Down on the Farm - Harvest
At the time of writing we have not started this year's harvest due to the weather - something farmers just have to put up with. When my grandmother was alive she always teased me when she asked how things were going by saying that I would always make excuses for a less than favourable crop; too dry, too wet, not the right kind of rain! But this has been an exceptional year for the harvest weather that we have experienced.
However, no point moaning about it, weÕve just got to get on with it. The weather does what it wants, whilst my operators can sit in tractor cabs, which can rival some of the best cars parked on the driveways around these villages. With seats that are adjustable in more ways than you can imagine for ultimate support, posture and wellbeing, gears and controls all at their fingertips, the radio on and air conditioning humming, the driver is kept extremely comfortable. Too much you say? Well no, a tractor, combine or any piece of machinery is only as good as the operator, and to get good people we aim to look after them and provide as good a working environment as we can.
With the extremely busy summer and autumn period upon us we require 100% commitment from everyone. When most of you go off to work in the morning tractors will already be out in the fields working, quite often still there long after you have returned home in the evening. It requires a very special type of person to work in these sorts of conditions. It can be a very solitary existence, which is not to everyone's liking. Long gone are the days when people on farms relied on muscle and being instructed at every step along the way. Most agricultural workers today have to be multiskilled and with machines costing anything up to £250,000, a certain type of person is required both to operate and maintain it, working for long hours on their own and making important decisions which could ultimately effect crop growth and yield.
Now six weeks later, 10th September, and I have just had time to finish off this article. Not quite finished harvest but all the wheat is in and the linseed has been started so the biggest worry is over. This year the yields have been reasonably pleasing, but due to all the rain in August the quality is not brilliant. The good bits of the grain that the millers like in the bread making process are just not there, so most of our wheat this year will end up as cattle food, but I optimistically await the rest of the results from the grain merchants who have taken samples from our stores, so you never know.
Time to start getting the fields ready for another farming year!!!