15 Jul Janel: That’s the way harvest is sometimes

Western Kansas—Lately, we just can’t get any field time. It’s a nuisance. We’ve got so much work to do but can’t be in the field because of wet conditions. I know that’s just the way harvest is sometimes and over the years I have learned to accept it.

It’s now July 10 and I feel like it’s been way too easy of a summer. I remember the summer harvest when I was 16 years old. We worked every single day. It was a very busy summer and the wheat was very good everywhere we went. Busy is better. Slow is slow. I know we’ll pick up the pace and get moving along but downtime is hard on us and the farmers. They want their wheat cut. They are always glad to see us arrive but they’re always more glad to see us finish and move on.

The wheat has been yielding decent. The growing season was a drought and then the rain has come at the worst time—right now. I cut a field that made around 40 bushels per acre and it was the shortest 40-bushel wheat I’ve ever cut. I also cut a half section that made 56. That’s amazing for dryland wheat on a drought year. The test weights have been 58 to 63 pounds per bushel and the protein 13.0 to 16.1%.

I’ve been staying busy cooking meals for the crew and serving lots of homemade ice cream. We serviced the equipment and did some repairs. I’m rested up and ready to go to the field.

Our forecast now finally looks better with highs in the 80s and 90s and mostly sunny. I have a feeling we’ll be back to getting wheat cut and staying busy for a long time. Farmers in the north are wanting us in a few days. We’re very pushed to get wheat harvested at this time.

Janel can be reached at janel@allaboardharvest.com.

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