Harvest Time!!!!

[furrowtickler]

So , riders - you had 5 fields all yield the same - lol , Iphone?

[BreadWinner]

This start if this thread was not intended to rub salt in anyone's wounds. I was hoping it would make you think about how you used to enjoy harvest. It sounds like you all have similar experiences growing up.
I too spent allot of nights sleeping in that Fargo grain truck with mom or running the 105 john deere. Still remember those lever to make it go slower or faster. Plugging the header was the shits till dad installed a band with holes in it so you could use a bar to turn it backwards. Boy have times changed.
Freewheat glad to hear you have a bit of help this year. My two kids started helping last fall, they are 13 and 14. Teaching them to run the combine and leaving them in the field for the first time can be a bit scary. They are really looking forward to getting back in the field again. I have learnt to be allot more patient over the past few years because you can't fire your family members. Good luck to everyone this harvest and stay safe!!!

[fjlip]

Not saying the harvests weren't without stress, but as a kid they seemed to get everyone excited and busy. On this farm Mom hauled with a hopper box from IHC 127 and 125 combines for 10 years. I took a turn on same 620 JD and hopper box complete with rope start 6" Versatile auger into those 12x16 wooden bins. In a couple of years drove one of the IHC 403's. Vivid memory of 1968 harvest from hell though, results were damp 60 cent a bu wheat! The best harvests I can count on one hand. And here we go again, watching weather and skies. Good luck to all, main thing is to survive it.

[charliep]

A farming friend of mine was one of the types of managers that kept a close tab on the cost side of their business. He had a process where he could identify the day (in their case even hour) where they had covered their cash costs. They used it as a method to stay positive at the tail end of harvest when sometimes the slugging to get things done got the hardest - money at that point was profit.

[wmoebis]

How did he do that when you don't know grain price, yield, quality or basis until year later? Most guys only price part of crop.

[charliep]

I'm not a 100 % sure how they dealt with the income other than to make some educated guess. He would have an idea of what in the bin quality and quantity wise and from there, have his forecasts on prices.

I am may the only one but big projects overwelm me. My experience is to divide things into smaller pieces and celebrate successes along the way. When I was kid and helped out with harvest, I remember how good it to finish a field. There was likely another one but it felt good to have that one done. That was my friends thoughts on knowing when he had paid. Not exact but a way to celebrate a success.

[hobbyfrmr]

Harvesting one field at a time with one swather or one combine is pretty small thinking, and it doesn't make a very impressive story. You won't see that on CTV news!
Multiples, that's where it's at.
It's weird to see only one outfit in a field.

[freewheat]

Hobby, especially a pull type with a 1976 tractor out front! lol!

[Cattleman]

I guess I am the real hill-billy here. With just one little unit. Even have cows, crazy! lol I like all seasons - calving, seeding, haying, combining. All exciting. I often get frustrating reading all the negative comments on here all the time. Many of you have a line of equipment worth more than our whole farm! No interest here to go there, especially reading all the complaining and stress here. Our equipment probably would generally be laughed at, but the bank account maybe not so much, except nobody sees that.....
A solid family farm, with no hired help, and a strong balance sheet is our stress and risk management.
Have fun and be safe!

[BreadWinner]

Keep the stories coming.... I really like to hear about everyone's operation. Big or small we all have farming in common.

Our farm is a family operation with no hired help, three families. My parents, my brothers family and my family run the whole operation. Even my mother runs one combine and she is over 60. Nothing wrong with getting everyone out there helping if they want to help out.