Happy New Year

Happy New Year from your sustainable farm friend!
I have been having a winter overhaul, my mechanic ( a friend and very good orthopedic) fused a few more crumbly bones in my back side. I've been out of the field since September but now back in the game!
Well my first post in 2010 is another affirmation of the righteousness of Direct Seeding. We had a very cold period prior to Christmas that froze our soil about a foot deep. Shortly after New Years Day we had 4 to 5 inches of snow. Then in very typical Palouse fashion the temperature rose and the rain came down. Unfortunately the ground was still frozen. The results were very predictable, the soil not under direct seeding is making its way to the ocean!

It did not take long for the snow to melt
With the ground froze the water left very quickly scouring the fields soil, nutrients and pesticides
From Cow Creek to Palouse River to Snake River to Columbia River
our resource is lost forever!



Here is what happens to a Direct Seeded Field in the same area that still had its residue. The ground was also frozen but as the snow melted the water that could not be held by the residue left the field slowly and almost clear!

It is hard to appreciate in this picture but the runoff is almost crystal clear
(no soil or pesticides!) HOO RAY for the Direct Seeder!!

Well winters not over yet, so stay close to whoever keeps ya WARM!

Tomorrow HAS to be better!

Yesterday Allen only seeded thirty acres because the big wheel on the back of the drill broke off! This morning he said today will be a lot BETTER!
Before he had even got around the field once today the OTHER big wheel broke off on a really steep hill! Then it started raining making the work area like a giant slip and slide with really messy (but healthy) dirt.

If you look closely you can see the level of the liquid in the white tank, that gives you some idea of how steep this hill is. When it quits raining we will go look for the wheel, it took of like a scared rubber deer!

Allen was wrong about today, he seeded only 10 acres. We all told Allen tomorrow HAS to be BETTER, we are out of big wheels!

Some R & R between harvests

The grain is all cut and safe in the bin, a good safe harvest. However the garbanzo beans are hanging on to their growth cycle! We have to "euthanize" them with a desiccate and wait. In the meantime Joanne and I took a drive along the beautiful Salmon River above Riggens Idaho.
This is the top of Lick Creek Summit between McCall and the river. This is only a couple of hours away from our home.
This determined little tree might inspire us , the rock (conventional agriculture) said you can't grow here and the tree (Shepherds Grain farmers and customers) Said "YES WE CAN"!


Allen and Jerry are looking over their Notill drills to start the cycle again!

Harvest weather plus - temp HOT!!

From not even getting to 70 F a week ago to over 100 F this afternoon has brought on a lot of grain. Temperature at 2 pm in the field- 107 F! Nobody talks about a break down, it would be a miserable time to fix anything! Jerry gets the very top of the hill today!



Evening comes with NO breakdowns, were all headed in to the barn! I drove bank out wagon this afternoon, our regular driver Kirk is back to school at the U of Idaho. The combine men are looking for a "replacement" of the replacement for TOMORROW already!??


Last task of the day is to clean them up with a giant air compressor so they are ready for service in the morning at 6. Lights out tonight at 9 pm, home by 10! EAT, SLEEP, WORK - simple schedule for about 30 days.

Restart after "rain rest time"!

Well we sent out a scout to reconnoiter the wheat field and decided to ATTACK!

Allen cranked up our ONE combine and went down into "Coyotee Hole", a bottomless little triangle that is all steep and small.

Sundance supervises the loading of his truck. Do not put to much in, the Port of Entry cop has no humor for hapless farmers who think they are real truckers!

This is farming at a different scale, LB pulled into a 300ac field with 8 combines, 3 bankouts and lots of BIG trucks. They went round and round a while, the trucks came and went like crazy, and in a couple hours the field was DONE!

Rain Delay !

Here is the rain we ordered 2 months age! We caught about 0.9 inches but there were reports of 2 inches. Really don't need it now but it gives a chance to catch up on rest and repairs.

While the kids do the repairs upper management catches a tree!

Got away from the trees and caught what I was looking for. Seniority has a few "perks"! We should be back to harvest in a couple of nice sunny days.

Moving Pictures (color to!)

This is first attempt at video with my new pocket camera. Allen and his 87 year Grandpa Jerry are cutting the HRW that was the star of the previous posts. I learned that like those right hand mirrors on cars the view finder makes the combine further away, I about got harvested!

Papa's comment: "UNBELIEVABLE" Also "The reel goes too fast"

Wheat is a nice yield and EXCELLENT quality, just right for SG Flour. The tractor is piloted by "Captain Kirk" our young neighbor and excellent summer help!