Harvest Time At the RRR

Some of ya have never had the opportunity to see where your McDonald's buns and your Cherrio's come from?

Wheat, as you know, is a staple of the world's dinner table, . . . and a lot of it is brought to you courtesy of the hard work'n American farmer.

Although they are often misunderstood by the urban business person, most farmers are a 'collection' of occupations. They are weather persons, mechanics, soil chemist, personnel managers, financial wizzards, market observers, mechanical operators, seed specialist, engineers, animal health persons and a long list of other specialist. Farmers are often over-looked by the average "Joe". . . due to most folk just haven't visited the family farm!

Today's "photo op" comes from the river bottoms of the Red River Valley . . in the foothills of Eastern Kentucky, . . Powell Co. This photo visit will be of a 210 acre wheat field .. just before the rain hit! Actually just a brief shower. . . but time to rest.

A few of the many pieces of equipment that are used in the harvest of winter wheat follow . . .

Up close and personal . . most 'cabs' of today's combines have seats for two . . air conditioning and heat . . radio and CD . . . 2-way radio, cell phone, lap top! All the comforts necessary to spend 18 hours a day in a 4x6 cage . . gather'n tomorrow's breakfast and dinner for America!

The world’s harvest machines are fully digital with 'onboard' computers . . processing data from many sensors on the combine. They tell the operator: moisture content of the grain, trash percentage, flow, bushes harvested per acre, fuel consumption, rpms of the engine, feet (per second) of travel, ambient temperature, seed flow, etc. and most cabs are linked with GPS satellites overhead the earth, tracking and positioning the combine for future harvest reference data storage. Often digital maps are used to plan next year's planning strategy.
Needless to say, they often have 'data links' to the farm's main computer to record current harvest per acre - thus indicating addition fertilizer needed for the next planting.

Service time . . just like your car. Repair the little things now . . or sit in the field overnight!! Here are two of RRR's finest employees!

Thirty (30) feet ~ at one swath . . makes the 'harvest time' less stressful . . ! Get'r done!

Dump’n a load (approximately 450 bu) from the combine . . to the grain cart for 'temporary' storage . . .

The dump truck is wait’n his turn to transport the grain to Winchester . . where it will be loaded on 'rail' . . (rail road cars) and taken to a granary in the mid-west for preparation in bread and cereals.
Feeding America from the farmer's bread basket!

So maybe the next time you see a 'rough' feller in the grocery line .. his hands callus . . grease under his finger nails . . and his neck red from many days in the sun . . wearing bib overalls with the knees out . . . you'll take time to "thank" him.

. . . ole john help'n out . . . . . . in the middle of the grain harvest on the RRR . . .