View from the Cab: Hard Hittin'

Area farmers, including myself, have been hitting it pretty hard in the past week.

We worked after dark on a few occasions to make a large dent in the soybean harvest while trying to beat forecasted rain showers. Conditions have to be just right for soybeans – which is why we work the long hours. Beans typically cannot be cut until late morning or early afternoon so this really restricts our time.

Corn is a much easier crop to harvest since you can run the combine a bit faster and can start much earlier in the day. Those area cornfields continue to get cleared out and we are down to only a couple left. It seems like an eternity ago when we switched over from corn to beans when really it wasn’t long at all.

I am hearing reports of a few area farmers completely wrapped-up with harvest and moving on to the postseason fieldwork, such as fertilizer application and tillage. As long as the weather cooperates this fall, look for the work to continue out in the field. I am sure some of the area grain elevators are happy people are starting to complete their harvest since it takes the pressure off just a bit.

Another great birthday is behind me. We had an awesome time celebrating out in the field, as we usually do since it falls in October. Thanks to Rebecca and the kids for bringing us lunch and tasty pumpkin bars. We were able to have a picnic and take a few minutes out of the busy day to have some fun. Kasen and Kenadee loved climbing into the combine cab and looking at all of the machinery.

There is some sad news to report from the Casson household as our beloved mother cat, Tiger, passed away last week. Pets really do become part of the family and faithful companions. Tiger was just that and more. She was as faithful as a dog – often following us up and down the lane when we took a walk or went out to get the mail. She will be deeply missed.