2009-9-30
Third day of harvest. Had a small hydraulic leak on one machine this morning, but that was resolved before the dew had burned off. It was after noon by the time we could start today. However, we did get some amusement this morning. One of the decoys for Air Force One was doing touch-and-go's at the local airport for about 3 hours this morning. The airport is only about 4 miles away, so they were looping over us a lot. That plane is larger than most of the air traffic we see, plus it was flying low, so it was fun to watch. I think they were testing an automated landing system because that plane did some strange stuff a few times. As for harvest, we changed the second machine over to soybeans today to get more done. We picked a bunch of corn this morning so the corn dryer still stayed busy today.
| Video Cutting Soybeans |
Video Autosteer Tuning |
2009-9-29
2009-9-28
Today marks the start of harvest for both corn and soybeans.
2009-9-23
This month has been dry and warm until 2 days ago. We got a whole 1/8" of rain, and it has been overcast since then. There is more rain in the forecast for the next day or two, but once that is over, we'll get the combines rolling.
2009-9-12
The crops are coming along nicely. We've had beautiful weather for the past couple weeks - full sun, light wind, no rain. The 7 day forecast shows more of the same with temps around 80, but I never really trust those weather guys. I'm guessing we're about 2 weeks out on harvest yet.
2009-9-7
These soybeans aren't the earliest, but as you can see, still very green. The early beans are mostly yellow and dropping leaves. Did some testing on a proportional valve today, which is for steering on the 2588. I just wanted to confirm that the driver circuit would work, that the solenoids work, and get a feel for how big the dead-band is. Everything was successful. How many farmers do you know who have an oscilloscope in the shop? Very handy tool to see what a PWM waveform looks like. Oh, and another beautiful sunset. The picture doesn't do it justice.
2009-9-4
New ADM plant is still under construction.
2009-9-3
The night time temperatures have been low enough to give the feeling that harvest is almost upon us. During the day, it is apparent that we are 4+ weeks away from that yet. Everything is still pretty green. The machinery is getting checked over in the shop, and a few minor changes are being made to the grain handling system. While it almost seems like we're ready to start cutting tomorrow, there is still a lot to get done.