As I said last week in my blog, ready or not…harvest is here! We started crimson clover harvest this past week, and we should hopefully finish up in a few days. We had about 140 acres this year, and it will take us about 5 to 6 days to finish it all up. 
For all you farmers who think that is a really long time to take to combine…in our own defense we had a bunch of small fields in crimson this year. Which means you can’t be nearly as efficient as you would like. More corners in the field means more time turning and less time harvesting. And believe me, it all adds up! Still it is wild to think that this crop was planted last fall. We took 10 months worth of cultivation, scouting for disease & pests, fertilizing, spraying, walking fields again…all just to take only a few days to get the whole crop in and off the land.
This is the view from the cab of the windrow going into the header of the combine. Crimson Clover is really really dusty and the dust is really really itchy!! Makes me glad every year that we have combines with cabs, unlike the “good ol’ days!” Although if you’re like me and out in the field instead of in the cab…you still get that good itchy feeling every time you work on a machine! You can say after a day of harvest there is no water wasted on me!
This is the view looking from the inside of the combine out the back window into the grain tank. The seed is brought up through the header, the material is then rubbed together with the straw and the seed falls out of the bell shaped casing it has around it. Then the seed is augered up into the grain tank, where it will be them be dumped into a truck and taken to get cleaned and bagged.
This is what the clover seed looks like, the golden colored seed is what we are after. The off type colors are usually under developed seeds. Also you can see that we didn’t quite get all the bell shaped casing out, those are the larger fury parts in my hand.
So just a few more days and we’ll be all finished up with our second crop. First Peas, now crimson and next up perennial grass seed. Hope everyone has a great week!
Category: Agriculture
Whew…What a Whirwind!
Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile….below are all my awesome reasons why…
First there was some big event…that had a lot of prep work!
After lots of help from friends and family….We tied the knot!!!
After that…we abandoned the farm for a more humid climate…Hello Costa Rica!
Then returned only to find that in fact, crops do not wait for anyone! The crimson had been swathed while we were gone and now it is time to combine!
Meanwhile the 4th of July hits, and with this our small little town is transformed into a mecca of rodeo craziness! Welcome St. Paul Rodeo Fans!
And of course we had to go in the parade with the hot rod! Where we won first place! 
There you have it folks, all my great, fun, awesome reasons for not having time to blog the last couple of weeks! So happy 4th of July, I hope it was a great day of Independence for everyone and enjoy a wonderful weekend!
Signing off now as Mrs. Brenda Frketich (And don’t ask me how to say my new last name, I’m still practicing how to say it myself!)
ps…Thank you Murray Photography for the amazing wedding photos!!!
Peas…From our Field to your Freezer
We grew peas for the first time this year. They are for a company that will take them from our field, clean them, freeze them and then they will end up in grocery stores for you to buy! Here are some pictures from harvest just yesterday.
I’ve always tried to be honest about good and bad times on our farm. And this time our yields weren’t quite up to snuff you could say. We had a lot of pea pods that look like the picture below. It hurt our yield, but I learned a lot, and I know next year will be better!
You can see that some of the peas aren’t sized up. Each one of those small peas is lost income for this crop.
The picture above is all the trash left behind by the combines (harvester), lot of vines and pods.
The vines go in the combine and go through a large roller that opens the pods and separates the peas from the trash. Then the peas are put into this tank.
Next they are transferred into a wagon, then into a truck, and finally the to the plant where they will be processed for your freezer!
NuttyGrass 