#My60Acres: Soybean Harvest

Date night?! Newer equipment has a buddy seat feature - a small seat next to the driver seat - that makes riding along a lot better than it used to be! When I first married Matt I had to sit on the armrest squeezed in between him and the window. Now HE sits in the buddy seat while I drive!!

#My60Acres is harvested again!  This was the second year Matt let me play a leading role in the management of a sixty acre field on our home farm, and my first soybean crop. 
 
I didn't get to start the morning with him because my work schedule has been a little hectic, so I didn't join until late afternoon.  But as soon as I got there, he slid over and let me take the wheel.
 
It might sound odd that he couldn't wait a day or two for my schedule to be better, but soybean harvest is very time sensitive.  We have to wait long enough the plants are dry, but not too long.
 
If the plant isn't dry yet it's very tough to cut and clogs up the combine.  Think about breaking a wet stick compared to breaking one that dry and brittle.  The dry one snaps while the wet one is very tough to break.
 
However, if we wait too long, the pods can actually get so dry they bust open, sending the soybeans to the ground where we can no longer harvest them.

Our cover crop came up beautifully in between the rows of soybeans. This cover crop will protect our soils and water all winter and spring!

So, he went ahead and started harvesting while I finished my week  at work and I wrapped up when I get back home.
 
It was beautiful to combine this year. About a month prior, we had an airplane fly on a cover crop seed that was a mix of turnips, radishes, peas, crimson clover and triticale.  That cover is coming up beautifully and will protect my soil all winter and early into the spring.  Read more about our cover crops here! 
 
Overall we were surprised and happy with our yields!  We had a challenging late growing season with very little rain.  Seed genetics - which have advanced tremendously in the last decade - helped us to deal with that lack of water.  Additionally, my cover crop was still covering the ground which helps to retain water in the soil longer.

Unloading into the grain cart operated by Matt's 85 year old Grandpa! The grain cart dumps into the semi trucks that will haul the grain into town.

One of our monitors that gives us real time feedback about yield, moisture and more!

We estimate an average of 40 bushel when making our projections  in the spring, so despite a less than ideal season, we still had an above average crop that yielded 49 bushel to the acre!  The higher than average yield helps to offset prices that are below where we had projected.

Soybeans are the number one crop for the state of Missouri.  Missouri farm families grow so many soybeans because our soils and weather are good for growing them, plus we have established markets to sell them at.

Of the bean itself, 80% is soybean meal and 20% is soybean oil.  Nearly all of soybean meal is used in animal feed.  Of soybean oil, 68% is used for human food - baking and frying mostly - and another 25% is used for biodiesel and bioheat. 
 
We still have about a week or so left of harvest, so make sure and follow us on Facebook for more #Harvest17 updates!