Well another week is in the books for Crop 16. Is it just me or can a year where floods ravaged us every week to wind from hell in June to disease, grain company and seed company games can a day on the combine just seem to take all the shit we have to deal with away. Oh only 3/4 in of rain the last week one day mist. Harvest at 16% complete as of last night for us. Area same.
Harvesting yesterday with my two sons and my Nephew plus brother and father was so much fun, Maybe thats why we do it because it sure isn't done to make us rich. Yes make every one else but Farmers maybe we just do it because its rewarding to see all your hard work pay off and you know you might be there next year again to do it all over again. Its a nice average crop since GPS and Mapping shows as a example 80 acre seed field over 50 on 50 acres 30 acres any where from 0 to 25. So you have a nice average crop, no bin buster, but a average to pay the bills and plant another crop in 2017.
But wait the fun is just beginning take samples to local elevator grades every where from a 2 to feed. Take samples 30 miles away its a 2. Take samples 40 miles away its easily a 2. But then the seed issue pops up. Mr farmer buy or book your 2017 seed now limited supply of top varieties. Oh you want a older cheaper one we can't sell it any more its decommissioned. Oh your old wheat varieties that fed the world are now feed or lower grade varieties. Then the Canola dockage thing with china. Mr farmer its your problem forgetting that we get charged dockage down to 0%. Its a elevator problem but no its ours. Ah Mr farmer you want to keep your old machines thats nice parts will increase by 100% there keep using your old. It never ends every one else needs so much from you to make a living yet we farmers are left the scraps.
You wake up from the dream of a nice Average crop to realize they are winning and squeezing you every day till finally years down the road you have nothing left. Reality or not it seems thats whats becoming of agriculture . Some will disagree but reality is they are winning and the guys doing all the work are getting further and further behind.
So here we go on the crop report.
Wheat HRS. Most are desiccated or just about done. Crop is changing nicely. Lodged has regrowth. Early sprayed is being harvested now and looks good. Years ago it would have been a #1 no problem but once the magnifying glass comes out and they pick and pick and pick and then say its a #2 just barely, you thank them and keep hauling. Yields if we wouldn't have seeded almost acre to acre would be a bin buster but once you take out area flooded or still drowned out but crop is there its a average at best. Disease is present but increase fan to get the ugly shit out seems to work just nice. Spraying once helped probably should of added fungicide with herbicide for better yet yields. Oh well. Over all its a nice average.
Peas are i would say 95% done and these to will work out to a nice average to below average crop depending on land seeding date and how many storms crossed your farm. 1/3 ugly 1/3 not bad and 1/3 really nice. Thats our results. Geese did do some damage.
Lentils hearing rumours of every thing from 12 to 45. Now I grew lentils for years and the 45 fields I drove buy me thinks maybe under ground storage but hey good on you. Looks like 25 will be great or a average lentil crop just above crop insurance. Grade all over the place. Rookies seem to have most issues.
Canola is going down and swathing is in full force. Most swath in morning then harvest all day gets tough swath at night. AH the strait cut gang. There is lots in the area time will tell on some of these fields, we will take our usual to 90% colour change and then knock it down. Way faster to harvest and same benefits. Some early harvest is taking place on Canola is looking same as all other crops so far a nice average due to flooding taking out nice producing dirt.
Durum wow is all I can say and no its not in the yield department. Sprayed at Flag then again at head and the great Durum experiment is going down in flames. I guess it will be years and years again till we can grow a once nice awesome crop in our area. Fuz is having its way and Fuz is winning.
Corn is filling nice in area and finally is showing signs that its not like ND or SD. It should do good with a few more weeks of no frost but time will tell.
Soy like I said earlier its kind of not the year for soy in our area flooding did hurt bad and for some reason it just doesn't look right. Time will tell.
Flax most are average to below average with flood damage showing up real bad and then the nice fields are way thinner than other years.
Barley is the winning this year should of had half the farm in Barley as yields are awesome. You would of bought more grain bags or bins this year. Oh well next year it probably will be the shits. Most is harvested and binned and looking if will make malt or tank and be feed. What a game.
Oats looks good but rain and oats and rain and oats make not that great of oats. Some will do very well some will never grow it again. Some desiccated and some going to be swath real soon.
Hay guys are getting a break on later cuts as rain kind of was less this week and timing right some guys got some done. Pastures are a 8 to 9 as growth has slowed. One field buy us has about a 100 on with calves and they have been there since end of may still nice pasture.
So over all harvest I would say is in full force. Pulses and barley is done so now on to HRS and then Canola.
Have a safe week harvesting. Lets all enjoy the time in the cab or trucks or swather and dream of how it would be so nice to actually get paid 2016 value for a crop not 1934 value with todays expenses. Yea we need a 60 bushel crop today.
Enjoy a farmers favourite time in the world. Harvest.
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