... The excitement of cutting into the first fields each fall never grows old for Chris Weaver.
"I don't really like to talk yields. I'm more focused on whether we maximized what nature offered us this season," said the Finksburg, Maryland, farmer. "It's all about mitigating stress on the crop. We have had some stress this year. Now, we start to evaluate what practices helped preserve yield potential and incorporate those observations into plans for next year."
Cover crop planting and delivering direct to a nearby corn mill were also keeping Weaver's farm crew hopping this week.
In Minnesota, weather woes continued for Tyler Rath, who farms near Belgrade. The first frost of the season came on Oct. 2. Although the timing isn't all that unusual, the cold snap nipped the tops of some double-crop soybeans. Rain events have also slowed harvest progress of corn and edible beans in his area. Still, he was experiencing some respectable yields on irrigated corn, despite the weather challenges. ...
TYLER RATH: BELGRADE, MINNESOTA
Commodity corn harvest usually represents the seasonal finish line for Tyler Rath. But this year, rains have delayed edible bean harvest and compressed operations. This week he was busy rodding kidney beans -- a process where a rotating metal rod slices just below the soil surface to cut the bean plants at or just below the crown. As a second step, a pickup head lifts, conveys and then places the plants into windrows to dry down further. A separate harvesting operation separates the bean from the plant.
Recent rains and cool temperatures have made rodding rougher than usual this year. It takes considerably more power to move through wet soils, Rath said.
"Typically, we can get through 20 to 22 acres an hour. This year I'm down to 5 to 6 acres per hour. These kidney beans aren't drying as quickly as I like, and we're running out of time for good harvest weather," he noted. ...
Maybe he won't live 825 days. Maybe he will go his reward. Maybe the smell of sulphur will permeate his funeral service. Maybe plants will refuse to grow at his gravesite. Maybe his body will be stolen for use in voodoo rituals.