Wheat Harvest 2010
I just realized that I never reported on the wheat harvest this year. Let me give you the review in hindsight!
First, harvest was late. We had mild temperatures at the start of the summer with some extra moisture. While water is great when the wheat is growing, it isn't very helpful when you're waiting for the heads to ripen and dry. Harvest normally happens around the beginning of July, but this year was put off until about the middle of the month. This is actually the second year in a row that harvest started late - is it a new trend?
Harvest seemed to pass smoothly for our family without any major hiccups . . . except for that combine being broken down for two days . . . otherwise, all ran smoothly! For more details about wheat harvest, check out my post from last year's harvest.
Although the crops had looked pretty nice in their fields, many farmers were unpleasantly surprised to find they had frost damage, rust (fungus), and mosaic (virus). All those things lower the yields of the crops and their quality. It doesn't make us feel any better that our pain was shared with other farmers in our area. Did any crop yield the desired 60 bushels per acre? I don't know, but I doubt it.
Every year, farmers plant a crop and do their best to tend it until harvest. No matter how much sweat and hope the farmer puts into the crop, the actual production depends more on weather and natural phenomenon than on the actions of the farmer, though. So the farmer waits most of the year, hoping that frost, hail, or disease doesn't wipe it all out. Finally they reach harvest and take that first sample to the grain elevator . . . Did all their work pay off or will they have another hard year? I think farming is one of the hardest jobs and requires the most faith. Many people out there think that the family farmer is gone, but they're still here, still trying to provide a staple and some years barely making ends meet. I hope if you ever meet a farmer, you will give a nod of support and maybe even strike up a conversation - they have an interesting perspective on the world!
First, harvest was late. We had mild temperatures at the start of the summer with some extra moisture. While water is great when the wheat is growing, it isn't very helpful when you're waiting for the heads to ripen and dry. Harvest normally happens around the beginning of July, but this year was put off until about the middle of the month. This is actually the second year in a row that harvest started late - is it a new trend?
Harvest seemed to pass smoothly for our family without any major hiccups . . . except for that combine being broken down for two days . . . otherwise, all ran smoothly! For more details about wheat harvest, check out my post from last year's harvest.
Although the crops had looked pretty nice in their fields, many farmers were unpleasantly surprised to find they had frost damage, rust (fungus), and mosaic (virus). All those things lower the yields of the crops and their quality. It doesn't make us feel any better that our pain was shared with other farmers in our area. Did any crop yield the desired 60 bushels per acre? I don't know, but I doubt it.
Every year, farmers plant a crop and do their best to tend it until harvest. No matter how much sweat and hope the farmer puts into the crop, the actual production depends more on weather and natural phenomenon than on the actions of the farmer, though. So the farmer waits most of the year, hoping that frost, hail, or disease doesn't wipe it all out. Finally they reach harvest and take that first sample to the grain elevator . . . Did all their work pay off or will they have another hard year? I think farming is one of the hardest jobs and requires the most faith. Many people out there think that the family farmer is gone, but they're still here, still trying to provide a staple and some years barely making ends meet. I hope if you ever meet a farmer, you will give a nod of support and maybe even strike up a conversation - they have an interesting perspective on the world!
Posted by Susan at July 28, 2010 
Categories: Farming
Tags: haxtun winter harvest yield phillips county wheat rust virus colorado mosaic
Categories: Farming
Tags: haxtun winter harvest yield phillips county wheat rust virus colorado mosaic
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