It is once again harvest time in the Midwest. My small gravel country road is transformed
into a parade route for green and red, and an occasisonal yellow, combines headed to
a harvest field. It has always been one
of my favorite times of the year and my mind has always reflected on the words that Jesus had to say about the harvest.
This year has been different. With an early spring, seeds were in the
ground early. Depending on the day they were planted determined whether the 4 inch
deluge of rain we received would cause the seed to rot in the ground or emerge with the
return of the sunshine. Some fields had
to be replanted early in the season adding time and expense. Then day after day of scourching 100 degree
heat baked the ground and crops were stressed.
Drought became the reality as state after state went without rain. Late summer storms with high winds swept
across corn fields with devastating results.
Whole fields were flattened while others had patches here and
there that were down. Because of the high heat and low
moisture, large ears filled with kernels are not to be found. Instead, short stubby ears with corn spotted
on the cob are the norm. Black mold covered stalk after stalk. In short, the
harvest field this year where I live is not the normal harvest field I have known in the past.
So do you even bother to harvest these fields? Any farmer will never question that the
harvest will come in, but harvesting fields where half the stalks are on the ground
and the other half are bent over will require some adjustments. How do
you harvest ears of corn that should be 8 or 9 inches long, but are only 5 or 6
inches long. Believe it or not that is a problem. There have to be
adjustments. There will be a lot of adjustments on the chains and belts. The head of the combine will be set as low as
possible so rocks and bad terrain are going to be a problem. s. Hot, dry,
dirty fields are always a recipe for fires so caution will be taken to make
sure equipment stays clean. This year
combines have an added feature called a corn lifter (those are the yellow attachments) to help lift the stalks off the ground and into the combine head. Yes, this year’s corn crop will be harvested but adjustments will have to be made. In order to harvest this year’s crop “slow” will be the watchword.