Where In The World Is Sum1?

Sum1's Farming!

Date: Week of October 4^th

Locale:  Outside Bloomington, Illinois

         Okay, so this entry is not about a trip I took somewhere in the United States, or anywhere for that matter.  It's about a chance to do something that I couldn't turn down.  I had the chance to spend three hours riding (I didn't drive it, only rode in it), in a 12 Row Combine!  If any of you have ever worked a farm, or driven in rural areas, you've probably seen these in the fall as farmers harvest their crops.  Marty is the brother in law of a close friend; he was gracious enough to let me spend this time learning a little of his life as a farmer.  He farms 4000 acres of crop land here in Central Illinois.  Of course, he grows corn and soy beans almost exclusively.  The corn he grows is not the corn we find in the store though.  He explained that this corn is used in various ways, this lot was being sent to Peoria Illinois where it would be put on a barge and floated down the Mississippi.  In New Orleans, it would be loaded on a ship, sent through the Panama Canal, and end up in Japan!  There, it would be broken down for its starch, and combined with another starch from rice.  Not sure what all its used for, but apparently its highly desired for its starch properties.  One use of corn like this, is to make the adhesive that is used on electronic circuit boards.  It was extremely interesting to see how he uses a GPS to help determine where he's at in the field, which row to be Combined, etc.  There's a computer in the Combine, it tells him the moisture content of the corn (has to be around 18% to be harvested), how much corn is being harvested/acre, how full his storage bin is, and how full the trailer is that would pull alongside us.

         If you look close at that photo, you'll see me sitting in the seat right next to the door...

         What I found most fascinating is what the Combine did.  We'd drive down a row, and it would reap the corn stalks (12 rows at a time) into a head.  The corn head is equipped with snap rolls that strip the stalk and leaf away from the ear, so that only the ear (and husk) enter the throat. In the throat, the corn is first shucked, then removed from the husk.  The kernels are then sent into a storage bin behind the driver.  Since the Combine can't hold a lot of kernels, a wagon is pulled alongside by a tread driven tractor.  The kernels are then transferred to the wagon while harvesting proceeds.  Once the wagon is full, it is taken to the road next to the field, and emptied into a waiting semi-truck.  I was amazed at how the Combine could harvest the corn stalks, shuck the corn, separate the kernels from the husk, and discharge the unneeded scrap out the back.  This whole process, along with the wagon being pulled along side takes a lot of coordination between Marty and the man pulling the wagon, as well as having semi-trucks arriving to be filled.

         Then you have the technical parts in the cab.  Two-way radios are used for communication (I think the were even using Motorola radios, ones that are not as complex as the ones I teach technicians about), a tablet that is connected to the wagon sensors to display the weight of kernels in it, along with a sundry of other information.  Last but not least, is the computer that showed the rows being cut, the yield of corn in each segment, and more information that I can't recall.  One thing that stood out though, was the accuracy of his GPS.  The one we use in our cars is accurate to a hundred feet, maybe a little more than that.  His was accurate to a couple of inches!  (The cost to use this is astronomical, so that service is only on when he needs it, such as during harvesting or planting).  I remember that once we went to start a new section, and the GPS display showed we were off by a couple of feet.  We had gone into the new section only a couple of feet, and Marty stropped.  He explained that being off that much meant we were one row too far to the right.  Of course, we backed up, and started again, one row to the left, and all was well.  In harvesting what I call a 'section', he drives down the field, harvesting 12 rows at a time.  At the end, he turns around and come back, harvesting the 12 rows to the left of his last cut.  Then he came the other way, and cut the 12 rows to the right of he first cut.,  Repeat that, essentially in a gradually widening circle, until that section is complete.  Repeat in the next section.  Do this, until all 4000 acres have been harvested.  I found that whole process fascinating, but also one I would not want to do over and over.  And he (Marty) has been doing this for 36 years!  I couldn't do it for a whole day, let alone 36 years.  So, Sum1's In San Francisco is not meant to be a farmer.    And just for information, this farm has been in his family for well over 100 years.


         Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the more technical information I mention in this post about the Combine.