From the Fields: The best job on earth

We started harvest. Yes, it’s that time of year again, and I’m excited to see what it brings. We started cutting beans on Wednesday afternoon in the first field we planted this spring. It was a late April field planted to a Group 3.5 bean. It was on sandy soil with a gravel base farm that usually stresses easy, but we had so much good weather this year it never hurt for anything. It yielded like we have never seen before. We didn’t have any other beans that would cut following that farm, so we switched the combine over to corn on Thursday and started shelling. It was a 114-day hybrid we planted last few days in April on a sandy/loam soil type that usually produces well for us. Corn was running 22% to 23% moisture, and yield is fantastic. We did notice some quality issues with some ear molds, and cob was very soft, almost rotten, already. This is something to watch with all the moisture we’ve had this year. It could mean some issues for guys who wait and don’t dry corn.

I hope everyone is starting or getting close to starting this following week. I know it’s my favorite time of year to see the yields roll in and feel the weather start to change. It’s such a blessing for us to be able to do what we love and share it with our family. Seeing my wife and new son in the tractor and grain cart warms my heart knowing one day we’ll pass the torch on to him as the generations before him have done. It takes faith and hard work all season long to make a crop come together, but when it’s all over and the combine running with a bin-busting yields, it reassures you that this is the best job on earth. I hope everyone stays safe this fall and has a bountiful harvest, too.

Hope, Ind.