April Harvest

rusty6 · Apr 16, 2023

I've probably posted it before but every April I'm reminded of my dad's and uncle's spring harvest in 1952. Its not a recommended practice to leave wheat swaths in the field all winter but I guess the fall of 51 did not allow them to complete the harvest. So by mid April the snow had gone and the swaths were dry enough to put through the little Case model A. With my uncle's LA Case on the combine and my dad's "D" John Deere ready to help pull through the muddy spots they got the field done. Wheat was bone dry, a bit light and faded but not bad. I still have a sample of it that my dad labelled and saved.

Richard G. · Apr 16, 2023

Both GREAT tractors.

caterpillar guy · Apr 16, 2023

Mud harvest just makes it so much more work and time consuming. I hate mudding things out of the field.

rusty6 · Apr 16, 2023

(quoted from post at 06:54:07 04/16/23) Mud harvest just makes it so much more work and time consuming. I hate mudding things out of the field.

Me too. Only had a few spring harvests myself but there were also several fall harvests that were ridiculously muddy with stuck combines and patches of crop standing in water. Last few harvests have been pretty good on dry and solid ground.

jddrawbar · Apr 16, 2023

X2....Had a Case & JD dealer in my hometown & there was a ton of LA's & D's. It was not uncommon to see them working together in fields.

Masseyharrisnut · Apr 16, 2023

My dad used to talk about the fall of 51. First and only year they ever had to leave crop out all winter. Nice picture.

kcm.MN · Apr 16, 2023

Amazing! Had no idea a wheat crop would survive one of your winters and still be suitable for harvest in the Spring. Thanks for the photo and the story!!

BillinCentralMO · Apr 16, 2023

I truly enjoy all the history , videos , pictures and technical help you have shared here over the years. We
are fortunate to have a shutterbug like you. Thank you. Hope you are well.

merlynr · Apr 16, 2023

(quoted from post at 06:59:53 04/16/23) X2....Had a Case & JD dealer in my hometown & there was a ton of LA's & D's. It was not uncommon to see them working together in fields.

I remember a neighbor talking about picking corn out of a muddy field on thanksgiving only to be finishing on xmas day.

rusty6 · Apr 16, 2023

(quoted from post at 08:10:41 04/16/23) I truly enjoy all the history , videos , pictures and technical help you have shared here over the years. We
are fortunate to have a shutterbug like you. Thank you. Hope you are well.

Thanks Bill. I enjoy sharing the history with people that appreciate it. I can't take credit for the photo as it was taken a few years before I was on the scene. Here is a sample of the wheat that my dad saved from that spring harvest.

rrman61 · Apr 16, 2023

Living in rice country we dealt with steel tracks or combines with mud hogs almost every
year.the gumbo mud we have here was a real challenge some years.our2 oliver1950s with
fwa was the only tractor with enough power and traction to pull grain carts in and out of
the fields

rlp in Co. · Apr 16, 2023

It sure looks clean! Is that straight from
the combine? What kind of combine was it?

rusty6 · Apr 16, 2023

(quoted from post at 15:17:53 04/16/23) It sure looks clean! Is that straight from
the combine? What kind of combine was it?

Dad's Case model A. I don't know if this was a cleaned sample or just straight out of the combine. Its an old name red spring wheat called "Thatcher" that hardly anybody will remember now.

GreenEnvy · Apr 16, 2023

We grew thatcher.

Paul from MI · Apr 16, 2023

I remember one year in the late 90's it stayeed wet all winter, never froze. I picked corn until January, only for an hour or do in th3e
morning. And then only a half a wagon load at atime, then the ground thawed and got really muddy. A long winter.

coonie minnie · Apr 16, 2023

It seems amazing to me it didn't sprout!

rusty6 · Apr 16, 2023

(quoted from post at 19:12:12 04/16/23) It seems amazing to me it didn't sprout!

it was swathed late enough in the fall and cold all winter so no sprouting. If they had waited until May there would likely have been some sprouting.

Muir hill 101 · Apr 16, 2023

I always enjoy your stories and videos . Thats pretty
neat that they were able to save the crop

55 50 Ron · Apr 17, 2023

I remember the 1951 harvest in north central North Dakota. There was snow on the grain swaths in September. The snow melted and the wheat kernels sprouted in the swath. But it did eventually dry up enough to complete the harvest yet that fall.

ajl · Apr 17, 2023

The wet cold years of 2018 (record Summer snow), and 2019 resulted in a spring harvest of both hard red spring wheat and canola for me east of Edmonton. Spring thrash
is a better option around here vs binning it very wet in the fall. Biggest problem was deer poop but was able to clean it out.

April Harvest

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