tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post3508052104618781781..comments2024-03-05T23:42:30.151-06:00Comments on The Poor Farm: How Does Flour Come From The Farm?Jeffrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06873138122305060834noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post-74731804607752998982010-05-11T22:27:41.250-05:002010-05-11T22:27:41.250-05:00Oh, man, that's a HOOT!
They probably go vegan...Oh, man, that's a HOOT!<br />They probably go vegan if they ever saw a feedlot!drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post-9441632092001130552010-05-11T22:18:07.831-05:002010-05-11T22:18:07.831-05:00Wheat's fragility is why we are deathly afraid...Wheat's fragility is why we are deathly afraid of high winds, heavy rains and hail - normal thunderstorm effects - just before harvest. The grain can be knocked out of the head so easily, and the straw snapped, putting the heads on the ground below the reach of a combine header cutting bar.<br /><br />I knew some sisters from Florida who refused to eat fresh green beans from a friend's garden because they were too "dirty" - they actually saw the garden. From a can? That was normal, ok, and clean to them. I still laugh when I'm reminded of those two. Damn good looking, but not too much going on upstairs.Jeffrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06873138122305060834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post-39286389742543545602010-05-11T22:07:33.371-05:002010-05-11T22:07:33.371-05:00Ahhh....didn't know wheat was fragile like tha...Ahhh....didn't know wheat was fragile like that. Guess it would just rot, and not be good feed for the critters. I *do* remember seeing the "diskers" in the fields right after they were harvested. Guess that was for turning under the stuff, but I never knew that's what they used. I always thought the "diskers" were just for breaking up big chunks and kind of grinding up roots and stuff, but now I see how they'd work the things back into the soil.<br />I went to Joliet Junior College, which at the time was considered a "feeder school" for the U of I down in Champaign-Urbana, which had quite a good College of Agriculture at the time. I think some of my classmates also went on to Texas A&M.<br />Used to really piss me off when the "city kids" would make fun of the "farm kids", but the "farm kids" always seemed to get better grades, and get accepted to the Colleges they applied to much more often that the "city kids", who just wanted to hang around the Student Union building, cutting classes and playing cards!drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post-71096369467570513762010-05-11T21:53:00.757-05:002010-05-11T21:53:00.757-05:00That's one of the problems with not going into...That's one of the problems with not going into really good detail in a post like this - I had to drop a lot to keep it shorter than War and Peace.<br /><br />There are several strategies for the straw. The SOP is for the combine to be equipped with a straw spreader (think windmill wheels with belting instead of metal blades) at the rear - as the straw and chaff hit it, it spreads the straw over an area approximating the width of the headers, making the spread even. On summer fallow ground, this is part of the ground cover to prevent wind and water erosion. When the ground gets weedy, a sweep plow is used to undercut the weeds and leave the trash on top. The trash will naturally deteriorate during the fallow time, and if the refuse is really heavy, it may be worked with a double offset disk plow to put the trash "under" and facilitate it's breaking down. The double offset leaves far more trash on the surface than a moldboard plow would, which is why it's used in the old Dust Bowl areas today.<br /><br />If the ground is irrigated and needs to be worked right away for replanting, the combines might have a straw chopper mounted that really processes the refuse. It is worked under with a double offset almost right away.<br /><br />Sometimes the farmer might want to save the straw for use as filler feed for cattle. The cheap way was just to disconnect the straw spreader keeping it in a loose, long pile and follow up with a rake to make it easier to pick up with a baler. The new high tech way is to use a stripper header, made by Shelbourne, that just strips the heads from the plant, leaving the straw intact. This is also considered good for the combine, as it doesn't have to process as much plant matter. The straw can then be swathed and baled.<br /><br />And, sometimes the straw is burned - something my father was adamantly against. Burning takes a lot of nutrients out of the soil, besides the danger of fire on the prairie. But sometimes there just isn't enough time to work it under and not have it too trashy to plant again. A drill with the close spacing wheat requires can be clogged very easily by even a small amount of surface plant residue.<br /><br />Then there is no till, which I really don't know much about. I think there are solutions that are sprayed on to help break down the straw that can be applied with herbicides and fertilizer. <br /><br />And lots of guys leave a strip of corn or milo for the game to eat. We do that with the fall crops - wheat wouldn't stand that long and be of any feed value by winter. It's really a pretty fragile plant.Jeffrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06873138122305060834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961111.post-3487695138984324352010-05-11T21:26:31.716-05:002010-05-11T21:26:31.716-05:00I kind of knew some of this process, but not all o...I kind of knew some of this process, but not all of it. Thanks for explaining it.<br />When the combine returns the straw and chaff to the field, does it just lay there, or is there another step to plow it back under? Coming from Illinois, all I know is corn and soybeans! I remember the farmers in my area always leaving a few rows of corn standing to feed the deer and pheasants during the winter. I always thought that was right neighborly of them.drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.com