Kathryn Doyle of R&K Doyle Harvesting
I cannot believe we have been harvesting for almost half of the year now!
Starting down in Oklahoma in triple digit heat, is a sure call for T-shirts, cold slushies and air conditioning!
Now, up here in Canada, we have snow in the forecast and our winter coats are on with the amazing awesome toque!! It’s so great, because who has time to get rid of grey hair anymore these days? Not me! So, the toque could be my friend. If I pull it down far enough, it may even cover the fact that I forgot my eyebrows even needed work!
Well I have, what I consider a super cute toque anyways, made by my dear friend, Juliann. So I will rock the toque, keep my ears warm, and push my hair appointment another month!
Winter here can sneak up on us early, so this is one of the reasons the farmers here sometimes swath the crop before we go in with our pick up headers. It saves from trying to straight cut snow lodged crop. Another reason is our short days and cool weather can hamper the ripening wheat, so putting it in a swath helps too. It will ripen faster, in some cases, in a swath.
Also, we have the dreaded sawfly here. This moves up the wheat stem and causes it to break, especially with our west wind. So, swathing in a timely manner helps with this, as well. But, all in all, it depends on the crop, the conditions and what will work best to get the maximum yields most effectively. We are straight cutting wheat right now and two machines are picking up canola.
It’s all fun! Happy fall, my friends, and God bless!
1. Be ready to go at the drop of a hat...sometimes without a lunchbox.
2. Has removed the word impossible from her vocabulary!
3. Can hold a baby, take care of a toddler and drive a tractor or combine all at the same time.
4. Must be able to cook for a crew - large or small.
5. Must be able to read minds.
6. Must be able to banter with a parts man until he realizes you DO know what you're talking about.
7. Must be the entertainment director for those rainy days.
8. Be a wife, mom, friend, helper, cook, problem solver, taxi driver or extra crew hand at all times.
9. Can handle the call that makes you react, "You need what? When?" Dropping everything you're doing to make it happen.
10. At the end of the day say, "I really do love this life".