[AT] Horrible harvesting conditions.

charlie hill charliehill at embarqmail.com
Tue Nov 25 18:22:54 PST 2008


Al, back about hmmmm maybe 8 years or so ago I worked for a while as a 
Federal Crop Insurance adjuster.
A big farmer not to far from here had one entire field of corn blown down 
flat.   To make it worse the corn was flat planted (no hills on the rows). 
I guess there was at least 100 acres like that.  The rest of his corn was a 
different variety and didn't blow down as bad.  Anyway, the corn that was 
down was so flat on the ground that some of the kernels on the some ears 
were sprouting where they were laying against  the ground.  I looked at it 
and had no idea he could pick it and he didn't either but he decided to try 
it.  Now this guys fields are graded with a land plane and his combines are 
first class new stuff but still the corn was flat on the ground.  I want you 
to know he got almost all of that corn up and came out well enough that he 
didn't even file the Federal Crop claim.   He just put the header right down 
against the ground and picked it all right up.

You are exactly right about what the old timers would say about modern 
tobacco harvest but I have to say I don't agree with you about the sand 
lugs.   Back in the days of acreage and poundage controls almost every 
farmer had top quality upper stalk tobacco left over at the end of the year. 
Yet he spent time and money getting those trashy, sandy lugs pulled and 
cured just so he could sell them early in the season for about 60% of what 
the upper stalk tobacoo would bring.  I wondered for years why we fooled 
with them.

Charlie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Al Jones" <farmallsupera at earthlink.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6:16 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Horrible harvesting conditions.


> And now, they just go through and knock the lugs on the ground!
>
> Charlie you and I both have ancestors buried all over eastern NC that roll
> over in their graves every tobacco harvesting season, given the way it is
> handled now!
>
> Many-a-kid has gotten their butt tore up over dropping a hand of leaves on
> the ground, accidentally chopping a hill of tobacco down with the hoe,
> etc.....
>
>
> AS to worst harvest conditions that I remember, it would be corn, 2005
> after hurricane ophelia.  Blew it flat and seemed nothing would get it up.
> Finally finished on March 2, 2006.  I remember a similar situation in
> around 1982 or 83 when I was a kid---it blew down and we were still trying
> to pick it the next spring. That was the first migrant workers--from
> Mexico--I ever saw. A crew came through looking for work and my dad hired
> them to pick up the corn by the 5 gal. bucket full, throw it in big piles,
> and then he would come around from pile to pile with the combine and they
> would throw it in by the bucketful into the machine.
>
> Al
>
>> [Original Message]
>> From: charlie hill <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Date: 11/25/2008 11:07:40 AM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Horrible harvesting conditions.
>> That first week you spend
>> the entire day bent over double pulling the "sand lugs".  Each week it
> gets
>> a bit easier.  It's about a 6 week process.
>>> Charlie
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Ralph Goff" <alfg at sasktel.net>
>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:24 AM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Horrible harvesting conditions.
>>
>>
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message ----- 
>> > From: "charlie hill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
>> > To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>> > <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> > Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:25 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [AT] Horrible harvesting conditions.
>> >
>> >
>> >> My worst experiences weren't from cold but rain.
>> >
>> > Charlie, thats one big difference between your area and mine. When the
>> > first
>> > rain drops fall thats when the combines head for home. Sometimes a
> little
>> > rain shower gives us a much needed break after a few weeks of long days
> on
>> > the combine. After a good rain it takes up to 3 days for cereals to dry
>> > out,
>> > less for oilseeds like canola.
>> >
>> > Ralph in Sask.
>> >
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