16 Oct Kimberly: Rain, rain please stop

Well, we finally got back in the field for two days before we got more rain here in North Dakota.

Mychal headed back to Hazelton after spending a week at home to finally start combining. He started on beans as the wheat was still wet from the four days of rain and finished them up in two days. He jumped back over to wheat and finished a few hours before the skies opened up and dumped more rain on us. Thankfully, Mychal finished all the acres in Hazelton and loaded the two combines up and brought them home to start on our own beans as well as a few farmers around us. Unfortunately, we had rain at home and the weather was not cooperating for us yet again. After three days of rain, frost, fog and cool temperatures it took a few days before we could even try to cut. Finally, the sun came out and we were able to start combining our own beans on Sunday. We don’t get to get an early start because of the frost or a little fog in the mornings but we are back in the field and that is all that matters to us right now. The beans we have cut thus far around home are running in the low 40s. The frost has helped dry out the stems making it easier to cut. We don’t want to see the frost in the beginning process but right now we don’t mind it. Soybean stems can get wet with a gummy texture where they just don’t want to cut off easily, so the early frost we have had has helped the cutting conditions.

Logan and Cole are still in Westhope and finally got to turn a wheel yesterday as they too got rain. They did get to run for a day a half between rains so they got the wheat done and got to start on beans right away. The beans up there are running anywhere from 25 to 30 bushels per acre.

Roger has been cutting canola out in New England for quiet some time and has finally wrapped up that job. They will be moving one machine to Elgin, North Dakota, to cut beans and then move on to corn. The other two machines will head to Jamestown, North Dakota-area and start cutting beans as soon as they arrive.

I wish I had more to chat with you all about, but with a two-week rain delay it seems as if I am only repeating myself in the last two articles. Hopefully the next one I have more to give.

Kimberly Neumiller can be reached at kimberly@allaboardharvest.com. 

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