22 Aug Ruts on Ruts

Grafton, ND – They say you learn something new every day. Well, yesterday I learned that there is truly no shame in turning your rear-wheel assist on and leaving it on throughout the entire field. It’s better to be safe than sorry, right? That is the name of the game with these wet fields. We are all but tip-toeing through these fields and sometimes, even our tip-toes sink. The protein has remained between 14 and 15 for content so the farmers are being more lenient than usual with the moisture (rather than only cutting at 13 percent or lower, somewhere in the 14s works to ensure the wheat comes off the field). The kick they receive for having high protein more than makes up for it.

Yesterday, we field hopped. We would make a pass, take the sample to town and see if a second pass was possible. The first field has a 16.2 percent moisture reading so that was a no-go. The second field had a 17 percent moisture reading so our odds were decreasing rapidly. The third field we tried had a great moisture reading, 13 percent! The only problem was that the ground was as soft as a sponge and couldn’t hold the combine up for longer that 500 feet. We got so stuck that it took a tug with Farmer Brian’s four-wheel drive tractor plus another tug from our very own four-wheel drive Versatile that we had to fetch from our farm.

The final attempt at combine progress was me taking the unstuck combine 10-miles west to another farmer’s field, Farmer Lloyd. Half a pass later and I was on the verge of getting stuck. In the words of Dad, “We’ve banged our heads against the wall enough today, just park it.”

Bread Count – We no longer haul the grain for the farmers because they all have their own trucks, so I must discontinue the bread count. But we had a good run!

Quote of the Day – “Suck it up buttercup, we are finishing this field.” (an attempt at giving the combine a pep talk)

Towing the rope.

Sunk to the frame.

Got a little lean to it.

These photos are starting to look familiar, I can imagine.

4-wheel drive to the rescue!

Blowin’ smoke.

Dad and Farmer Brian, discussing the situation at hand.

And some more ruts.

Checking out the wheat.

Green stubble.

Almost my favorite part of the day! Can you guess what it is?

Unloading on the go.

Ahh yes, sunset love.

There goes another day.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. You can contact Steph at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.