Harvest is underway

Well I haven't 'flogged the blog' for a long time! It has been severely neglected over the past 2 years. Basically, the internet was so slow I just lost interest, it was too hard!

The new NBN satellite is much quicker, not perfect and still not enough download for what we want to spend, but still, things are better.

Harvest is cruising along, it took ages to get going due to spring rains that left the crop green and not ready for reaping at the usual time- which is a good complaint!

Wheat in pictures below is still to be harvested but we'll get there!

So our input costs are more than last year, but the price we get for our grain this year is significantly less than the prices over the past few years. 

It's quite disheartening when you have some good yielding crops for a change, but the price is such that our gross income will be down due to world grain prices. #farmers are #gamblers

Aussie Harvest Video by Charlie, aged 14

Anna Binna Pty Ltd 2013 Harvest: http://youtu.be/5R5W8LtRgIs

Great video of Harvest near Ardrossan on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, well done Charlie, great footage.

Cross Slot v Tyne

Wheat pulled from a Cross Slot crop compared to a Tyne crop

 

 Same soil type, 100m from each other

 

   4 years of Cross Slot                Tyne Wheat crop

           Wheat on Canola stubble             Wheat on Lupin stubble

 

   Tyne Wheat                                            Cross Slot Wheat

 

 

 

Photos courtesy of Scott Siviour, Wangary

Cross slot Crops

Cross slot crops belonging to Scott Siviour at Wangary, Eyre Peninsula

 Canola on a Lupin stubble

Mace Wheat sown @ 70kg

 Wyalkatchem sown at 70kg

Mike Cameron at Kojonup, WA, took these of his trial Oops - incorrect

These trials were done by either Scott Siviour or LEADA, will have to check

 Wyalkatchem sown with Cross slot - More biomass, less weeds 13" spacing

 Wyalkatchem sown with DBS - more weeds, less biomass 12" spacing

Riding with the Cross Slot

In the cab with the Cross Slot

Our maximum speed for this set up is about this mark 13.4 km/hr. We could get a larger tractor with more horsepower but we're happy with how this is going.

This computer shows the hydraulic pressure on the openers of the cross slot

GPS

 Disc's in ground

Slower pace - 9.3 km/hr

 Turning 

5 Hydraulic Banks, plus 'power beyond'

GM Crops - Explain to me the Peacharine?

I realise a scientist would explain a definitive difference between GM Crops and the humble Peacharine, but as a consumer, I'm sorry, but I don't see the difference?

Peach + Nectarine = Peacharine. 

Nature (or God, whichever u subscribe to), did not make the Peacharine, humans did. And how long have we been eating them, I have no idea, it would be years and years. 

I really can't understand the hysteria by the anti GM protesters.  

I'm not saying we barrel in to GM crops all guns blazing, but the choice should be there, we should always investigate the advantages and disadvantages in a rational manner.

We're told to believe the scientists when it comes to Climate Change, but not on the issue of GM? How convenient!

Video of Cross Slot in Action

Footage of our Cross Slot sowing Canola on our first day with the new rig

Aerial View

Minimum Till Disc Seeding

Seeding Last Year (2013)

Seeding This Year 2014

Last Year

What a difference a year makes. You can clearly see how much more organic matter is left within the soil when using a disc seeder compared to our old tyne machine in 2013.

So all this stubble left in place helps bind the soil together and retains moisture so our reliance over time on timely rains won't be as great.It just looks so different, it's amazing.

This Year

This is the goal, the stubble retention, the water retention, better quality crops and higher yields, but it does come at a cost. 

Setting up the rig itself costs dollars but in order to pull this thing, we are using a lot more Diesel. 

But you've got to take the good with the bad.

The whole rig in action.

The CAT track tractor, John Deere Air Seeder Hopper and the Cross Slot Disc Seeder with liquid tanks mounted on top.

A lot of our ground is quite rocky with some limestone ridges. We've had a couple of small breakages on the really rough ground but haven't broken a disc. Touch wood!

Normally, after we have sown the seed, we then scoot over the ground with the stone roller to flatten all the rocks back into the ground so that they don't damage our wind rowing and harvesting equipment when it comes time to windrow and reap the crop.

Basically, we'll be retiring the 'stone roller' now as we just don't need to use it anymore. The disc doesn't pull the rocks out like a tyne seeder does.

I had to really strain my eyes to be sure what part of the paddock hubby had already sown and which was last years stubble lines.

 Turning the rig seems to be going fine.

Ag Bureau steps back in time

Laura Ag Bureau recently celebrated 100 years with the restoration of a 1926 Sunshine auto harvester.

What a cracker!!! I love it.

I thought this was a brilliant idea, I loved seeing the vision of the old girl reaping the crop and the lads sewing up the bags of wheat. Wish I could have attended.

Thanks to my fellow Ag Bureau Board member, Andrew Kitto, for this footage, but there are more videos of this historic event available on uTube.