Highlights of soybean harvest 2015

For all you farmers out there, our total farm average looks like 56 bushels/acre, which is pretty consistent with what we've been getting the past few years. Some fields went as high as 65 and the low end was 45. The couple fields on the low end seemed to have a lot of white mold.

Now that we got that out of the way, here are a few highlights of soybean harvest 2015:

1. It went fast! 540 acres harvested in about seven days.

The guys have sort of a running discussion every year of whether they prefer to harvest beans or corn. From my perspective, I like beans better because of how quick it can be. Also, beans can only be harvested during a certain time of the day, so it makes for more reasonable hours. They take on moisture from the air, so they become "tough" for the combine to handle after dark and need to dry out in the morning. Similar to mowing lawn - the grass just doesn't cut nicely unless it's dried out. Of course there's still maintenance that needs to be done every day, so they're still really long days. Just not like corn where you literally could keep going day and night until it rains.

2. No major breakdowns.

With so much equipment (two combines, three grain trucks, auger to fill the bin) and it's all running for a LOT of hours, there's bound to be things that wear out and break. The question is always the scale of the breakdowns. There weren't any major ones during soybean harvest, so the guys were able to press on every day.

This picture is what Ben found when he emptied his rock trap the last day - a deer antler! That's a rare find! The rock trap is REALLY important when combining soybeans. The bean pods are all the way up the stem of the plant, so you need the combine to cut it off as close to the ground as possible so you don't miss any beans. That creates a potential for rocks to come into the machine. If a rock went past the rock trap, the whole machine would basically become scrap metal because of how much damage it would do. Yikes! 

3. Fall in Wisconsin. Need I say more?

It's been a gorgeous week to spend out in a field! The girls and I didn't get out there all that much during soybean harvest, but the times we did was a lot of fun. I got to run the weigh wagon that we were borrowing to get accurate results of our tests. Molly (2 years old) confirmed that she is still freaked out of the loud noises from the equipment. However, she LOVED playing in the pile of beans that was accidentally spilled. With a crop farm, there aren't as many tasks that the whole family is involved in, so we take advantage of the fieldwork that is conducive to us tagging along. We're glad that we still have corn harvest to look forward to so we can spend even more time out there.

4. I get to analyze!

I'm such a nerd. I enjoy creating spreadsheets to analyze data. We had two soybean tests this year. One was just a plot to test different types of seed. We haven't done one in several years, so it was a good exercise to compare the options side-by-side. This is especially important while margins are tight right now to make sure we are maximizing our profit potential. The other test was to compare different planting methods and see if we want to invest in a new planter. It would be nice to take more time in the slower winter months to do these sorts of things, but the seed companies give the best discounts if you order early because it helps them plan and assess their inventory. Once again, it's important to take advantage of this to maximize profit potential with tight margins. We have to balance the rush of earlier purchases with the need to still analyze the information to make good decisions. (more information about the tests to compare planting methods will come in a later post...)



They finished beans on Saturday, spent Sunday afternoon and all day Monday getting equipment switched over to corn. It was supposed to rain last night into today. I asked Ben what he thought of the possible rain day. He responded that he is excited to put all the tools away. Excited to put the tools away?! I had to make sure my jaw wasn't hanging open. He generally thrives in a state of disarray... Things must really be bad if he is looking forward to cleaning of any sort!

Alas, clear skies this morning so they are picking corn. Putting tools away will have to wait!