Yesterday I looked up from planting trees and saw the big machines descend upon the farm that surrounds us, the land belongs to John’s Uncle. These are not our beans, we do not crop the fields.
They are huge, heavy, expensive machines and move fast and within minutes we were choking and sneezing in heavy dust as the beans were being lifted, sorted and carted away. I managed to get all the laundry in off the line before they went to that side though. The house is literally surrounded in his fields – so we ran to close the windows. John’s uncle rents these fields to a local cropper and I rent my cows fields from the cropper. The cows did not care of course it was all a mild entertainment to them.
Industrial farming is fast, like a surgeons knife. In. Out. Done. On to the next property.
Within hours the crop was gone, the machines were gone and the four men were all gone. 
And now the fields will sit empty and grey, until the spring.
Let’s hope Poppy is not waiting until the spring. Her due date is in three days time. I think she might be right on time. I hope so anyway.
This is Romain’s last full day, he leaves tomorrow – so we are going to extend the piglets electric fence field – that is always a fun job and goes much faster with Two. 
I hope you have a lovely day
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
37 responses to “Soybean Harvest”
The machines are so big now days it doesn’t take long. Although, we are still small it takes much longer. I always love harvest season.
Linda
I am sure I would love it if I were harvesting my own crops too
SMILE!!!
Modern farming machinery seems so brutal: fast, loud and massive, as well as efficient at stripping out the crop. But it doesn’t leave much for the soil to rebuild itself, by the look of it. I like our sugarcane harvesters better; they chop and mulch the green trash from the top of the cane, and return it to the ground to rot down. Miss Poppy looks extremely bulgy; I think you’re right, she can only be days off farrowing.
They only take away the beans- the rest of the plant is returned to the ground. It is longer green of course
Wow you can really see the dust clouds! I guess they do need a dry day to do this work, but yuck 🙂
*smile* Of course I won’t ask the obvious of why you can’t rent from your husband’s uncle directly . . . reasons, reasons . . . .As long as the soybeans were NGM . . . at least it was ‘over’ quickly! Poppy is awaiting for sure . . . but methinks ‘help’ will not come from where she is looking 🙂 !!
No, all the soy beans and maize here are Genetically Modified. For hundreds and hundreds maybe even thousands of miles.
Well, not my cuppa! And the wind brings what you may not want . . . Methinks we receive a lot of lies here in Australia about stuff being nonGM, but I do hope we are learning from up north . . . love
The sight of the big (expensive) combine reminds me of my neighbor’s comment. His son and the local farmer’s son were good friends. One day we saw them tooling down the road in a giant tractor. My neighbor said he thinks hard about letting his son drive his 35,000 dollar car and there the two 16 yr olds go in a 200,000 dollar tractor!
Your photography is always stunning or maybe it is your artful eye. Poor little piggy hope her delivery comes soon….she is hanging low. Wishing you a super week!