It's Picking Time Again

One week down. So far, so good.
   This picking is a lot more fun when you are not losing your rear. Yields are up almost a hundred percent over last year and prices are up nearly fifty percent. [We'd rather forget last year. That was ugly.]

That is not to say there haven't been moments this past week. Raul Jr. was sick for two days. Being one man short had the rest of us hopping.The grease pump on the picker gave us fits.
   Some of you may remember me saying I am only one broken bolt from disaster. Well Friday afternoon it hit. The big red machine in the picture above is called a module builder. We dump cotton in there. The cotton is then picked up and hauled to the gin to be baled. Well, we lost an hour and a half Friday when one little bolt, on one chain broke. We had to un-jam the chain, install a new master link and then re-align the tamper. I hate when that happens. no matter how well we prepare these things happen with old equipment. I seem to remember a saying about Mother Nature siding with the hidden flaw. We try to make most of our repairs like an Indy pit crew- get 'er fixed and back out in the field. We stock the parts and tools for common things that break. In this case I did have a chain master link ready to go.
   I would really freak out if we were picking under the threat of rain. But, I gotta admit the weather has been fabulous and the weather man is on our side for the coming week also. So, break downs are frustrating, but they don't give me the heartburn they usually would. We still gotta 'whoop and scoot'. We should finish first picking this week. Then we have to second pick. Then we have to work in the stalks, disc the ground down, bed back up and get the wheat planted before the heavy winter rains hit. So, while we are enjoying the warm weather we are not relaxing at all. There is still plenty of work to do. So, we have taken a Sabbath rest. We had a great Sunday afternoon dinner with our daughter and her family. Tomorrow, first light, we'll be back in the field getting the picker ready to go back at it.

I hope y'all have a great week.

P

Fall Colors

I am usually too busy with harvest to stop and see the Fall colors. Sure, we are not the Northeast with their fabulous Fall foliage. But, there is beauty here too. The weather has begun to cool and the trees around the Valley are changing color. I love Fall weather.

While the Fall colors of the landscape ornamentals are beautiful there is one color I have been looking for- white,

Fluffy white cotton bolls. This picture was taken last Monday. You can see there are still a lot of leaves on the plant. That is why we haven't picked this week. The plants have opened up a lot since Monday. It is really hard to not look every day. If I look every day I can't see the differences. But, if I skip a few days I can really see it. I'll post a picture next week.

  Defoliation has gone really well. We have rarely had Pima cotton open like this. The warm weather has been great in opening the crop. Now we just have to get it in.

We will start picking on Monday. The equipment is ready. The weather man is on our side.

We had all the equipment ready as of last Monday. Then late yesterday the grease tank on the picker cracked. A new tank is $900, so we were motivated to patch this one. Ruben had a heart attack when I told him the price of a new tank.

For those of you who worry I just wander around without supervision I want you to know I do have an inspector to keep an eye on me.

I hope y'all have a great week.

P

Almost ready for harvest

All the cotton harvesting equipment is ready. Repairs have been made and everything is serviced. The weather man is on our side. The forecast calls for sunny, warm days. The cotton is opening up nicely. So we wait. Like those old commercials- we will pick no cotton before its time.

Meanwhile we have some odds and ends to deal with around the ranch. The corn was harvested this past weekend. So, we will disc that field down. We will tidy up the orchard by mowing the centers and spraying the berms. One year I didn't get that done before harvest and the weeds were knee deep when we got back to the orchard to prune after harvest. It was a wet winter to boot, so we had a soggy mess. That was all the motivation I needed. We clean up now and when it comes to pruning time everything will be ready. [That reminds me, I should make sure the pruning saw blades are all sharpened. It never ends.]

No, the squash is not from our farm. But, it is a reminder that it is Fall. My favorite weather of the year. That is fortunate since this is the time of the year when I spend the most time outside.

Below is another one of my radio bits. It is an expression of one of those mysteries I have never been able to figure out.

Farmers and Enviros-

I have never understood why enviros are so crabby about farmers. We work in harmony with Nature. To survive as a farmer you have to understand the natural world and learn to work in harmony with the rhythms of nature.


Everyone’s got to eat. The only way this is going to happen is for us to find ways for us to produce food in an environmentally sound way. The end goal is a healthy economy and a healthy environment.


I teach my students “either/Or” is a logical fallacy and either a healthy environment or a healthy economy doesn’t work. We need to find a balance. That is why I am surprised the enviros are rarely helpful in basic research to grow food and care for the environment. They would rather lobby lawmakers and file lawsuits.


I would think there was a natural alliance between farmers and enviros. I have been trying to work with them for years. They seem stuck in the Either/Or fallacy. Hopefully some day they will get past whatever bugaboos they have so we can work together.

I hope y'all have a great week.
 
P

Fall is in the Air

     Ahhh, Fall is in the air. It is still warm, but the summer heat has broken. I hope you are all enjoying it like I am. This is my favorite weather of the year.
     We are still busy in the shop getting equipment ready for harvest. We are also getting ready to put some fertilizer on the almonds. This helps with the growth of the new fruit wood for next year's crop and makes sure the trees have a little food when they come out of dormancy next Spring.

    It is also time for the Big Fresno Fair. Here's a little radio bit I did about the Fair.

An Unusual Sight at the Fair
     If you want to see something truly amazing when you go to the Big Fresno Fair take a peek inside the Ag building. Yeah, I know you have seen it before. Stacks and stacks of golden peaches, purple plums and sun kissed nectarines. Boxes of grapes of all types and colors. But, I invite you to see it with new eyes. We think this is normal. We grow three hundred different crops in Fresno County. Do you realize how unusual that is? It is truly amazing. There are very few places on earth that do what we do here. When you drive through Iowa or Kansas you see miles and miles of corn, or miles and miles of wheat.

     But, when you come to Fresno County you drive through grape vineyards, cotton fields, orange groves and dairies. We’ve got it all.

     And there in the Ag building, in one glimpse you can see it all, you can see what few people on earth see. So, when you go to the Big Fresno Fair I hope you have a great time. But, I also hope you take a peek inside the Ag building and remember how unusual that all is.

I hope y'all have a great week!