The Rural Voice, 2019-02, Page 12 In general, people, myself
included, tend to have short
memories when it comes to the
weather. The stunted, water-deprived
corn in July quickly morphed into the
crops we thought we’d never get out
of the field in October, November,
December, and yes, even January, for
some of us due to the never-ending
rain. We can barely remember those
few weeks of dread we felt as the
crops were baking in the sun. Sun?
What sun?
Having said that – while we may
have short memories when it comes
to the weather generally, the tough
years – whether it be related to
weather, or markets, or disease, or
some weird politics going on in
another part of the world – can sear
themselves in our memories. We pull
them out to remind ourselves we’ve
survived tough times before.
The harvest of 2018 may be one
of those years. Prior to this, 2014 was
the year for me. It was cold and wet,
and I thought harvesting soybeans in
December at 19 per cent moisture
was a terrible thing that hopefully
would never happen again in my
lifetime. Funny how 2014 doesn’t
look so bad anymore.
Brussels Agromart has been
putting together very interesting
weather summaries for the past few
years that helps put some actual
numbers to our observations. While
we may look back on 2018 as being
wet, especially during the fall, the
growing season itself (May 1 - Sept
30) was actually 20-40 per cent
below normal rainfall in our area.
Even 2014 was not actually that wet
through the growing season, but it
was about 100 CHU below “normal”.
After the 2014 harvest, I wrote a
column about the top lessons I
learned that year. I learned a few new
lessons this year, and hauled up some
of those from 2014 so I didn’t repeat
the same mistakes.
Lesson #1: Sometimes, it is the
things you don’t know you don’t
know that get you. In 2014, this was
a lesson about not leaving the flex
head in the field when you have to
switch back and forth between beans
and corn. This year, it was a lesson
about where ice actually builds up
and how it turns to concrete inside
the combine. Thanks to Thomas at
Huron Tractor who showed us how
to get that all cleaned up.
Lesson #2: Some lessons come
back to haunt you. In 2014 we put up
a new drier and had a terrible time
getting it up and running. Strangely
enough, in 2018 we decided to do a
more major overhaul of our grain
handling system, including a
different drier. And yes, once again,
six weeks behind schedule, we were
wondering why we went down this
road again. But once everything got
up and running we were able to get
the corn out of the field in record
time.
Lesson #3: All snow is not created
equal. In 2014, I got an up close and
personal lesson on how little snow
will block up a combine if all the
conditions are right. Peering in from
the backside, it may look innocent
and fluffy, but as soon as I
optimistically tried to blow it out
with a blast of high pressure air, I
realized that stuff wasn’t going
anywhere without a fight. But that
was OK – there was lots of time
while the snow was building up to a
foot deep outside to squeeze myself
inside and chip it out slowly. An
addendum to that – frost can fill up
the combine faster than snow given
the right conditions. One snowy night
we kept going for several hours with
little build-up inside the combine. A
week later it took us over an hour at
midnight to chip the frost out from
around the augers and in the
precleaner.
Lesson #4: Nothing is quite as bad
if your feet feel good. One of my
lessons from 2014 was finding an
awesome pair of insulated rubber
boots that kept me warm and dry. No
more old school felt liners that get
jammed up in the bottom every time
you put them on. These Baffin Ice
Bears with safety features, good
treads, and a -50 degrees Celsius
rating at least made my feet feel as if
they were toasty and warm by the
fire. I thought the best part was
8 The Rural Voice
2014 vs. 2019
Kate farms,
hikes, canoes,
and plays
guitar in
Huron County.
Kate Procter
Wilfred McIntee & Co. Limited Brokerage
181 High Street, Southampton, ON
N0H 2L0
Phone: (519) 797-5500
“Your Grey-Bruce connection!”
DAN GRAHAM
Sales Representative
EMAIL ME 24/7
dan.graham@mcintee.ca
Call or text! 226-668-3008
85 ACRES - 1700' ALONG SAUBLE RIVER
609 Spring Creek Rd.,
South Bruce Peninsula,
Bruce County
$1,700,000
Featuring 85 beautiful acres
(38ac. Workable/cashcrop, 40ac.
hardwood bush), 1700’ of Sauble River frontage in a parklike
setting, a custom built 3200 sq.ft. Ledgerock stone bungalow w/3
Beds & 3 Baths and a 34’x60’ heated shop/garage. All this just 5
minutes to Sauble Beach. This is the perfect property for the
outdoor enthusiast….launch your kayak or canoe at the river, see
an abundance of wildlife, excellent hunting & fishing (shhh, it’s a
secret), hike, snowshoe and ATV the groomed trails and elevated
ridges throughout the property. This magnificent property is the
total package…..a rare & unique find!
tours.photolink.ca/1197169
MOVE TO THE COUNTRYSIDE - 59 ACRES
482464 Colpoy’s Range
Road, Georgian Bluffs,
Grey County
$899,900
This amazing 59 Acre property
delivers the perfect opportunity
for that recreational retreat or hobby farm you've always wanted
and features a wonderful red brick country home w/4 beds/3 baths
& 3200 sq. ft. of living space, brand new 26'x28' detached garage,
workshop w/in-floor heat, 50' x 80' bank barn in good shape
w/dedicated well, 40 acres workable/pasture, 15 acres Maple bush
& a Salt Water Pool. 2 Additional Adjoining Parcels available;
Parcel #1 – 130 Acres, Pasture/Hay, Farmhouse, 2 Steel
Outbuildings. Parcel #2 – 65 Acres, Pasture/Hay, Over 1700’
Frontage on Inland Lake. All 3 Parcels can be bought as one
package – Call for Price & Details!
tours.photolink.ca/376794