View from the Cab: Loving Harvest
Even though farming can be unpredictable and challenging at times, it is always rewarding to bring in the fall harvest.
Farmers are in it for the long haul and all of that hard work pays off each fall when we see how the corn and soybeans yield. Before we started harvesting last week, it seemed like an eternity ago when we last ran the combine through the field. But once we got going, it seemed like only yesterday when we were out there with the combine and auger wagon.
The crops don’t appear to be as bad as some had feared and many are pleasantly surprised with what they are seeing. All of the dry weather as of late has really helped ramp up the harvest progress around Illinois. We may have started off behind schedule, but expect farmers to catch up rather quickly.
I have heard rumblings of soybeans as dry as eight or nine percent moisture with green stems, which can make things tricky. Someone told me we just need a little rain and that could help. I don’t think some rain would hurt, especially since we are seeing brown grass and large cracks in the ground. We need to start building up that moisture for the next growing season.
Our family is in the midst of the fall birthday season. We celebrated Rebecca’s birthday by going out to eat the other night and we had Kenadee’s third birthday party over the weekend. Kasen and I are waiting for our big days as well. We usually have our fill of birthday cake each fall. That’s why I usually choose pumpkin bars as a birthday treat.
Rebecca and the kids had their inaugural harvest ride in the tractor last Wednesday. This was the first of many more to come this fall. The kids enjoy hitting buttons and helping with the steering wheel. You always know which tractor the kids are in by the flashing amber lights on top of the cab.
The talk around the ag world last week centered around Syngenta. The company apparently reached an agreement to resolve U.S. litigation involving farmers who felt they were left out of the Chinese market due to marketing of Syngenta’s GMO corn seed. The settlement was announced during a recent Minnesota trial, according to Bloomberg. Exact terms of the settlement have not been announced.
(The View from the Cab blog is powered by Petersen Chevy-Buick in Fairbury - Driving the Dream)
