Harvest!

So I've been meaning to do this for a really long time. I was telling Katrina all of my harvest stories and I decided I'd better write them down to share with you all.

This past summer I drove swather and combine for an old family friend. As a farm girl, you'd imagine I'd know all about farming, but I never really got into the harvest part of it because it's really pretty boring and money wasn't a concern for me before my Dad quit. So I had some experience driving farm equipment, but not much. I'd worked the past 2 summers at the grain elevator and I just couldn't take it anymore, but you make more money working those long harvest hours so I thought I'd agree to driving combine for a change of pace. My Dad had worked for Chris for a while while between jobs so I had no problem getting a job with him (he's usually short-handed anyways).

Work started in late June with swathing. Chris is a grass farmer, one of the ones people on the news complain about all the time because he has to burn his crop stubble in order to make a profit. If I sound a little bitter, I am. It's not that I don't understand where these people are coming from, health problems are legitimate. At the same time people make it sound like field burning is just a luxury that allows a farmer to make more money. No. It allows a profit. Period. Wheat prices are the same as they were 20 years ago. Think you can make money selling lentils? Or even barley? Generally no,unless you have one of those hyper-mega farms, maybe then. Not that I'd call Chris' farm small. It's tough is what I'm trying to say, and since you can't make a profit feeding the world you do it growing golf courses. And you've got to understand that farming is more than an occupation. It's a way of life. It's something families do for generations. There is some sort of connection to that lifestyle. It's tough when a farmer is forced to quit. Especially when it's been in the family so long. My Dad was happy to quit and find an office job. Farming is tough. He likes having insurance and benefits and vacation time. He doesn't miss the stress of farming at all. And it was still tough. I could tell.

But enough of that. A lot of people get confused about grass harvest. It's not grass you harvest, it's the seed. You can then sell that seed to golf courses or people who want a front lawn or something via some provider. That's my understanding of it. In order for this to work, you have to cut, or swath, the grass at the right time and then let it cure in the sun for a while before harvesting it. And that's what I was doing in June and early July.

I don't have a picture of one, but swathers are quite a bit smaller than combines and way more meneuverable. I could hop on one and drive it around with no problem now, but it really was difficult to learn.