23 Sep Christy: Wet beans

Ocheyedan, Iowa — Equipment is steadily heading this way this week. Gary has about 300 acres to finish in Ray, North Dakota, and, hopefully, we’ll be able to finally start on beans by Brewster, Minnesota, today.

We tried soybeans last week. The combine showed beans at about 13 percent moisture, but the first load was about 16 percent, and the next was 19 percent, so we ended up getting parked for the weekend.

Before that, we were rearranging equipment, changing oil, changing sieves and concaves and preparing for fall harvest. We pulled the 420 out of cold storage, planning to use it in beans, but it unfortunately broke a hose and had coolant flying everywhere. That was repaired, and we’ll be able to get this tractor busy here soon.

With all the shop work needing to be done, we’ve spent a lot time there. One of the guys set Zoey up a makeshift basketball hoop with the skid loader and a large trailer tire. She absolutely loved it. I think it’s really special that our crew is willing to indulge her and help shop time become a fun environment.

With beans still fairly wet, we took time to check out the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. It was so great to see that the devasting flooding that hit Spencer has receded, and Spencer is building back. At the fairgrounds, the fair appeared the same as usual. We went on the last day of the fair, so it wasn’t as busy as I’m sure the previous weekend was.

At the fair this year, Zoey, Anna, Katie and I went to our first tractor pull. It was a really exciting event. We saw one tractor’s engine completely explode, and another tractor whose frame split from the rear, causing the front to fall off to the side. It was a sight I just couldn’t believe. Thankfully, both drivers were unharmed. This sport seemed quite dangerous, but it was amazing to see the power these tractors put out. You can tell that a lot of work and care go into building these tractors.

We’ve had relatively warm weather this last week, and beans in the area are really starting to change and lose their leaves. It won’t be much longer before we see more combines in the fields. I did see quite a few chances for rain next week, but I know that can change quickly, and hopefully it does. I think we’re all feeling ready to get fall started and moving through acres.

There’s still lots of moving around to do, and it’ll take a week or so before everyone finds their place for fall harvest. I’m excited to begin so we can see how this season will look. Hopefully, Gary and Rhonada make it back safely this week. We’ll be thinking about them as they make their move back home.