30 Aug Janel: Cuttin’ canola

Southwestern North Dakota—When the weather is good, North Dakota is a really amazing place to harvest. We’ve been staying busy cutting spring wheat and canola. The spring wheat has been yielding 50 to 70 bushels per acre. The test weights have been around 60 pounds per bushel. The day we got started on canola the weather looked like rain. We had a dark sky and rain clouds but luckily got to keep on cutting as the rain went around us. The canola is yielding 1,500 to 1,900 pounds per acre (below average due to heat and drought stress). I enjoy cutting canola and got to demonstrate canola harvesting on my AAWH Facebook Live video on Aug. 19. I had 10,000 views within a day.

We have spring wheat and canola to cut. There are chances of rain in the forecast Monday through Friday. Jared and Lonny are cutting spring wheat in Montana and JC is still working on chickpeas. Today is Aug. 21 and summer harvest is getting closer to the end. However, there are a lot of green crops around yet. The weather is supposed to continue to be hot in the 80s and 90s so that’ll help ripen the crops.

Janel Schemper can be reached at janel@allaboardharvest.com.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest is brought to you by ITC Holdings, CASE IH, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children, US Custom Harvesters Inc., Unverferth Mfg. Co. Inc., Lumivia CPL by Corteva Agriscience, Kramer Seed Farms, and High Plains Journal.

Cutting spring wheat on a big hill.

Just starting on a half section of wheat.

Harvesting spring wheat. The wheat yields have been good this year.

Cutting wheat.

That sky is so pretty and even prettier in person.

Funny looking clouds around. Hopefully we can finish before it rains.

Uh oh. Rain clouds getting closer.

I don’t trust those clouds. We better get this wheat cut before it rains.

Almost done with the field and got showered out on the last pass.

Cutting a quarter of wheat with a view.

A beautiful day to cut wheat in North Dakota.

Cutting canola.

Looks like rain possibly.

Another mile long field. No rain in our field luckily. Just a few sprinkles was all we got.

Cutting canola and clouds hanging around.

A very beautiful day to cut canola.

I enjoy cutting canola.

Another mile long field. The canola yields are down this year due to heat and drought stress.

Cutting canola in North Dakota.

Another beautiful day of harvesting canola.

Cutting canola.

Cutting canola.

Cutting canola.

I love being in the field and busy.

Such a beautiful field of canola to cut.

Cutting canola on hills.

Cutting the last pass of this half section field of canola.

There’s those honeybees. Always close to a canola field. Finished the field now on to another canola field.