It is with colorful gratitude that I tip my hat to farmers of Wisconsin and the farmer in particular who plants and harvests in 70 + acres surrounding our house.
Thank goodness this year’s soybean harvest time waited until all of our windows were in and closed up. It looked like a lovely, extra breezy fall day. Day 3 of finally drying out from the rainy weekend.
Perfect for the windows to be open and clothes hung out on the line.
Nope…
Not gonna happen when a man-made dust storm appears.
Can you imagine driving one of these huge combine machines, and staying within the lines, without plowing over the properties that surround the fields?
How does he see where he’s going through the dust, I’ll never know.
He rounded this corner, and a rabbit who was hiding in the field took off running to the right. I watched it instead of taking pictures!
What’s the draw to soybeans anyhow? (Type in soybeans and Google search grammatically incorrect questions appear).
This year, for our Wisconsin farmers, the planting of soybeans was likely due to a late start to the season. Soybeans can be planted late enough and still harvested before the snow flies, corn requires more time.
What do we make with soybeans anyhow?
Since we have our first snow (that four-letter swear word) predicted for the weekend, the farmer needs to harvest his crop before then.
When did soybeans appear as a crop for the US?
After a long period of time, it appeared something in that big combine broke down. It’s not like he can call AAA to tow it somewhere?
I can imagine that it isn’t cheap to repair the machines either. In 2014, similar Case IH combines were running between $330k and $500k. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for an easy repair.
Goodness knows, there are a lot of kiddos waiting for soybean crops to be harvested. The fun factoid for me is that the big draw to soybeans is a colorful one.
At 70 + acres = 5,765,760 crayons or the equivalent of 90,090 boxes of 64 crayons!!
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday (I figure if my post is under 400 words, it counts!!)
PS – What product have you found interesting that is made from soy? Have you ever driven a combine? What’s your favorite color in the box of 64 crayons?
I couldn’t imagine myself driving one of those big monsters. I would probably be plowing into every home in the area.
Happy day Shelley.
LOL – but…you do drive a big vehicle, I bet you could do it! 🙂 Happy day to you too, Drew!!
Haha . You forget I am a beach boy. Perhaops those sand dune buggies.
LOL – that would be funny to watch two or more of these combines act like a sand dune buggy!!
LOL
Love a farming post Shelley. I would hope the farmer would let you know he was going to harvest.
Thank you Brian. Nope, as far as we can tell he just shows up when the weather permits.
That’s not very neighbourly. Imagine if you did have washing on the line and weren’t at home. We asked K’s neighbour to let us know when she was going to spray the macadamia trees so we could not be there when the poisonous spray drifted onto her place.
Yeah, I’ve thought that many times. I have had laundry on the line a few times when he’s shown up. Fair weather is a hot commodity in our neck of the woods. You’re fortunate your neighbor is willing to keep you updated!
I reckon you could nag a bit so he would lol
I’ve never met the farmer – the land surrounding us is owned by my in-laws, but…I could ask them to nag the farmer!!?! 😉
That’s sounds like a plan 🙂
Here are few arguments…but he was harvesting , not applying persticides.
At European level, there is a European directive that requires states to develop a safety perimeter, between pesticide application areas and residential areas.
In France, the Council of State asked the government to draw up safety perimeters, because it does not sufficiently protect its population. As to what is happening, laws are slow to appear, discussions are ongoing. In reaction to the wave of town halls bylaws, wishing to prohibit the spread of pesticides within 150 meters from homes (distance advocated by some scientists and ecologists), the Minister of Agriculture has proposed areas of non treatment of 2 to 5 meters…
Yes, I shared the harvest photos this time. I did show the pesticide spreading photos earlier in the year. Our lot borders the field, so we’re definitely not 150 meters from it. 🙁
Both of us dreaming of conversion to organic farming…
I wonder how hard it would be to convert the farmer who farms the land into that mode? I would have very little clues on how to start an area covering 70 acres 😉
The conversion is done over several years.
The first years are the hardest. Because production is lower and crops can not be sold more expensive, with the organic label. Hazards due to learning must be overcome.
Initially, it is about decreasing agricultural inputs. In particular pesticides: herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, parasiticides … will be replaced by products or methods that are not toxic for the environment and health. Your cats would be good predators against rodents 🙂
For soy, the concern is to drastically reduce glyphosate. It is present in GM soybeans and in applications. The US soy, even organic, found in all dietary products and vegan, contains a little GMO because there, the glyphosate is not only used to weed, but also to dry the harvest before harvest, to harvest faster.
Replanting hedgerows helps return diverse flora and fauna. Insects, birds … can help eliminate the pests present.
At the end of the procedure, production is less. But often, there is at least the same margin, or even better profitability. (with finance from Europe and the government that helps)
The benefits on health and soil quality are unquantifiable.
Thank you for your thorough and impressive explanation of the process. I don’t believe that there are any such fields like that in our area of the state. It would be nice if the farmers did though.
Anyway, to have the organic label, you have to be in a healthy environment, so … Some trees in groves or hedgerows could make you forget the combine harvester. The planting period arrives (Saint Catherine in November), it would remain the leaves to pick up in the fall … hard tasks!
I appreciate you sharing your advice. We’ve often thought of adding rows of trees. We’ve tried a few here and there, and with the wildlife (deer, moles, voles, etc.) the survival ratio has been quite slim. The weed-like Chinese Elms seem to grow anywhere, but that’s not what we’d like to grow.
On a side note – do you have a blog link? I’ve clicked on your name, but it doesn’t take me to a blog to read?
I have no blog. Because I am normally not very good with laptop, computers… I’m not familiar with the writing process. I am unable to write a sentence without some spelling, grammar and syntax errors (in French as well as in English language). More scientific than literary.
Thank you for clarifying – I didn’t want you to feel like I didn’t read your blog if you had one. I think you’re doing quite well in your comment writing. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Merci! Mais, être qualifiée de sage est un honneur que je pense ne pas mériter. Car chaque jour, je m’évertue à développer, en moi, une certaine originalité et voire une certaine folie. J’aime beaucoup rechercher un contre-pied à toute idée toute faite ou bien à toutes les agressions et idées noires communes dans notre monde actuel. Radagast me ressemble beaucoup!
I had to translate first – I hope my comments translate easily for you?! Here’s what you said, I hope (thanks to Google for translation help).
“Thank you! But to be called wise is an honor I do not think deserves. Because every day, I strive to develop, in me, a certain originality and even a certain madness. I really like looking for a counter-footing to any ready-made idea or to all the common assaults and dark ideas in our current world. Radagast looks a lot like me!”
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and your sense of adventure. You’re welcome here anytime!
I hope that the translation via google makes sense. I often use reverso and linguee too. The 3 of them mixted together, is the best solution to find the good translation.
🙂 Je vous félicite!
Thank you – I appreciate the congratulations! 😉
What a fun post and hope it was not an expensive fix.
I am against eating soy because I do not feel it is good for human health – esp the way it is grown in the US (love our country so much but disgusted by the way we use farming chemicals that Europe would never allow)
Anyhow – I was so glad to see crayons -because IMHO – that is what soy is best for – non food items!!
Oh –
don’t have a favorite color from the big box but yellow-green first came to mind!
Thank you! I’m not a fan of how the chemicals are used. I cringe the two times the farmer here spreads the pesticides. 🙁 I was tickled to see it is used in color crayons, that made my day!
My favorite color is sky blue :-)! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Ahhh – sky blue is such a great color –
🙂 I am with you Prior.
In France, some always taboo words, raise controversy. Examples include: Monsanto, glyphosate, Roundup, excess mortality of bees, transgenic GM soy, isoflavones, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicity, carcinogenic effects …
The total ban on the use of glyphosate as herbicides is not yet definitively decided by the European Commission …
The cultivation of transgenic soy (GMO) is banned in France. Soy foods available for human consumption are generally from French production. Too bad, it is not the same for the feeding of cattle, for which France imports transgenic soybeans …
🙂 – thanks for this – I am still learning so much and appreciate the list – yikes about the transgenic cattle food – maybe another reason to make sure we eat “grass fed”
Prior, I am happy to meet like-minded individuals and to find other people who share my interests. I don’t write English fluently, So excuse me if I am too blunt.
Ok – thanks for the heads up – and nice to meet someone who keeps it real!!
Pragmatism, due to my training and my occupational bias, surely, I think.
At least you were prepared. It does look beautiful before the harvest.
Yes, indeed, we’re happy we were prepared. Just like you, you’re prepared and ready for NaNo – best wishes to you for a successful month of writing!!
I grew up in a region where soybeans [and corn] were big business. I love the look of them in the fields and like tofu well enough. It’s interesting to learn that soybeans became a big deal in the USA in the 1950s. I always thought they’d arrived here as a cash crop much later than that.
Those are the crops we see here in our neck of the woods. Soybeans and corn do create an interesting field to look at as they change throughout the growing season. I found that fact interesting too. And, I do like tofu when Mr. mixes it in a stir fry with fresh peppers. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
I have driven a combine! I was a teenager, I believe it was on a canola field. I don’t remember it being dusty. Maybe it was.
I sometimes bake with soy milk, makes the bread softer in my opinion. You live in a very beautiful place. I can’t imagine a better feeling for ones soul than being surrounded by fields of any crop. It’s the essence of life in my world. I really enjoy this post Shelley!
Wow – that’s great. I had many friends who were raised as farmers, who got to drive the big machines. I enjoyed hearing their stories.
I’ve never baked with soy milk, interesting that it makes it softer.
We do love our view. I like to look out on the fields as if they are the ocean (close my eyes, feel the sun beating on my face, and listen to the wind rustle the leaves of the crops). It is peaceful for sure.
Thank you for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
” I like to look out on the fields as if they are the ocean (close my eyes, feel the sun beating on my face, and listen to the wind rustle the leaves of the crops). ” That’s exactly it! It is like an ocean. I prefer this kind of ocean in my back yard rather than the real ocean (would make me so nervous with tsunami risk etc..)
Aw, thank you! Yes, that is my fear of the ocean too. A visit to the ocean front every 4-5 years generally gives me a fix for a while. All my pictures take me back there and I imagine what I felt like. The warm breeze in our yard works for the most part 🙂
D sad I you can grow crayons…That’s cool. I’ve seen farmers harvesting soybeans in Iowa. It is amazing.
It is quite the harvesting process. An amazing machine that chops, shakes, collects and rejects extras all in one movement.
I love a farming post too, Shelley! And I love all the colorful ones of the crayons and the smell!
Thank you, Winnie! I can see you as you’re admiring fields of dreams, penning beautiful poems laced with colorful words! 🙂
Aww! I guess you know me really well. You’re welcome, Shelley!
Your kindness speaks volumes to me, Winnie!
Mom owned a summer home in Delavan (southeast of you, I think) where Kikkoman had a processing plant.
I don’t know if cornflower blue is still a Crayola color, but I always liked that one.
Ahh, cornflower blue! You remind me how much pleasure we kids got out of crayons … learning the names of colors, pondering over the differences in shades, combining colors on the page … I may just pull out my old crayon box and buy a coloring book!
Go for it and share it as a post on your blog! 😉
Yes, Delavan is about 2-3 hours from us. We passed through there many times on our way to Chicago to visit our daughter when she lived there. There’s the world’s largest Culvers near there!
I like cornflower blue too – it was a close second to my favorite which is Sky Blue.
Such a fascinating view you have. Wow! I’d never seen soybeans being harvested. That dust would have invaded your house – window timing was perfect! I don’t remember my favorite Crayola color, but I do remember the smell – which I loved: the anticipation of coloring 🙂
Thank you. We do enjoy the view. I was very impressed with the windows and the quietness while the combine drove by multiple times. Now our screens are covered with dust…
I love the smell of crayons too!
You’re welcome!
OMG, Shelley. Here I sit in NYC not knowing a thing about soy bean farming! This was such fun to watch thru your eyes … I laughed with pleasure! Rabbits, combines, dust, soy … it’s all so romantic to a city mouse like moi.
I will say that the wind here today is far from gentle … and I’m a great wind lover. The trees all around me are blowing as in a hurricane … and I have to take my cane and go out and walk to my rendez-vous and then home again. I’m going to lick my finger when I go outside and see if I can walk with the wind at my back.
Great you got your windows in … now all you have to do is wash them, right?
Yay – Ellen, I’m so happy to read you enjoyed the post. I feel the same way reading your posts about NYC – I’ve never been there, so it is fascinating to read about what you see there.
When we would visit our daughter in Chicago – it was windy there. I often wanted the wind to my back to help navigate through the crowds. I hope the wind helped you.
Yes, and the screens are now covered with dust, so yeah…it may mean with rain our windows we recently cleaned will be all dirty again. Sigh…
That’s a great photo of the yard/field/combine. Watching the crayon box grow over the years has been a favorite pastime — I especially love the blue section. I lean toward the deeper blues myself but can’t say I have a favorite.
Thank you, Laura. I like how you described the growing box of crayons over the years. I remember that, and was fascinated by the box of 64. So many choices – I personally loved that skin colors could finally be all different colors. It’s weird what we remember from childhood, eh?
Great photos! Soy beans are a huge crop in Michigan too. The combine looked as though it was trimming the tall grass down on the edge of your property line!
Thanks John. I bet you saw many fields cut too. It did look like he was trimming that close, but he only cut the field.
Great overview of the neighbor’s work! I’m not a fan of eating soy, but I had no idea soy went into crayons. Perfect use! As in all things colorful, my favorite is turquoise. And I can’t believe we’re already approaching the four letter word season. Ugh.
Thank you, it is fun for me to watch the farmer in action. When the equipment is working, it’s amazing how fast he can plant and harvest.
After sky blue, turquoise is another favorite of mine.
I know…I’m not happy about snow yet, it just seems like summer ended, and fall hasn’t even had a chance to get going. Ugh, is right!
Almost that time here, Ms Shelley. Fortunately, I am surrounded by woods and McCows. The Cats haven’t expressed an opinion either way. g
Watch out when the cats do get around to expressing their opinions. I hear near the end of October they get more vocal?! 😉
I suspected as much. That is why the kitchen calendar is still on September and I don’t let them look over my shoulder when I am on either computer. g
LOL – you’re a wise man, g, that’s for darn sure! The Bandidos have trained you well 😉
I’ve never seen a crop of soybeans up close before – that machine is huge. I hope snow does not come to fruition this weekend – way too early!
It is a very large machine. The farmer looks like a small spec of a creature driving it around.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the snow storm losing power before it gets here.
I think I mentioned to you once that my grandmother grew up on a farm and she visited here one time and my mom suggested taking her to “Greenfield Village” which is a big museum and historical village (shows where Henry Ford built the car, Edison invented the lightbulb) and my grandmother was walking through the museum and pointing out all the farm implements. They did not have a combine (judging for the size here) but they had every other type of machine, plow, etc. – my grandmother was in her glory, tripping around the museum, pointing out all the farm implements. Not only that, they had vintage clothing, the likes of what she had worn back in the day. I must look and see if I ever told that story – surely I have, but she came home like a young girl who had gone to the fair … years younger than her age recalling her many years on the farm. She was the only one of the 9 siblings who moved to the Big City.
Yes, I think you mentioned that before, but it is a story worth repeating. It reminds me of the moments I treasured listening to my grandfather talk as we walked around the homestead where he grew up. Your grandmother’s life sounds like a fun prompt for you to write about when the snow is flying and the squirrels are hiding and you don’t want to go out of the house. Post-it-note worthy!! 😉
Thanks – I knew I mentioned it to someone – I think I will search my site and see if I’ve done it … she was all aflutter when we got home. We took her out to A&W one night for a coney and onion rings and curly fries. She had never had any of those treats … she kept saying “that was the best meal I’ve ever had.” Being raised on a farm, they had a whole other concept of “treat foods”.
Aww – that’s a fun meal for her to consider a treat! Good ol’ farm cooking – meat and potatoes oh, my, they still remain a comfort food meal to me, way better than fast food.