at last we are done!

This was a year like no other in memory. We started in planting late and ran in the rain and mud everything we tried to do all year. We raised a good crop but paid for it dearly with worry and concern. As we could see the end getting closer the sense of urgency became greater and I became increasingly anxious to finish.

Sunrise in the heart of Illinois, when I left the house saturday morning it was 12 degrees by the time I took this picture it might have warmed up some. One last field of corn was waiting for us.


We has picked the endrows and had opened it up in while there were snow flurries in the air friday evening. We were in the field and ready to go.


Saturday was a beautiful day, the mud was gone now, with the previous cold days and nights the ground was frozen solid. We had space in the bins and the race to finish was on.


Cliff was in the combine and roaring to go. I was worried about all the frost but he thought with the cold temps it wouldnt be a problem so we went. He was right, it never gave us any trouble. We dont have alot of expirence picking corn in december when it is 15 degrees luckily.


After helping get morning chores done Nick was in the auger wagon chasing cliff the rest of the day.


Logan and I were hauling corn back to the bins about a mile away. Caught Logan at a slow moment. At this point in the harvest we all felt like we needed a little break.


Couldnt have asked for a better day, everything just clicked along the way we wanted.


Wrigley was there to lend a hand!


And this is how harvest ends,the roar of the combine, the last few stalks of corn, three guys standing at the end of the field watching it happen and thoughts of days to come. We are done, finally! Thought harvest would never start and then thought it would never end.
We are supposed to help harvest the test plot for the local FFA chapter next week so I am looking forward to that. Always happy to lend them a hand. It will be a nice way to spend a day.
As always if not for the help of Travis, who was gone deer hunting that last day but has been helping us for 8 years now and knows the operation inside and out, Nick, who does chores everyday and anything else I ask him to do and so many little things that would never get done otherwise and he is also my backup combine operator, my young helper Logan who joined us in october and has been so valuable this fall and I have enjoyed having him around. Cliff, who claims to be retired but combined all but a few acres of our entire crop, said he would be headed to Florida sunday morning but I checked and he is still in Illinois. Akron services from Brimfield, well, I just can say enough about them. They haul our dried corn from our drying bins to the elevator or river terminals with their fleet of trucks. They kept the bins cleaned out so we could keep putting wet corn back in and get done. Good people and a well run business!
We may be done but almost no one else is. Some guys are still picking corn near 30% moisture. Elevators get plugged up with wet corn on a daily basis. There were guys still trying to finish soybean harvest the last couple days. MANY people here will still be harvesting christmas or later. We are currently under a winter storm watch. One inch of snow tonight but they are saying 6 inches of snow with high winds tuesday. That will bring everything to a stop and there will be thousands of acres of corn yet to harvest here. Its been a long year, a tough year, even a hard year and for many its far from over. We have no tillage work done, calves still arent weaned, no manure has been hauled and so many other projects uncompleted it is hard to comprehend BUT we had a bountiful crop and its in the bins so I still have much to be thankfull for.
bill

Feels good to be done. We got rained out the other day when we were almost done. Took 37 minutes to finish that today. But it is done!

Great feeling isn't it. Neat pics as always. Hope you don't have too many winter repairs to do.

35 degrees here in SC at 7:30 pm Sun. nite, rain forecast for Monday.

KEH

glad ya got er all done bill!!!! lot of guys up by me are still combining corn, but now it slowed way down, the elevators are all backed up and they are only taking 2 loads a day per farm. corns been running about 20% so the dryers are holding things up. mines all done and in the bins. had 40 acres of replant that finally got down to 20 and then came out. averaged 175/bu ac, not bad considering how the year went. final tally on our beans were 64/bu ac, lot better than i thought they were gonna be. n/central /il.

glad you got r done.

I should have been done, but have about 15 acres yet. The end is in sight.

As always, nothing but the best pics! Glad your done. Now are you ready for the snow? JayinNY

Amen.

Vito

Glad you got it all done! Was thinking about posting to see how close you were but didn't want to aggrevate a "possible" situation. Here's to a better 2010.
Jim
PS: Thanks for the great pictures again, as I was able to figure out your operation at some points. Never have got to meet Wrigley though!

Congratulations! It's such a good feeling to be done getting the crop in. Now the grain is in a place where you have control over it. Your potential income can't do you much good when it's hanging out there on the stalk with it's destiny dictated by the whims of mother nature.

I always enjoy the pics. Send us a few pics of the calves after they're weaned. They'll be feeling plenty sorry for themselves for awhile. Jim

Bill have you had any grain bin fires in your area?
they seem to be the norm here this year. lots of people reporting hot spots in bins fan failures anything that can go wrong drying or moving corn has.
neighbor bought a new auger and peeled the flighting off of the shaft trying to move wet corn
twice.

Hi Bill glad to hear you got the crops off. I am just curious about your operation. How many acres do you farm? How many cows do you have? What else are you into? I really like those pictures and I love the harvest season the most.

I think most people on here now that we are just outside of farmington Il as kruser has caught us working on st hwy 78 south of town a couple times. This year we had 800 acres of corn and 400 acres of beans. There is another 60-70 acres of pasture and hay ground. We have 16 cows and we keep the calves and finsih them out, some get sold as freezer beef and others just go to market. This operation was cliffs, I came into it about 12 years ago as he started to retire. We set up a corporation that let me buy in as he worked towards slowing down, it has worked out well for both of us. I live on my great great grandfathers farm but my dad is still farming it. It has been farmed by my family since 1882 they purchased the first part of it in 1894 and then more in later years.
We are a pretty average operation around here. There are farms with newer shinner equipment and smaller farms with smaller older equipment. Cant say enough about the people who have helped me out along the way. Cliff helped me alot, if not for him I would be farming with dad and working off the farm. Travis is a professional fireman. 24 hours on duty, 48 off. When he isnt at work he is around the farm helping out. After all this time being around here, he just knows what to do. Nick is a technical writer at Caterpillar in peoria. He is here every evening to help with chores. Spends all weekend working with me taking care of whatever needs to be done. I can pick up the phone and he will take care of anything that needs attention. Logan started working on the farm this october. He has been a nice addition to the operation. He is still in high school so he is around on the evenings and weekends. It is hard to find a young man who has been around livestock and farming and likes to work. I am lucky enough to have great help, they are more like friends than hired help. Farming is a great life. Its not a 8-5 job. We have a running joke that if we dont put in 12 hours its only a half day. We are about to wind down for the winter which is ok. I think we can all use a break. It snowed last night. Maybe an inch or so. It looks very nice out there. Glad to be done with harvest.
bill

Bill,
Great photos and great narration, you tell it just as it is. I farm in southern Mn. The kids are all grown and away from the farm, just wasn't their cup of tea. Been farming the farm that has been in the family since 1881 so know what you are talking about, lots of family ties and I will be the last. We got some beef cows and raise the calves to market weight also. Keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us informed.
Dave

Great photos and story. Glad you've got cab tractors to work the harvest when its so cold.

Give Wrigley a pat and a scratch for sticking it out in cold weather.

Thanks to all the farmers for putting food on our tables.

Bill you are one of the lucky few around. Were still working at getting it all in. Its been slow going drying everything. Finally this weekend put some in the bin without drying but its still about 17 percent. There is no way we can get done before the snow hits and suppose to have high winds along with it. Hope the corn stays standing.

Dryer fires have been a problem. I know of 2 in the area one a total loss the other just an inconvienience.

Feels good don't it? I finished up a week ago tonight. Been super busy everyday since though,trying to catch up on everything that got behind while I was picking corn.

Always enjoy your photos and related story.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Great pictures!! What a relief too...Thanks fro posting them!! Charles

Sounds like a nice operation. My FIL farms 150 acres in Ohio and I help him when my day job permits. He is talking about cutting back and turning some things over to my wife and myself. I am anxiuos to get more involved in the farm but my day job is taking a lot of my time. I am looking to find a 40 hr a week job so I can spend more time on the farm.