They call me Big Al. So you want to be a farmer. Well, sure
I'll show you around. This is fun stuff. Hope you don't mind
the damp chill. 
It's
not supposed to snow for a couple of hours so we should have plenty of
time. Just pull the hood a little tighter over your head and get
those gloves on and we are ready to go. Hang on tight 'cause
it might get a little bumpy sometimes.
Nowdays, farming is a business. There is more to the job than
just watching the plants grow. Everything is highly mechanized.
Crop harvesting is no longer just an activity going on in the field.
In todays world market, the demand for farm commodities varies widely
on a daily basis all year long. This places a premium on crop preparation
response time. Equally important is the ability to physically deliver
on very short notice. I'll show you some of the ways todays
farmers are equipped to play in this new arena.
Be prepared for some industrial strength thinking. Crop preparation is a process. Flow control is the name of the game. There are two basic parameters that can be controlled. The most important is the moisture content. Final acceptable moisture levels are dictated by the price structure of the market. Moisture is removed by placing the crop in a heated environment. The rate of moisture removal is bounded on the top side by risks of damage due to over heating. Inadequate moisture removal can have negative effects on long term storage.
Brother John
designed this system for us. The flow is from right to left.
Deliveries from the field can be accepted directly into the input stream
or can be buffered by means of a gravity box. This flexibility accomodates
time and distance factors which are varient with things like field location,
harvester equipment inventory, atmospheric conditions, and crop characteristics.
The crop enters the main holding buffer by means of an auger elevator.
It exits to the crop dryer via floor auger to another elevating auger on
a demand schedule controlled by the sensors of the crop dryer.
The crop passes through the heated atmosphere in the dryer and exits through a particulate separator to a vacuum delivery system. The unwanted particulates are removed by auger to a disposal wagon in preperation for their final disposition. The heated crop is whisked away to an environment that prepares it for longer term storage. High capacity fans move large amounts of air through the storage to remove heat and stablize the temperature.
Removing the crop from storage for delivery to market can also be demanding depending on market circumstances. Again various machines can come into play to buffer the flow and to minimize the turnaround time. In general, semi-trucks should be moving, not standing still. So, much like the pit crew which keeps race cars on the track and not in the pits, so too is the delivery flow system set up to keep those semis rolling. High through-put Kinzee auger wagons when available are perfect for this duty and can fill a semi in a matter of a few minutes. The elapsed time for the semi to take the load to market, weigh and dump, and return for a new load depends on outside factors in addition to miles traveled. But, by the time of arrival back at the loading site, the ideal buffering setup should be ready to start the cycle all over again.
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Other over the road equipment we use. |  |
Out in the field the harvester machines are running. The typical day starts shortly after sun-up. The machines need to be inspected daily as well as they need daily maintenance. So this is the time when most of this lubricating and cleaning is done. This is also a good time to fill the fuel tanks in preparation of the long day. Nearly all the engines are diesel. Operator comfort is important so this is a good time to clean the interior of the operating cabs of debris and to clean the cab windows of the prior days accumulation of dust and dirt.
After these daily chores are thru, attention is turned to the condition of the fields. As soon as proper crop conditions are ascertained, the engines come to life, the black smoke bellows, the belts and chains start turning and it is the start of another harvest day. Harvesting usually starts around 8 or 9 in the morning and continues until midnight or the early hours of the following morning. There is very little idle time.
Sometimes
we harvest soybeans. The combines are John Deere 9600 machines with
25 or 30 foot wide heads. Swaths are laid out on the bias so as to
neutralize the undulating effects of the bean rows. Bias cutting
also allows cutting closer to the ground. All soybean plants are
not alike. They vary in plant height, stem thickness, branching,
pod size, bean diameter, and some color variation amongst other plant properties.
Yield often depends on a good match between a soybean variety and the growing
conditions it was subjected to during the growing season. Many growing
conditions are beyond the control of the farmer so there is an element
of good fortune when a bumper crop comes in. Straw spreaders distribute
the plant stems which come from the rear of the machine evenly over a wide
area.
In early fall, the dry air and Indian summer conditions allow the semi's to enter the fields safely. 50,000 pounds makes a max road weight limit load. How full the semi is at that weight depends on the weight of the crop. Corn is heavier than soybeans.
Before a semi can enter the public roadway, the trailer top must be in position. Usually these tarpaulin tops are unrolled and latched with a crank mechanism at the rear endgate. In addition to preventing spills and blowovers while the semi is going down the highway, these tarpaulin covers offer protection from a sudden rainstorm.
Of course corn is king in these parts. Here are a couple of scenes where we are out harvesting corn. On the left we have two combines in a rolling elevation field where contouring is necessary. This picture was taken before the 1998 tornado which passed over this hill and did severe damage to the crops and trees in this area. Since corn produces significantly more bushels per acre than beans, the auger pickup wagons become a critical link in keeping a smooth flow of corn coming from the combines. In the picture on the right you can see that the combines are equipped with eight row heads so the flow of corn into the combine is quite fast. Unloading the combines on the move is standard practice. Here the JD4850 with the Kinzie monster auger wagon is completing an unloading pass. In the distance lies the village of Kiron.
As soon as the crop has been harvested, preparation for the next year
begins. Fall works continues until nature blows the whistle and freezes
the ground. With todays larger sized machinery and climatized operator
cabs, the season can be extended much further than was previously practical.
A little snow will not usually stop these larger machines.
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Well pardner, here's where John and I leave you. Glad you came by. Hope we made this a little interesting for you and that you might have picked up a thing or two about todays agricultural world. Stop by again, won't you.
| Before you go, you might just want to take a gander at what the countryside
looks like around here. On the right is the view looking from the
highest point in Stockholm Township towards the southwest. Beyond
the trees in the distance you may by able to distinguish the village of
Kiron.
If you turn around and look northwest as in the scene below, you can catch a panarama view of what the southern end of Wheeler township looks like. One hundred and thirty years ago, there were no farms here. It was just acres and acres of virgin prairie. |
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