If our grandparents could see us now

Last year my son, my other brother Darrell, and I hand picked 16 rows,330 feet long. It took and ungodly amount of time to get these end rows off,but we wanted to grind ear corn for cattle and sheep feed. After spending the amount of time and energy, we decided a mechanical harvestor was worth the expense. Darrell found an Oliver 2 row for 100 dollars and it did not take long to decide to buy it. We pick about an acre a year for feed, but it's nice to have it. With my WD at full throttle, we have to slip the hand clutch to allow the elevator to catch up in 200 bushel corn. He and I both grew up hauling the ears to the crib,and elevating them up. Brings back a lot of memories. For instance sitting on the old tractors picking corn with high winds blowing the stalks flat to the ground, and getting so much dirt in our eyes that they would be sore for days. Picking for a ways, then feeding the broken off stalks on the snouts through the rolls trying to keep hands out.(big reason lots of our dads and older friends couldn't count to 10 with both hands!) The past sounds ideallic, but for those of you who grew up later, it was damned hard, and dangerous work!!! I still remember the signs on my 8600 White's corn head; "This machine is faster than you are!"

Oldoug wrote: They would probably think that there is no need to have any machines that big they would want to bring back the A II Gleaners and I'm sure they would wonder what happened to all the neighbors out in the country nothing but bare fields, center pivots, and semi's running you off the roads during harvest.

I think you're right Oldoug.

I look back and wonder how my relatives & neighbors farmed the small acreage they did with what they had, generally with only one helper. I first went into the fields in the late 50's picking corn by hand into a 2 mule wagon. Scooped corn through small crib window one small load at a time but have no idea of yield. By 70's my dad was having his corn picked by a neighbor with two row picker into a larger wagon. Yield was 200 bushels of whole ears per acre, still scooped into the crib. Earlier in fall I watched a large nearby farmer filling a large semi trailer every couple of rounds, 4 - 5 trucks rotating delivery, and the yield was over 200 bushels per acre of shelled corn. That is amazing, but I loved them mules, Jim and Belle, and thought as a kid they looked like a great machine with all their harness on.

They would probably think that there is no need to have any machines that big they would want to bring back the A II Gleaners and I'm sure they would wonder what happened to all the neighbors out in the country nothing but bare fields, center pivots, and semi's running you off the roads during harvest.

100,800lbs? was wondering what they could haul in some of the trailers I was seeing in the truck paper 50ft triaxle, doubles or superBs. Probably about 40,000 worth of truck and trailer just guessing. Really doesn't seem like that much with the right amount of axles. What weight can they haul in michigan with axles front to rear?

I need to look into or see specs on these new clean grain elevators that can bring up over a bushel a second!!! I couldnt add that many lil buckets to the allcrop chain!! LOL

My grandfather told me about wheat harvest during the depression. One farmer in the area owned a thresher and would custom thresh for the other farmers. He paid my grandfather to bring the bundles to the thresher with two horses and a wagon. I can't remember the exact amount, but he was paid something like a dollar a day for the horses and wagon and a dollar for his labor.

Ryan he did it one trip through the field at a time,and didn't worry about making a speed record. That's just the way we used to do it. They say patience is a virtue, and we must have been virtuous. Another thing most of our corn cribs held about 5000 bushels,and we 'd shell out one side in the morning,maybe reset the drags to the second side at noon or just after,and finish about 4-5:00 o'clock in time to get home and do chores! The next day we would be at somebody else's house. The wives had an ongoing contest of trying to make the best dinners in the circuit. It was unheard of not to feed your help back then!!!!1

victoryallis wrote: The company that we contract most of our grain through hauls 1800 bu. in each load.

The last field we combined this year was 160 A.   My brother runs the combine with the twelve row head, he plants witha 24 row planter, two rounds of end rows, by the time he combines the end rows off your are about a third done, then my nephew pulls in with his combine with a 8 row head,  we had 6 semis hauling away and 4 grain carts pulling from the combines,   took about 8 hours to combine that 160 A.  We were done for the year!!!!

Two years ago when I was helping my brother in SD with his harvest, I was running the cart with scale to load out the trucks.....64,000 lbs per semi load when the scales were open, 70,000 plus when they weren't :)

The company that we contract most of our grain through hauls 1800 bu. in each load.

I know there are all different, but on average how many bushel does a tractor trailer hold?? I'm still thinking at 4,200 bushel a hour harvested how that would relate. Ryan

Ryan Renko wrote: I remember my dad thinking they all were in heaven when they got a new idea one row corn picker on the farm. Before that it was picked by hand. It is all relative as DanD said!!

IG, you are right on half mile rows per acre. We estimate 5.5 rows on 38 inch spacings half mile long to be an acre.