Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road

[XJSuperman]

Ah ha! I hadn't even considered the Ideal combines. I've pretty much written off anything with the AgCo name these days. Gleaner is a joke in terms of modern combines, and I can say that as I have personally demo'd machines next to them in the same fields.

Loganb, I think you nailed it.

I'll have to look up that fleet of Ideals and check it out.

 

[jblnut]

It is cool to see the development cycle and some thing that worked on came out, some never did...parts of others showed up in various ways

Not sure I'd count the Fendt combines which as I'm told still number less than a couple dozen in North America as being an "equal" to the Deere lol

I worked for AGCO...they make some ok stuff....but combines are not one of them. Fendts....well those don't really count. They're more like Cadillac to GMC....yes they're owned by them and their boss has a CEO to report to....but operate on their own as almost an independent entity and free to do what they want. There stuff is legit...and makes you think Deere or Case is cheap...but dang it runs like a scalded cat from breakdown to breakdown...which aren't that numerous but remember it's German engineering...made in Germany....without a huge inventory in the US for parts....there's a reason not many folks own just (1) Fendt tractor....

The Fendts really shined(at least when I was there) for the big horsepower needs in the row crop size machines(similar to today's 8 series deere in frame size). They were doing a bunch of field tests of big square balers (4 x 4's) and were running the test balers with all colors of machines....but the Fendt machine always got more output as it didn't lug down nearly as much when that big packing arm came around with that next leaf of material. I was told(wasn't there) that they got into some hills in Idaho or the northwest somewhere running alfala and the Fendts were actually the only machines big enough to make bales going up hill lol. The locals couldn't believe it as they'd never been able to make bales going up some of those slopes as they just ran out of ponies...but the Fendts did it without much slowing down...making nice color smoke but weren't close to capacity! That was a machine that cost 75% or so more than it's American built counterparts....but you got what you paid for.

But in seriousness....never been to John Deere's combine plant....but worked at AGCO and spent time wandering their combine area and have been part of (2) drive offs of Case machines so got to spend a couple hours each time going up and down the assembly line and it confirmed to me that combines are an "also-ran" part of the rainbow collection of brands. They make them because they feel like they have to...but don't get the resources(or resulting sales) to do it to compete well. Their dramatically smaller dealer network doesn't help them either and as both Case and Deere push(force) their dealers to get bigger it'll be interesting to see how AGCO tries to respond.

Don't get me wrong....lots of things wrong with green and red too....but the hodge podge of brands under that umbrella has created a mess of a corporate identity that shows little progress in getting fixed.

I was merely looking at the Ideal combines from their listed specs on paper. The dealer network to fix them is more important than .5bu/min faster unload or a little more HP to brag about. I've dealt with plenty German engineering at work and although most of it is really impressive, it is over complicated and sometimes borders on ridiculous.

"I can not even fathom an X9 1100 up here. It'd be a total waste. No fields are large enough for it to be able to get up to capacity." And presents additional problems with enough equipment and people to keep the grain moving from the combine. Awful expensive paperweight waiting to get unloaded.

Tempted to replace u bolts with plate of steel and grade 8 bolts??

7,200bu/hr in high yielding corn is what they claim. 120bu/min. 2bu/sec. I'm not sure why they even make the unloading auger fold other than for transport. It'll always be out dumping corn !!! A semi full of grain every 7ish minutes. If the semi can make a trip in 30min you'd need 5 semis just to keep the grain away from one combine. Good grief. One would almost need a traffic director to keep everything in check

We've done things like that to keep moving when needed. Use what you have !!!

It’s hard to tell what diameter those are but have you tried a leaf spring shop around you to make those? Here in so cal Deaver Spring used to make u-bolts to customer spec. Haven’t purchased any in a while so i can’t speak to them still doing that.

Thanks for posting your pics and stories to let us non farmers live vicariously through you.

They have a 1-1/8" nut on them so I think that makes them a 3/4" diameter bolt. I'm going to look online to order a few more for spares because when one breaks, more will follow soon. There are a few truck shops nearby that I'd think could source stuff as well. The leaf spring shop is a neat idea. I do not know of one off the top of my head nearby though.

Thank you for following along !!

Ah ha! I hadn't even considered the Ideal combines. I've pretty much written off anything with the AgCo name these days. Gleaner is a joke in terms of modern combines, and I can say that as I have personally demo'd machines next to them in the same fields.

Loganb, I think you nailed it.

I'll have to look up that fleet of Ideals and check it out.

Gleaner is a joke ?!?!?! Whaaaaaaat ?!?!? I think they have always been waaaaaaaaay ahead of their time !!! From the day the first combine rolled off the line until today they've been saving farmers money. If you own a "Silver Seeder" you can sell your grain drill and buy a harrow. No need to plant, just harrow. No need to buy seed, the combine will blow enough out the back to replant

 

[jblnut]

Of course Missy had to help load up some Soybean boxes to deliver.


We were going to put two more on the back but there was already almost 16,000lbs of seed on the trailer !!! It didn't seem to mind though and the truck wasn't even close to the bump stops


Next up was to go get some calves from a neighbor. The cattle trailer had a low tire again. That makes it sound like it's the same tire that is low each time. Nope. They seem to take turns being low


The trailer is a good match for the truck. They're both 95' models


Paul (the neighbor with the calves) has a bunch of 2cyl tractors they use. This 830 Diesel got ran through his shop this winter and got totally torn down and mechanically rebuilt front to rear. He uses it on his TMR all summer long as well as messing around on this plow and a decent sized disk.


Hey look !! A brand new 84" Virnig skeleton rock bucket !! Oh, and that little plastic bag has a few dollars of product in it as well ...


This is going to be a love/hate deal. I know I'll love how the bucket functions but I'm 100% sure I already hate the idea of having to use it to pick rocks every year


The girls helped vaccinate and weigh the new calves


It was raining and crappy so we flushed the radiator on the forklift. It was time ....


This is what came out. Yuck ....


Once things dried up enough to disk some more Miss Lily wanted to come with. Yay !! I like little people ride alongs !!!


She showed off some of her acrobatic skills while the tractor filled with fuel.


I noticed a few of the disk gangs were a little loose and one scraper was not where it should be so Dad and I gave it a quick once over while we greased it up.


Loosy goosey !!


Pops pounding out the roll pin that holds the giant nut on so we can tighten things.


24" Proto adjustable wrench wedged against the frame on one side ....


And the 24+48" pipe wrench on the other. I bounce on the end of that red pipe to get it nice and "snug"


I noticed this gang was dragging a bit once in a while and found this. WTF ?? I have no idea how this happened so I'll blame it on a rock getting wedged somehow and moving it out of place.


I loosened the bolt that holds it to the frame and put it back in place. Strange.


Nothing quite like putting your feet up at the office


Disking in some freshly spread chicken litter


Miss Lily rode with for 10ish hours. What a trooper !!!

 

[loganb]

10 hours in an articulated...that is a trooper! I can imagine that the company helped both of your days be much more enjoyable

Thank goodness for the "trainee seats" so have a better place to sit then the lowered arm rest.

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[XJSuperman]

That 830 and 777? plow is beautiful.

Weird thing with that disk scraper. Never seen that before. I wonder how far it would have cut if you had let it go?

I've probably asked before: do you guys do any moldboard plowing? Obviously not full fields, but do you use one to clean up field edges or boundaries every couple years at all?

 

[jollygreengiant]

I love the spring pics! Did you guys get any corn planted? Yesterday was the first big day for corn planting around here.



And as much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to hold my tongue on those ill informed Gleaner combine comments. I guess it's nothing new, everybody loves to bash the superior product.

 

[loganb]

And as much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to hold my tongue on those ill informed Gleaner combine comments. I guess it's nothing new, everybody loves to bash the superior product. [emoji481]

Lol thanks for nearly making me spit my coffee out!

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Jayman17]

I can’t believe your daughter was in the cab with you for 10 hours, that’s pretty impressive!

Jay

 

[drivesitfar]

I agree having my daughter ride around in my car while working (usually looking at land or nice homes) usually took some bribes (ice cream or ??), but looks like your little girl makes up her own fun.

not only do you have all those buildings, bins and critters to take care of, but also all the machines and keeping tires full of air could almost be a full time job for most of us.

I know you are working hard now (you usually do though), but maybe you'll have a rest day once all the seed is planted.

I'm liking to see the sun and better weather as i'm sure you are too.

 

[jblnut]

10 hours in an articulated...that is a trooper! I can imagine that the company helped both of your days be much more enjoyable

Thank goodness for the "trainee seats" so have a better place to sit then the lowered arm rest.

She's awesome !! Likes to help work the cattle and can ride in the tractor all day. Definitely got her Dad's genes

I logged an insane amount of hours on the arm rest of a Deere 4455 back in the day. As well as laying across the back area against this window.

That one. Right there !!!! Man that was the life This German Powered International 886 was the first brand new tractor purchased on the farm back in 1979 and it's not going anywhere. It's getting different rear shoes soon !!!

That 830 and 777? plow is beautiful.

Weird thing with that disk scraper. Never seen that before. I wonder how far it would have cut if you had let it go?

I've probably asked before: do you guys do any moldboard plowing? Obviously not full fields, but do you use one to clean up field edges or boundaries every couple years at all?

Oh boy you'd love to see the rest of the 2cly stuff they have and use.

He uses it during the summer on his TMR
Deere 830 on TMR

That gang wasn't rolling nicely so I figured something was up. Strange things happen out here with all the rocks and junk. I have no idea what happened to get it to do that

The Wishek Disk does a pretty good job of keeping things cleaned up. We haven't plowed ground as far back as I can remember. I'd say early 90
's for sure since a moldboard was used on our ground.

I love the spring pics! Did you guys get any corn planted? Yesterday was the first big day for corn planting around here.



And as much as it pains me to do so, I'm going to hold my tongue on those ill informed Gleaner combine comments. I guess it's nothing new, everybody loves to bash the superior product.

No corn yet. Planning on starting on Saturday if all goes well.

What color are the clouds in your world up there in the Great White North .... must at least be a silver lining in them

Lol thanks for nearly making me spit my coffee out!

I chuckled a few times. Heck, I chuckled when I read it again just now

I can’t believe your daughter was in the cab with you for 10 hours, that’s pretty impressive!

Jay

We played roughly 1,353,986 rounds of 20 questions, talked about why we farm, debated why she was home from school on quarantine AGAIN, agreed that a ballerina/farmer/astronaut was probably the best career path for her AND had all our food gone by 1:00pm so Grandma bought us more !!!

I agree having my daughter ride around in my car while working (usually looking at land or nice homes) usually took some bribes (ice cream or ??), but looks like your little girl makes up her own fun.

not only do you have all those buildings, bins and critters to take care of, but also all the machines and keeping tires full of air could almost be a full time job for most of us.

I know you are working hard now (you usually do though), but maybe you'll have a rest day once all the seed is planted.

I'm liking to see the sun and better weather as I'm sure you are too.

Miss Lily has an imagination that won't quit and I love when she lets me in on it. "Hey Dad have you ever thought if a giraffe and a mouse had a baby? Can you IMAGINE that ?!?!?!?!?" Good grief kiddo. Probably too young to go into details about why that is a crazy idea. Maybe in a few years

The buildings and bins are easy. They just sort of sit there lol. The critters are fun to watch over and watch grow so that is super enjoyable as well


Farming isn't all that hard ..... it's just time consuming. Driving back and forth and back and forth for hours on end isn't that tough. Go that way !! Ok good job, now turn around and go back !! Now do it again !! Good job, now do it all 8,000 more times !!!


The crops like it warm when we plant so it is time for the sun and warm to stay !!!

 

[jblnut]

I backed our "new" tile cart into the shop and it parked itself right over this random piece of metal that looked like it'd make a good hitch. How handy


"Snaps fingers like Millennial Farmer" Look what happened !! It's welded on and the supply trailer is hooked up


When I tipped this cart down for the first time and saw this I got all giddy. That little chain and clip are SUCH a good idea !!! The top deal on the other cart never wants to stay up when I lift the new tile roll up so this will keep it from falling off.


Never one to waste an idea while it was fresh I put a chunk of chain on the other cart as well. This is going to save LOTS of quarters from ending up in the swear jar


Quite the tile train going on !! The fewer trips to the field the better. Especially when we're doing custom work and have to put some miles on to get there.


My skiddy decided it didn't want to lift/tilt anymore so it's troubleshooting time


Does anyone else get all tense and anxious when they look under the cab of a skiddy !?!?!? Good grief things are packed in here


After taking almost the entire machine apart the source of the issue has been located in the dumbest place possible.


That stupid little box $800 box is the ACS Controller deal. The foot pedals and hand controls all wire into it. It doesn't want to talk to the other $1,200 box that makes the skiddy do skiddy things so it's time to drag it to the dealer to do more troubleshooting before I spend $2,000 on parts that "might" fix it


Time to switch gears and mix some cow chow. Pops set this up last fall and although it worked great is was sloooooooooow so it was time to modify it a bit.


By lifting the auger up a little bit the intake auger on the grinder mixer can stay more level and will feed in almost twice as fast. Yes !!!!


Hey guy, there's a large ugly pipe in your yard .....


The first step was to go find some rocks .....


Skid loader buckets are not that willing to load rocks in themselves even when rammed at light speed into the pile. These were loaded by hand. Argh. A good workout though !! Three buckets like this .....


And I had the unpictured hole I dug filled in.


A bit of playing with the land plane and the skiddy and it looked like this. Not bad


This area is next .... sometime

 

[jeepxj]

with an X9 you'd be rocking a bigggggg grain cart and a mother bin at the field edge to keep it flowing. the goal is to never let the combine sit full waiting. farm efficiency is a really interesting art/science. there is always a bottleneck. the goal is to make it the combine.

**** about getting sick. your lungs come back fully yet?



new house? check my list out. might help. might not. if i missed something lemme know.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_E7g5OgAh2KRZWrZ3yGOkZLJm3RG4uE2sGR37HTzvJc/edit?usp=sharing

 

[drivesitfar]

what a great way to spend a long day working on the farm!! your daughter sounds like she's on a path and she's going to take you for a ride with her.

best of luck on the planting and hope the weather cooperates so the little guys can get off to a great start this year.

 

[jblnut]

with an X9 you'd be rocking a bigggggg grain cart and a mother bin at the field edge to keep it flowing. the goal is to never let the combine sit full waiting. farm efficiency is a really interesting art/science. there is always a bottleneck. the goal is to make it the combine.

**** about getting sick. your lungs come back fully yet?

new house? check my list out. might help. might not. if i missed something lemme know.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_E7g5OgAh2KRZWrZ3yGOkZLJm3RG4uE2sGR37HTzvJc/edit?usp=sharing

There goes about an hour watching Youtube Videos !!!

I never got real bad as far as respiratory stuff goes. The only lingering thing so far is the "brain fog". I'll be working on something and need a tool so I go to the far side of the shop and can't remember what I needed when I get over there. Oh well, I go back to the other side of the shop and don't remember what I was working on. WTF?!? Mama Bear has tested this and asks me "What did you plant in the field over yander two years ago ?" "Corn my dear, it yielded around 180bu/a." She thinks I'm making it all up and rightfully so I guess. It's getting better but can go away at any time. This morning I stared at my shoelaces for way too long thinking "How the hell do I do this ?!??!?!"

I like the list and read through it all. I'd say you have a good handle on A LOT of things on there. A heated towel hanger though. How fu-fu-frilly

what a great way to spend a long day working on the farm!! your daughter sounds like she's on a path and she's going to take you for a ride with her.

best of luck on the planting and hope the weather cooperates so the little guys can get off to a great start this year.

I'll happily go along with here where ever she wants to go !!!

So far so good on planting. Things are shaping up finally !!!

 

[jblnut]

The little guy and the old guy are doing chores together. I'm not sure who learned more from whom


Pops spreading chicken litter with the SWEET new Artex spreader !!!


Back and forth and back and forth until it's all spread. Around 5 acres worth of manure fit on a load.


"Do a serious face"


Disking in the poo. Whoo hoo !!


Pops could spread faster than we could disk so he got ahead of us quickly.


Nothing like a nice sunset to share with an 8yr old sleeping on your tractor floor


The next day Miss Lily and I wired the 4wd up for the tile plow. We had hopes of tiling in early March but probably won't do any tiling until almost everything is planted now.


Lily says "Take a picture of all this little colored things to show your internet people." Okay. This is the main fuse/relay/breaker area in the 4wd. It has a passthrough foam deal that we run the tile plow communication stuff through.


I purchased these four 520/85r46 tires on an online auction for $145 for all four. They will fit on the 4wd and are in WAY better shape than some on there now. This same tire is over $2k new for each one so I am happy with the deal for sure !!!!!!!


As you can see the tires are wet and it rained like crazy for a bit. We got a shade over 1" in 15 minutes !! The drain outlet seems to be working well


Dad tried to add air to a low tire and the valve stem was all messed up so we decided it was time to replace the tires on his skiddy finally. I've got a buddy at work that wants the "old" ones so it's a win win !!

 

[jeepxj]

There goes about an hour watching Youtube Videos !!!

I never got real bad as far as respiratory stuff goes. The only lingering thing so far is the "brain fog". I'll be working on something and need a tool so I go to the far side of the shop and can't remember what I needed when I get over there. Oh well, I go back to the other side of the shop and don't remember what I was working on. WTF?!? Mama Bear has tested this and asks me "What did you plant in the field over yander two years ago ?" "Corn my dear, it yielded around 180bu/a." She thinks I'm making it all up and rightfully so I guess. It's getting better but can go away at any time. This morning I stared at my shoelaces for way too long thinking "How the hell do I do this ?!??!?!"

I like the list and read through it all. I'd say you have a good handle on A LOT of things on there. A heated towel hanger though. How fu-fu-frilly

ahh yea heard about brain fog. that *****. hope it passes in time. otherwise guess its time to watch "the machinist" for inspiration on remembering things.

don't knock it until you try it. a nice warm towel in winter is incredible. I dont care how i'm judged for it. once you cross that threshold you'll be using a loofa before ya know it. and have house slippers.

 

[ripperd]

That sounds like an absolute steal for those tires!

 

[drivesitfar]

so Covid made you a senior citizen? I get those BRAIN FOG moments now and again and i call them SENIOR MOMENTS!!

good luck with that.

I think that picture of Leo and your DAD could be framed and titled PRICELESS and I bet grandpa was telling him a story or maybe just a quite moment with 45,000 chickens.

nice work on the field and again your assistant is correct that your INTERNET PEEPS would always like pics of pretty colored wires.

cheers!!

 

[jblnut]

ahh yea heard about brain fog. that *****. hope it passes in time. otherwise guess its time to watch "the machinist" for inspiration on remembering things.

don't knock it until you try it. a nice warm towel in winter is incredible. I dont care how i'm judged for it. once you cross that threshold you'll be using a loofa before ya know it. and have house slippers.

I haven't seen "The Machinist" in quite some time. I'll have to put it on top of the list to watch again.

Oh I'm sure a nice warm towel is incredible .... it's just .... it's a bit ... soft is all

I shouldn't criticize too loudly ... I purchased some super comfy Dockers slippers to wear in the shoffice

That sounds like an absolute steal for those tires!

Two of the four of them will get mounted on the 4wd and the other two will get turned into playground equipment sometime I suppose.

so Covid made you a senior citizen? I get those BRAIN FOG moments now and again and i call them SENIOR MOMENTS!!

good luck with that.

I think that picture of Leo and your DAD could be framed and titled PRICELESS and I bet grandpa was telling him a story or maybe just a quite moment with 45,000 chickens.

nice work on the field and again your assistant is correct that your INTERNET PEEPS would always like pics of pretty colored wires.

cheers!!

Covid made me into a senior citizen

It's getting better but I still find myself staring at nothing wondering what I was doing. Less often but still happens. I've been told it goes away

I think Leo was HOLLERING "Don't step on them Grandpa!!!" Silly little guy he is

Miss Lily is a great assistant. It warms my heart to think that you're one of my peeps

 

[jblnut]

Pops got the last of the chicken manure hauled out of the stacking slab.


Time to put my feet up at the office and dig in some poooooooooooop


Disking in the freshly spread poop


Working soybean ground is usually pretty easy on fuel. Idling along really. It'll use 13-14gal/hr on the chisel plow


Rock picking time !! Whoo hoo !!! I love picking rocks !!! Well not really but you gotta stay positive. I'll spend days doing this so I gotta mentally prepare


Hey look I found some !!


Hey look a big one


We used to haul the Deere 6675 in this trailer and I thought I'd give it a shot again with Dad's S185. It fit snuggly but it fit and having the trailer in the field as well will greatly cut down on my trips to the rock pile at the end far end of the field.


I stopped to use the restroom and thought this was a neat picture. So here it is.


The trailer is full enough to be emptied so I walked over to empty it and bring it closer to the skiddy.


Load #2 in field #3 of the day. Pops is getting close I better hurry up !!


See that rock over there ??


The one ... Right there !!


Seems to be a decent size.


That was all the ol' S185 wanted to do bringing it to the rock pile. It wouldn't lift it and I ended up pushing/rolling it most of the way
\

Much more to come. I'm still about a week behind posting stuff

 

[Farmall450]

Sounds like a steal on the tires, nicely done.

 

[68400BIRD]

What is the update on your skiddy??
Still looking at wiring,computer problems?

 

[Jayman17]

Mike, your rock harvest is going well, you sure do grow some big ones at your place. What is the $/lb of those at market?

Jay

 

[drivesitfar]

great update. BTW that load of rocks would give you enough cash for a nice family dinner if you brought them into the city.

keep up the great work and I bet your fields are going to be some of the best in MINN E SODA soon. tiling to remove water, rock removal and some HIGH QUALITY POOP are a great combo.

CHEERS!!

 

[jblnut]

Sounds like a steal on the tires, nicely done.

We're quite excited !! I wasn't looking forward to the full retail price on them when the time came so this was a crazy good deal. They're not mounted yet so I'm not sure if they leak or need lots of work but so far they look nice sitting there

What is the update on your skiddy??
Still looking at wiring, computer problems?

Next post should show it all ....

Mike, your rock harvest is going well, you sure do grow some big ones at your place. What is the $/lb of those at market?

Jay

Go big or go home !!!

I wish there was a more accessible market for rocks. I'd be a gazillinare !!!

great update. BTW that load of rocks would give you enough cash for a nice family dinner if you brought them into the city.

keep up the great work and I bet your fields are going to be some of the best in MINN E SODA soon. tiling to remove water, rock removal and some HIGH QUALITY POOP are a great combo.

CHEERS!!

Drives .... If I win the lottery I'll ship you a dump truck load of rocks to your front door and you can make millions selling them to neighbors

We actually farm some of the worst ground in 10 miles in any direction

Hills, rocks, wet spots, dramatically changing soil types within a few hundred feet and lots of small fields to deal with. It's home though so we enjoy it. I'd get lost in some of the HUGE fields in the Dakotas and Canada. There are numerous 5,000 acre and larger fields in Canada and lots of 640 acre fields all over the place in lots of parts of the US. Just not here

The tiling helps TREMENDOUSLY and will literally pay itself back this year ... in one year ... Just nuts !!!!

 

[jblnut]

The corn planting has started !!!!


I got a call FINALLY that they had a chance to look at the big white bulldozer and guess what they found wrong !?!?!?!? Nothing


I did find some neat toys while picking it up !!




It rode HORRIBLE loaded like this. Barely fit too with the bucket on.


That shiny nice looking bucket is about to get a bit scuffed off.


8 minutes into using the bucket I found a decent sized rock


Just about dug up the entire field to get it out


Yikes that's a big rock !!!


A size 12 for scale .....


My Mom took some pictures of me loading the rock into the trailer. The skiddy had it's shorts full and barely got it in there !!!




That rock is as wide as Pops S185 !!!


Hey look !!! More rocks !!!


I was trying to dig out the two rocks that are in my bucket and ended up digging out the rest of the trailer full just digging them out


I loaded my skiddy the other way and it pulled WAY better !!


Once the rocks were picked in a few more fields I did some disking in the dark. Gosh I love this view !!


I had to move some soybeans around in the shop and quickly realized I didn't properly bleed the coolant system after I flushed it. Good grief


I purchased this Lisle funnel deal to make it all work again and it worked amazing. Money well spent !!


We picked up some brand new Firestone tires for the 7400 from the local tire guy.


$1185/ea is kind of a lot. Nice tires though


Someone likes skid loader rides !!! Leo enjoys them as well

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

What a great shot!

 

[jblnut]

What a great shot!

Little Man sure does love skid loader rides !!!

 

[jblnut]

They both found 5-leaf clovers and thought it was AMAZING !!!


Time to refill the popcorn tubs. It's an every 4-5 month deal around here


I missed the perfect picture of my Uncle Jim waving like a little kid BUT he's helping us out this spring. He's finished disked almost every acre of corn and soybean ground so far for us. Just awesome !!!


Time to fill the planter up with some liquid plant food. Mmmmmmmmm.



It was between loading it or driving the skiddy a couple miles so I chose to drive it


Hey look !!! Rocks !!!


Bucket number .... I dunno ... .389 ???


Want to know how to pick fields that look like this ???


This is how


I wonder if I can get that rock out ?? Yup !!!


That bucket is 7' wide. I got it into the bucket but couldn't lift it so it was at least 6,000lbs. That's a big rock !!!


Pops is planting corn like a mad man !!!


After a few days we got the corn done and moved on to beans. We load them into a gravity box to reload them into the planter .....


"Hey you !! Time to load the planter !!" says Pops.


While I was loading the planter with that sharp looking pail .....


Pops greased the land roller up.


That rock box is living up to it's named purpose ....


Away we go !!!


Miss Lily had her First Communion Mass today so we parked out by the road all fancy like and went to celebrate with her. Some things are more important than planting soybeans


VERY random picture but this guy made a few trips with one round bale each time


Yikes we could use some moisture around here !!


Seed those beans !!!


It may look like I'm off a bit but I was on a sidehill


Soybeans going in the ground !!!


Too many things out in the field so I took the 4-wheeler to the field and loaded it in the Ranger to bring it home. It filled the ben but it fit great !!


Pops back in the hot seat planting beans


Fill #3 ... or #6 .... I lost track \


Off he goes !!!


Test plot time !! We planted 14 varieties of corn and 8 varieties of soybeans.


After each pass we cleaned out the planter and put in a new variety.


Clean out each unit


The steers need attention. They were hungry so I mixed a few batches of feed with the ol' 886.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Thank you for sharing, question.... what is the purpose of the outriggers on the planter. I'm guessing some type of marker to give the operator indication of?
Congratulations to Miss Lily on her First Communion, I still remember mine decades ago.

 

[Sifan]

Wow!!! That's not a rock, that's a BOULDER!

I'm like your uncle, I drive 3 hours one way to help wife's nephew, he tells me to keep track of my hours and he'll pay me, I never do. Truth be told, once a farm boy, ALWAYS a farm boy Every once in a while, he calls and says your quarter of beef is at the locker, call and tell them how you want it cut. He forgets to send me a bill, seems a fair trade

Last fall, nephew's 2 y/o nephew came out to the farm while we were shelling corn. Asked his Mom if he wanted a ride in the tractor with the grain cart. Boy did he LOL rode with me for two hours. This spring, told them to call his mom and see if he wanted another tractor ride. Was with me for about an hour running 35' field cultivator and he said he had to pee. I introduced him to the farmer's portable restroom First thing he told his Mom when she picked him up ... I peed in the field but I can't do it at home LOL

 

[cvairwerks]

Thank you for sharing, question.... what is the purpose of the outriggers on the planter. I'm guessing some type of marker to give the operator indication of?
Congratulations to Miss Lily on her First Communion, I still remember mine decades ago.

Oldtimey steering guide... Drop the row marker and next pass guide the tractor down the track it left for perfect spacing from the previous pass. Works when the satcom and autosteer wigs out and won't hold a line....

 

[loganb]

Works when the satcom and autosteer wigs out and won't hold a line....

Are you insuitating that technology isn't flawless and perfect? Lol

Our first experience with GPS guidance failing was at a demo on 9-11...yeah that one. The .gov shut down the civilian guidance signal, I wasn't there but Dad said the tractor just started to drift off track until the operator realized he was off the line. Tech was still new at the time and took several hours before the connection was made that the signal was turned off and it wasn't a fault in the machine end as everyone assumed.

The tech has gotten much better over the last several iterations and for the last 5 years or so our planter hasn't had marker arms. So far only had 2 issues with the GPS that put us down for more than a couple minutes....just like your PC...reboot fixes many sins

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[drivesitfar]

it took me about 15 minutes to catch up with all you just posted and thanks for including us in your JOURNEY.

lots going on in your world that is for certain and also planning a new home and having a full time job on hold for the minute too (that i'm sure they are calling or texting you for information maybe while you are driving all your fields.

so you can pay yourself for digging out rocks? just think if you stacked them all up around your home you could have a sort of MINN E SODA STONEHENGE. or a cool fountain/waterfall and/or pond?

cheers and keep up the great work!!

 

[DennisK]

"Our first experience with GPS guidance failing was at a demo on 9-11...yeah that one."

And for the next 2-3 weeks our GPS had us going the wrong direction each morning, had to redo a new track line and signal

 

[hardtop5000]

Great photos of farm life and machinery, jblnut. Thanks.

 

[jblnut]

Thank you for sharing, question.... what is the purpose of the outriggers on the planter. I'm guessing some type of marker to give the operator indication of?
Congratulations to Miss Lily on her First Communion, I still remember mine decades ago.

They are row markers to help line up the next pass. If you look closely there are actually two different tractors with identical planters. Paul had a 7290r on his planter at the time because his 7810 was having trans issues. That 7290r has full autosteer in it so he wasn't using the markers. We still have a "Dummy" planter and tractor

We had a good time at her First Communion and had a little party with some cake and ice cream. T'was fun

Wow!!! That's not a rock, that's a BOULDER!

I'm like your uncle, I drive 3 hours one way to help wife's nephew, he tells me to keep track of my hours and he'll pay me, I never do. Truth be told, once a farm boy, ALWAYS a farm boy Every once in a while, he calls and says your quarter of beef is at the locker, call and tell them how you want it cut. He forgets to send me a bill, seems a fair trade

Last fall, nephew's 2 y/o nephew came out to the farm while we were shelling corn. Asked his Mom if he wanted a ride in the tractor with the grain cart. Boy did he LOL rode with me for two hours. This spring, told them to call his mom and see if he wanted another tractor ride. Was with me for about an hour running 35' field cultivator and he said he had to pee. I introduced him to the farmer's portable restroom First thing he told his Mom when she picked him up ... I peed in the field but I can't do it at home LOL

There are way too many more still underground but we're getting a few each year so maybe eventually most of them will be at the side of the field finally

When Uncle Jim found out Pops and I had the 'rona he offered to help and we said "Sure !!". He had a good time and it was a bit less stress on our end having a qualified tillage guy !!!

I let Leo pee outside a few times and always make sure to tell him "Only when you're with Dad can we do this". I'm pretty sure he's going pee outside at daycare sometime and we're going to hear about it

Oldtimey steering guide... Drop the row marker and next pass guide the tractor down the track it left for perfect spacing from the previous pass. Works when the satcom and autosteer wigs out and won't hold a line....

Pops claims he can plant straighter than autosteer and that was put to the test when we did the test plot this spring. Paul planted the grain corn and left a 120' gap for us to plant beans before starting the silage corn rows. Paul put the row marker down so Dad had a line to follow and the last pass his marker was going right over the marker from the planter with autosteer. I'm quite sure I'll be hearing about that for years to come

Are you insuitating that technology isn't flawless and perfect? Lol

Our first experience with GPS guidance failing was at a demo on 9-11...yeah that one. The .gov shut down the civilian guidance signal, I wasn't there but Dad said the tractor just started to drift off track until the operator realized he was off the line. Tech was still new at the time and took several hours before the connection was made that the signal was turned off and it wasn't a fault in the machine end as everyone assumed.

The tech has gotten much better over the last several iterations and for the last 5 years or so our planter hasn't had marker arms. So far only had 2 issues with the GPS that put us down for more than a couple minutes....just like your PC...reboot fixes many sins

The new stuff is capable of fully automated no one in the tractor guidance with headland turning and hillside compensation and obstacle avoidance and the whole works. Someone needs to hold the seat sensor down though so that tractor stays in gear

it took me about 15 minutes to catch up with all you just posted and thanks for including us in your JOURNEY.

lots going on in your world that is for certain and also planning a new home and having a full time job on hold for the minute too (that i'm sure they are calling or texting you for information maybe while you are driving all your fields.

so you can pay yourself for digging out rocks? just think if you stacked them all up around your home you could have a sort of MINN E SODA STONEHENGE. or a cool fountain/waterfall and/or pond?

cheers and keep up the great work!!

We're building another Manure Storage Structure for the chicken poop this year as well

Maybe a grain bin over here as well .... gotta see what Mama Bear's house costs first

Having dug out all those rocks over the years my favorite place for them is on the piles at the edges of the fields where they are right now. It's like a guy that flips over cheese wheels all day not wanting to eat cheese when he gets home. Nope. Enough

"Our first experience with GPS guidance failing was at a demo on 9-11...yeah that one."

And for the next 2-3 weeks our GPS had us going the wrong direction each morning, had to redo a new track line and signal

Around here GPS is "Guy Provided Steering" and when it doesn't work I take a nap and start over. A reboot fixes things

Great photos of farm life and machinery, jblnut. Thanks.

Thanks for following along hardtop !! There is a bit more to come yet as I'm still about a week behind where we actually are. Getting home at midnight takes it toll !!

 

[realvc]

Three cheers for dad's tractor skills.
This is my favorite thread to follow.

Thanks for the educational content and great family time updates too.

Vince

 

[jblnut]

Three cheers for dad's tractor skills.
This is my favorite thread to follow.

Thanks for the educational content and great family time updates too.

Vince

Pops and his 739yrs of tractor driving skills are mighty impressive. Every see someone back a 4 wheel trailer with a Farmall H in reverse wide open throttle in a straight line ?? How about two 4 wheel trailers


Thank you for following along !!!

The family is a HUGE part of this farming operation so I think they all deserve some visibility in here

 

[jblnut]

Hey look at that !!! The house builder guy dropped his trailer off. Looks like he thinks we're still building a house this year


Big Red has an oil leak from a mystery hose some-damn-where. Good thing I have this nice concreted square to work on things !!!


"I'll sit under here and see where it's leaking while you start it and move levers and stuff while I watch it !!" OKAY Get ready to get OILY !!


Oh boy it seems this thing was built on a Friday afternoon. Actually I think it was a Tuesday but whatever .... That big hose is rubbing on .....


That other big hose and one wore a hole in itself. Oh for dumb !!!


Sure does look like he's having a grand time under there !!!


We got the old hoses out and new ones made at the local General Center



Filling up with fuel and ready to go tile plow'er'ing !!!


First run of the year. I'm so excited


Pops felt like he needed to walk along so along he comes.


The first run went off without a hitch. We put this one and another run in for Paul (whom I own the plow with) as long as it was hooked up and between the field we were going to do first. It all worked out and we put in almost 2,600' of tile in under an hour


More to come when I get time to post it !!!