Now to Get the Ground Work Done Before It Rains

First harvest of cotton was done a week ago.. We will finish second pick tomorrow. Then we will work the ground so we can get the wheat planted.

   I am not fond of second picking, but if I wait long enough for all the Pima to open I put the whole crop at risk of rain. Sustained rains can ruin the quality of the unpicked cotton fiber. So we get 90-95% on the first pass, let it open some more and go get the rest.

   We have heavy clay soils, so the next job is to turn the cotton ground around and plant the wheat. The machine above is a cotton shredder. It mows the plants, shredding the stalks into little bits so we can work them back into the soil. So this week we will have on tractor running day and night; two tractors running all day. There is some rain n the forecast, which is not unusual. The race is to see if we can get the work done before the rain hits and before we tear up all the equipment. I call this the demolition derby. I'll keep you posted on how we are doing.

In the mean time, here is the text for one of this week's radio pieces.

Country Directions

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

            When we moved up here it cracked me up when someone would give me directions: “go down the road to Uncle Ed’s place, turn left at the green mail box and then right where the big tree used to be.” Seriously? How could I possibly know where the big tree used to be? Just give me an address and I’ll find it.

            Growing up in San Diego we used city boy directions- you got an address and then drove to the address. If you needed a map you got a map out- and there you are.

            The funny thing is- can you guess how I give directions now? Yeah, you got it right. I don’t know anyone’s address. But, if you go down the road to Uncle Ed’s place, turn left at the green mail box and right where the big tree used to be…

            There just aren’t enough street signs out here in the country. Even with maps and modern toys like GPS and smart phones, sometimes the best directions are to navigate by land marks. A long time ago Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun. Maybe he was on to something.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P

Working Dogs

First pick of cotton is done. 

   It was a demolition derby. We had fits with one picker head on Monday and Tuesday. Finally got that ironed out.
   We will pick it a second time. I hate picking seconds because it tears up the equipment, but we can't afford to leave good cotton in the field. IF there was a year we could skip seconds this would have been it. The cotton was well open. We've picked a few days of seconds and, lo and behold, there is a fair amount of seconds. Weather permitting we'll finish seconds this week and get the ground turned around so we can plant wheat by the end of the month.

The subject of one of my radio pieces this week was working dogs-

Working Dogs

by Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

I have introduced you to my dog, Indy, and you know I think the world of him.  But the amazing dogs on the farm are the working dogs- sheep dogs and cattle dogs.

Years ago we went to the Grand National Rodeo up at the Cow Palace. It was pretty amazing

 watching the sheep dog trials. The human would stand on one end of the field, whistle and send hand signals and down to the other end of the field and the dogs would gather the sheep and bring them back in. This summer I watched the sheep dogs on the neighbors ranch help the shepherd gather in some sheep that had broken through the fence. Then the dog hopped on back of the four-wheeler and rode off with his human.

            When we used to work cattle the dogs would go out to the far end and bring the cattle in. Just amazing animals.

            Just another dimension to life on the farm. The animals are not just pets, or toys- they are part of the working landscape. There’s nothing wrong with pets. I love Indy and he doesn’t gather cattle. But, there is something special about working dogs.

I hope Y'all have a great week!

P

Cotton Harvest 2012

We are off and running. Typical cotton harvest. The first day or two we are getting the kinks out of the equipment.
   No matter how much we service and prepare the equipment, there are always things you cannot anticipate. Today and five cent cotter pin wore out down inside the shifter linkage---and there went an hour. Arrrgh.
   Of course, the week started off with rain. So, now we are a day behind. Rain happens. The weird thing is yesterday morning as I was checking the fields, I looked up and there was a rainbow over the coast range. No forecast of rain, but there was a beautiful rainbow.

   I look forward to seeing the awesome Fall sunsets. But, after thirty years of picking cotton, I have never seen a rainbow without rain.

   The cotton does look good.

But, there's a famous saying about chickens and eggs. We are only coming up on the halfway mark. There is still a long way to go. 

Counting Chickens…

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

                Right now we are watching and waiting for the cotton to open up. This time of year, my banker will ask what our yields are going to be. My father –in-law will ask what our yields are going to be. It is easy to start doing back of the envelope calculations trying to figure out how we are going to land this year.

            There is a famous saying about not counting your chickens before they hatch. Things look good so far, but until I get the last bale picked and ginned I won’t know how the year looks.

            Years ago I had a field that was picture perfect. The cotton was open all the way to the top, all the way across the field- it picked 1006 pounds per acre. A few years later I had a ratty looking Pima cotton field. The neighbors teased me, the banker asked what the fiddle happened to the field, my father-in-law shook his head. That field picked over 1800 pounds per acre. You couldn’t tell by looking.

So,  it’s just another reason you have to build up patience on the farm. You just gotta sit and keep from counting those chickens, or gotten bolls before they hatch.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P

Cotton Picking Has Begun!

We are off and running---like a heard of turtles.
   First day hiccups included an ignition switch that killed the picker on the road as we moved from one field to another. That was an hour and a half delay before we picked out first boll of cotton. Then there were the usual opening day disasters: a faulty power take off switch and air in the grease lines. But, we seem to have the kinks worked out---for the moment.
   Pictures can be deceiving. This cotton looks OK, but this field didn't even make two bales per acre. Not good. Fortunately, where we are picking now is doing much better.
   Of course, the next curve ball will be the weather. The first winter storm of the season is due the beginning of the week. Fortunately after that passes the weather man says things will clear up for a bit.

One of this week's radio bits is appropriate for this time of year-

The Loneliness of the Tractor Driver, Isn’t All That Bad

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

                There was an old book about the loneliness of the long distance runner. There is a parallel in farming- the loneliness of the tractor driver. At least that used to be true. My first summer up here I spent on the back of a D-8 Caterpillar- no air conditioning, no radio, no cell phone- I just spent a lot of time with my self, out in the field. And there is nothing wrong with that. It was kind of cool. I had just graduated college and it gave me a lot of time to process things. I don’t know about you but being in school can be a lot like drinking from a fire hose because I am a slow learner. The air conditioner is a lot more comfortable, a radio can be entertaining, and today we have cell phones so we can stay in touch with everyone.

            But, there is something to be said for those long days sitting on the tractor just thinking. Of course, there is that old saying, “Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just thinks.” Life these days can get kinda busy. Sometimes sitting on a tractor working a field is a good way to spend a day and get a chance to unwind things. 

http://www.940kyno.com/index.php?c=68

I hope Y'all have a fabulous week.

I'm off to pick some cotton.

P

Almost Time to Pick Cotton

   As you can see, it's almost time to pick cotton. Another week and we'll fire up the beasts and start picking.  The equipment is almost ready. We are busy with all the last minute details. We'll finish repairs and servicing this week.

   It's been a strange weather week. It cooled down and there was even a little rain. It's warming back up.

Another Death of Common Sense Experience

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

                In the interest of saving the environment I had to drive one of the ranch trucks an hour out of the way for a smog check. The reason for this was some computer in Sacramento said the shop where the truck had been tested multiple times before was not good enough this time.

            Can you understand why we get a little crabby about the nonsense that goes on out here?

On one hand the enviros want me to lower my carbon footprint by cutting back miles driven- then they make me drive an hour out of the way. Maybe in town there is a smog shop every other block, but that ain’t the way it is out here in the country. 

This is just another ‘death of common sense’ experience. I am all for clean air, just like the rest of you. I live here, I raised my family here. But, if we are going to do this-let’s do it right. Driving an hour out of the way for a smog test isn’t even close to doing it right.

For the record, the truck passed with flying colors.

There have been some changes at the radio station. We are now ESPN sports news, but they still want to hear from this farmer so you can find me at-

http://www.940kyno.com/index.php?c=68

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P

Homemade Tools

Another busy week on the farm. The weather finally cooled off. You know it's been hot when 81 feels cool. 
The pickers are almost ready. We have two weeks until harvest, so we have some wiggle room. Next week we have to clean and service the tractors and the module builders.

Homemade Tools

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright October 2012

                My favorite Clint Eastwood movie is Heartbreak Ridge. As Gunnery Sgt. Tom Highway Clint teaches his Recon unit to “Adapt, Innovate and Overcome.”

            That’s a great slogan for farming too-“Adapt, Innovate and Overcome.”

            One place we adapt and innovate is in the shop. The other day I made a tool for Ruben to use on the cotton picker. It wasn't anything big. We needed a wrench with a little more reach.  So I welded an extension for him.

            I have custom also made some other tools. I made a bearing extractor for our cultivator. That beat beating old bearings out with a sledge hammer. I also made a gig to trim shear bolts for the ripper.

            Sheryl asked why I didn't manufacture tools like this for other farmers. I told her there wouldn't be a market. These are things any farmer could make in his own shop. We Adapt, We Innovate and We Overcome.

            Farmers can be short of money, or time, or water, but we are never short of challenges. We can adapt and innovate in many ways. This is just one example. The goal is the same; We adapt and innovate so we can survive, so we can overcome.

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P

Defoliation!

Sorry I didn't have a post for you this past weekend. I was busy editing.
Here you go-

That is what we have been waiting for. Pretty isn't it?
     We started defoliating last week. It has been so hot we have had to cut back on material so we didn't burn the bolls shut. The warm weather does move things along though. My first few winters here we had already had two inches of rain and the temps were done in the 70's. This is better cotton weather. That being said I am waiting for things to cool off. It has been hot enough for long enough.

      In the Fall we also fertilize and irrigate the almond trees. This time of year they are getting ready to go dormant, so they are storing food. We put in some fertilizer now so they have food when they wake up in the Spring. The almonds also actually are putting out new growth right now and those are the fruiting spurs where next year' almonds will grow. So it is really important to keep the trees well watered.

The Satisfaction of Harvest
By Paul H. Betancourt
Copyright September, 2012

                You have heard me whimper and whine about a lot of farming and how tough it is. Sorry about that. This morning I want to talk about the satisfaction of farming. There is nothing like bringing in a good harvest: seeing the picker fill up p with cotton, seeing the wheat pouring into the trucks, seeing the almonds being swept up and shipped off. The satisfaction of a productive year’s work. That’s good stuff.

            Unlike many people farmers don’t see the daily result of their work. Right now we are waiting to see how this year’s cotton crop will turn out. We started working the ground last Fall. We planted in April. We have been tending the fields all summer, but we won’t know how it will turn out until next month.

            But, all that waiting has a payoff. I love Fall weather. It’s cool and crisp after the oven heat of the summer. And then we fire up the pickers and head into the field.

We still have work to do and bills to pay. But, there is a real sense of satisfaction seeing how the year’s work turned out.
http://www.940kyno.com/index.php?c=68

I hope Y'all have a great week.

P