25 Jul Jada: Harvest at a standstill in Bowdle, SD

Hoffman Harvesting is at a standstill in the Bowdle, SD area. We have been steadily cutting until this evening. The conditions have been rough and slow moving due to high humidity, sprinkles and short nights as a result. Now we are bumping green wheat.

The wheat is yielding surprisingly well despite the drought. Yields are ranging anywhere from 45 to mid- 60’s. Protein differs from variety to variety ranging from 13.5 to 17.5. Test weights are from 57 to 64. Some varieties of wheat were really hard to thresh and didn’t stand up well to the extreme heat which essentially burned the seed in the plant.

Soon we’ll be heading to North Dakota to commence our harvest there. Since we’ll need to keep a combine at home to finish here, this means we’ll be split up again. In the meantime, here are some photos of our South Dakota harvest.

For the first time we can remember, we received a visit from someone’s parents during harvest. Oak’s parents took a trip from Scotland to South Dakota to visit Oak and tour the state. While they have been in the States before, they have never traveled to the Midwest. It is always fun to meet the parents and other family/ friends of our extended family.

Kaidence gives our farmer a hug in the field. He just so happens to be her Papa too!

Rain looks like it will strike but then the sun peaks through the clouds; we know once again we have missed another important rain.

It is amazing what you’ll see when you peak in the cab of the combines as they pass. You can never start teaching them too early- or not!

All Aboard Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta. Jada Bulgin can be reached at jada@allaboardharvest.com.