Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Saturday, March 19, 2016

Soybeans



I got to ride along last spring as friend and neighbor Rick was planting soybeans. The field was big but so is the machinery and it's all very high tech. Would you like to see how it all works? Well then, hop aboard and come along for the ride. Its all a lot more crowded than the huge combine I rode last fall in the corn harvest but what the heck.


The Caterpillar tractor is pulling a sixteen row planter.


Inside the cab are numerous screens and controls, which give the scene a space age look. The tractor is guided by a GPS system which operates within a one inch tolerance. In the fall, the harvester will be guided within one inch of this springs planted rows. Thus Rick does not have to steer. He is watching the screens and controls very carefully. At the end of each row, as the tractor turns, the planter stops and restarts each row in sequence, so that there is no double planting of the "headlands." Whether seeds or chemicals, nothing is wasted which would add to costs and effect the bottom line.


An example of this attention to detail would be the "roller" which follows the plants. As the planter deposits and covers each individual seed, as small ridge is created on either side of the row. During the fall harvest this ridge could cause mechanical problems as dirt enters the equipment. Also, if the harvester is an inch or two higher than ground level at the plant, the bottom beans on the plant will be missed. Over hundreds of acres this could be the difference between profit and loss. The roller flattens the ridge.




A look out the back.  As this field is finished, Rick rotates the planter to align it vertically with the tractor, so he can travel down a county road to the next field.

Thanks Rick! Work for you. Fun for us.







20 comments:

  1. I had no idea it has become so technical to plant soybeans. Thanks, TB, for the tour. I enjoyed it. :-)

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  2. Amazing isn't it! Farming has come a long ways:)

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  3. So, did he let you drive it? I'm sure you wanted to!!!

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  4. What fun! When I think of the mid-west, I think of soybeans, wheat and corn.

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  5. Fascinating how these big machines work!

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  6. Thanks for the tour. The last time I drove any machinery was 1967!

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  7. Wow, that's a high tech tractor!

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  8. Man.oh.man, sure is different than the old days!

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  9. I had no idea farming had got so technical. I went to get a cat disc engraved the other day and found it was now done by computer. Our world is amazing.

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  10. This is quite amazing. Thanks.

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  11. Fascinating how farming has changed. I just completed Wendell Berry's book Bringing it to the Table containing a few of his essays on farming, farms, and food. You might enjoy reading it.

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  12. Truly Amazing. My Nephews have all that computer controlled equipment now too. It's quite the science.

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  13. Wow, farming has come light years from the old days of man, mule and hoe. Lucky you to get to ride along. You get to enjoy the fun of farming with non of the anguish watching the weather and creatures. Thanks for bringing us along.

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  14. Isn't farm equipment amazing these days??! We have friends who are farmers and they let us ride along a bit when they were harvesting corn. It's all science and technology now...even with weed control--it is all based on gps and samples. Amazing! I wish more people had the opportunity to see how farmers grow our crops.

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  15. I can't tell from that distance but was that you lending Willie Nelson your lighter?

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  16. Looks like quite a fun ride, my friend :)

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  17. Very interesting and high tech for sure... While following along, I kept thinking about all of the farmers years ago who did so much of this stuff by hand.... Mercy ME!!!!!

    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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