We drove all day yesterday to get back to Himself's aunt and uncle's place. Was a long haul and we were tired but a good nights sleep works miracles.
So here we are back on the farm in NSW and the harvest has definitely started.
This generally means the wheat harvest. The oats and barley are stripped first and for some reason do not seem to come under the heading of Harvest with a capital H. Oats are usually (but not always) grown as animal feed and barley only seems to count if it goes malt barley which we all know is what goes into our national drink........beer!
And that makes it important enough to be mentioned!
But it is wheat that is the main crop of this area and it is wheat that the farmers are talking about when they pass each other at the gatepost.
Right now there are machines and trucks going flat out all over the district and to cap it off the local silo opened today after initially saying it would be closed this year. Upon hearing that news, the aunt and uncle rallied the locals who called a public meeting and GrainCorp (bless them), agreed to open after all.
If they had not opened this silo, the growers here would have had to cart to a silo nearly 50kms away.
There are so many factors involved in a decision like this.
Less distance to the silo means less cartage costs and more loads per day can be delivered thus getting the crop out of the paddock quicker while it is in top condition and before the weather changes as has been known to happen. Rain can ruin a crop or lower the quality of it so the harvest is done with one eye on the ground and the other on the sky! Shorter trips mean less damage to the roads and it also means less trucks in the bigger town causing traffic problems and less waiting time for the trucks to unload which means the truckies are happier as they are being paid by the load. Less fuel costs, less pollution, the list of plus and minus is long, all of which affect the final outcome for the grower and in today's tough financial times can mean the difference between a good harvest and a bad one.
While we were away Himself's aunt has been busy making her Xmas cakes (10)!
Seems I am in time to help with the puddings, we only need four so far but I am sure that count will go up before we are done.
My time today has been spent tidying fridges and freezers ready for the extra food for harvest and Xmas.
During dinner conversation last night something was said about a person in the district being slightly over the hill and I said, I am not a spring chicken myself, to which the uncle replied, "You my dear are definitely no spring chicken, you are a fully feathered chook." Bless him, he is full of quirky little quotes and jokes!
Stay tuned I feel I will be quoting him regularly......
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