thing was making funny noises while spraying water and she was having nothing to I with it.

As seen on the road near Edgeley, ND. I finally got a picture of this happy Git-R-Done guy!

We had to do our 1st wheat field picture of the year. I’m sure there will be many more yet to come.

We had a pink sunset just as we finished up a field.

The dust was hanging in the air, we shutdown for the night within minutes of this picture.

Mr. Independent doesn’t like to be helped with anything this year. Brett road with me in the combine for most of the day. Sometimes I think they only like to ride with mom since I always pack snacks. The 1st thing they do when they hop in with me is dig in my bag for snacks!

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Farm To Table ~ The Wheat Harvest

In celebration of Ag Day 2014 I am writing about wheat for those who are not familiar with farming or custom harvesting. This will be the first in a series of crops throughout the year. I will write about flax and soybeans growing in our fields this season. Then I will write about other crops in our region such as potatoes, sugar beets, canola and barley.

Do you know how your flour reaches your pantry? Travel with me for a brief moment. Our journey begins in May. We are a small family owned custom harvesting crew. Harvest crews come in many sizes with many specialties. We load up our harvesting equipment which consists of combines, trucks, headers, service vehicles, campers, a tractor and a grain cart.

Our journey begins in North Dakota. The destination is Pond Creek, OK – 850 miles away. We have over-sized loads and long days on the road. Our caravan can only travel during day light hours. We will stay in our campers overnight at truck stops or even implement dealerships along the way. We are headed out for the harvest with safety in mind. The further south we go, the warmer it gets and the green crops have transitioned into ripening crops. After a couple of days we see amber waves of grain.

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The harvest is imminent. Soon we will see dust in the air from combines and the sweet smell of harvest will fill the air. The anticipation is incredible! We will be eating most of our meals in the field. We have two-way radios in all the equipment for communication. Everybody on the team is important for the operation to run. We need to work as a team and we must be safe.

Brown-Acres-Oklahoma-Wheat Farmers hire custom harvesters for various reasons. The cost of equipment and maintenance is a huge investment. Sometimes it is a better investment to have it hired out. Some farmers just need extra help and have their own equipment too. We are an intricate part of the crop production. The harvest brings together a network of businesses and people. The dealerships will have special harvest support trailers on location with extra parts to avoid breakdown delays. Small towns will have a population boom and an increase in farm equipment traffic. The elevators will be in full operation and the trains and trucks will be hauling the harvest away. The crop must come off in a timely manner. It has to be the proper moisture content or there will be deterioration of the crop. The crop could be too wet from overnight humidity or a recent rain could also affect harvest. Once we arrive at our destination, we will unload, setup and get to work cutting wheat.

We prepare the combine for the wheat and the header is installed. There could be crop loss with the wrong settings. The wheat heads could be thrown over the header, not cut low enough or thrown out the back. The farmers have a huge investment in the crop by the time harvest arrives. We harvest the field for a sample of wheat. Today we are straight cutting the wheat with a straight head. This means it is not swathed first. The wheat is cut at the front of the header then it goes into the feeder house which takes it to the rotor inside the combine.

The rotor removes the wheat kernel from the head and straw. The straw is then moved to the back of the rotor. It goes back into the chopper where it is cut up and spread out onto the field. The wheat goes onto the sieves for separation from the chaff and then into the grain tank. The sample is tested for moisture content. The sample is usually taken to the elevator since ultimately they decide if it is dry enough. Once it is ready we harvest the crop.

We do what it takes to get the crop off – that could mean harvesting until 2 a.m. if a storm is in the forecast. Mother nature could greatly affect the harvest.

Weather-Warning The longer the crop is left standing the greater the risk of crop loss. There are no days off during harvest. Even when it rains there are repairs and improvements to be made. Breakdowns are costly and down time needs to be minimal.

The combines are unloaded on the go when the tractor and grain cart pull up alongside the combine.

The tractor then delivers the load to the truck.

When the truck is full, it leaves for the elevator or the farmers’ bins.

Once the load has been delivered to the elevator it goes into storage. Usually the elevator will have a train come in to haul the wheat away. The wheat could potentially end up on a barge for overseas shipment or to a local processing mill.

ND-Mill In North Dakota we have The North Dakota mill please visit their website for tour photos and more information. The North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association is the only state-owned milling facility in the United States. The ND Mill processes the wheat according to specs for industrial bakers, restaurants and retail sales. The wheat could be used for bread flour, bagels, pizza crust, or even tortillas. The ND Mill ships mainly to the Chicago area and the east coast. Occasionally the flour is even exported to places such as Korea or Japan. We will follow the harvest north throughout the summer. Perhaps we will see you along the way!

Brown-Acres-Oklahoma-Sunset

For more information please visit US Custom Harvesters, Inc Keep the conversation going by talking to your local farmers.