Melissa Kenny – Jonel Farming
After a very dry growing season, harvest time has finally arrived here in South Australia.
The year started out dry which had us nervous around seeding time…to sow dry or wait for that first rain. We started seeding in early May, as per usual, and weren’t sure if we were doing the right thing but, thankfully, it all came up and we had a crop growing. We had lower than average rainfall in May, June and July which left us anxious but received some much-needed moisture in August. Unfortunately, September didn’t deliver the finishing rains that we had desperately hoped for but we are still very grateful to have received what we did to bring our crop through to harvest. There are some parts of Australia in severe drought that won’t have a crop to reap at all, which must be just devastating, so we are certainly counting our blessings that we are able to get our combine out! We also encountered frost late in the growing season, which normally doesn’t impact us much here on Yorke Peninsula, providing some extra concern.
Despite preparing for harvest for weeks (probably months actually), it feels like it has arrived all of a sudden with everything needing to be done at once. After spending a week or so windrowing (swathing) our barley down, we started harvest last Thursday with our first paddock of lentils. The yields, whilst down on usual, were better than we’d expected after the dry year we’ve had.
We have now reaped 75% of our lentils with much of the crop stored on farm in the hope of better prices down the track. With one paddock to go, our combine has broken down so the boys are working frantically to try to get it operational again. Thankfully, the Fire Danger Index (a score calculated using the temperature, wind speed and relative humidity) is too high here today to reap, so hopefully they can get the combine fixed without too much downtime.
Whilst we were in the USA. we didn’t see a lot of fire units in fields during harvest. In South Australia, our “Harvesting Code of Practice” encourages us to have a water supply available in the field for firefighting, should the need arise. In the past, we had a “fire cart” trailer which we towed behind a vehicle but with so many different things (fire cart, air compressor, fuel trailer, header trailer) needed at each field, we often made many trips moving between farms – all in a huge hurry, of course! During the growing season, we have been working on a little “fire truck” to help us better respond to any incidents that may arise. We hope that we don’t need to use it this year!
I haven’t spent a great deal of time in the field this year yet and today is the first day I’ve had to cook for both crews. I did some “procrastibaking” and made some sausage rolls (see recipe below) this morning whilst exchanging messages with fellow Aussie HarvestHER Lyn, who gave me some dinner inspiration. It felt great to have the main meal cooked and kitchen cleaned by lunch time (rather than the usual race around in the evening when the kids are tired and not interested in being helpful). Now all I have to do is make a green salad to go with it and deliver it at dinner time.
Well I don’t have much to report yet so I’ll leave this little update here. Happy harvesting to those still going and for those who have finished I hope you enjoy your well-deserved break!
2018 – #itiswhatitis here in Aus too!
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Melissa Kenny
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 eggs, plus 1 extra (beaten)
- 2/3 cup (160ml) milk
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1kg (about 2 lbs) hamburger or sausage mince
- 6 sheets puff pastry
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except for the extra egg, pastry and sesame seeds.
- Cut pastry sheets in half to form 12 rectangles and lay filling down one side. Roll up (paint a little of the beaten egg on the edge of the pastry, which will become your seam, before fully rolling).
- Cut the roll into 5 portions and place on a lined cookie sheet, seam at bottom. Paint with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake in a hot oven (so the pastry puffs) until golden and crispy.
- Serve with tomato ketchup.
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".
