Wheat Harvest Part 1

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Last week Harland started harvesting the wheat. Planted last fall, it came up, turning the field into lush green lawn. Last winter it died back in the cold, but in the early spring, it began to grow again. Finally it grew grain  heads. A few weeks went by as the plants died, and the wheat turned from green to the familiar golden yellow.

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Finally it was ready to be cut. Harland drives back and forth across the wheat fields much like you would as you mow your lawn.

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The combine cuts the wheat head stems a few inches above the ground.

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The stems are fed up into the combine where the grain is threshed from the heads. The stems and chaff are deposited out the back, while the grain goes into the hopper or storage bin inside the combine.

Here’s a short video:

When the hopper is full, Harland drives over to the grain truck to unload.

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Then he goes back to cutting the wheat.

Come back soon for a video ride-along in the combine as Harland brings in the harvest.

And later, we’ll video ride-along in the grain truck as it’s driven to town to unload at the elevator.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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6 Responses

  1. Alica says:

    I hope you had a good yield! Will he bale the straw?

    • Suzanne says:

      One of our neighbors baled the straw and will be using it at their dairy. And yes, the yield was good this year. Thanks Alica!

  2. Nicole says:

    I love harvest time!

  3. Teresa says:

    Such great pictures. What is it about wheat that makes it so photogenic?

  4. Vivian says:

    Beautiful pictures! My daughter and I were wondering as we watched the video: How does the machine know the difference between the wheat grains and the chaff that it throws out the back? Looking forward to your next video!

    • Suzanne says:

      It’s a gravity thing. The wheat is heavier than the chaff. For hundreds of years grain was threshed by beating it, then throwing it up into the air. The chaff would blow away while the grains would fall back to earth.

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