The Combine

You wouldn't think so, but farming is one of the top 5 most dangerous occupations. This combine fire happened somewhere in our part of Iowa. It had 10' of flames coming out the back when it caught on fire.

When riding with Bill for the first time this Fall, I noticed a few things that were different with the combine (one year old but new to us this year) like the smaller steering wheel which is easier to see around. It can go 5-6 mph in dry beans. It seems like you're really moving! For the farmers: it has more and better lights, a bigger tank, faster unloading, a better seat for the driver but not the passenger (there is a small seat for riders!), wider bean platform and Bill added that it has more bells & whistles than he knows what to do with, higher fuel consumption and higher payments!

Yesterday we had a little snow on the roofs in the morning but luckily not enough to affect combining. We were up at 6:30 and Bill got home about 11:15 so some long days - but it's only for about a month & a half or so. Last night it got down into the 20's. The weather isn't cooperating real well this year. More rain is forecast for this week. The elevator is open today from 1:00-5:00 so Bill & Tim are working. Still have a few more bean fields to do.