Is it good to keep old things around? How about old people? Can old and well-worn items still be useful? Before the hate mail starts, let me state that I am referring to myself as the “old people.” In this weekly column several years ago, I wrote about the frustration I experienced trying to harvest a field of down corn. Now I find myself counseling others with down corn. They have questions and actually consult me for guidance.

There is no easy way to keep a combine running trouble free when harvesting down corn in a field that is wet. The machine will continually ingest mud that will try to plug and/or break every moving part. Those with a good memory of my previous article may remember that I even joked about wanting to retire in the middle of that “field from hell” in 2018.

I have owned 3 John Deere combines in my 39 years of farming. The 4400 built in 1978 went to the scrap yard last winter. It had not been used in the field since 2012. In 2016 I bought a 20-year-old 9500 to replace my aging 6620. All that remained to be harvested with my 9500 combine was 38 acres of double crop soybeans.

I had planned to have the afternoon radio host from the local country radio station to harvest that field. He lived in my hometown and his show is preset on the radio. After the recent rainy spell I decided to nibble at the field in the afternoon to make sure the soybeans were fit, which is farmer lingo for dry enough to harvest. I planned to have Antone from WCCQ visit during the forecasted 3-day stretch of nice weather. Alas, fate or bad karma, whatever you call it, intervened.

Just minutes into the harvest the hydraulic header controls failed to work. I tried another hydraulic function with similar results. I quickly exited the combine to see hydraulic fluid spraying from the back of the machine. My hope for a quick fix of a leaky hose was not to be. The hydraulic pump had suffered catastrophic failure. A quick phone call revealed that covid supply chain issues and an ongoing strike at John Deere would delay any ordered parts.

This sent me to the corner of the barn where the 39-year-old 6620 combine was mothballed. It started! It was filthy with dust and the cab was littered with mouse droppings. I was thankful it was only 60 degrees; I had no expectations for a working air conditioner. The fan blew insulation, dead mice and other filth onto me. My memory for the location of all the grease fittings came easily, which is good, the mice had made a nest of the owners’ manual.

The combine made it to the field and after some fuel starving issues and disconnecting the automatic header, since it kept cycling up and down, I was back to harvesting soybeans. With all the vibrations, noises, stale warm air from the vents and piles of mouse dropping in that tiny little cab I knew that there would be no more guest combine drivers to finish the year.

I will state this: It is extremely rewarding, and a huge sense of relief when you can finish a job that seems to be going against you. When my 9500 combine finished harvesting my down corn this year with only 2 minor breakdowns I felt great relief. When the 6620 combine finally made that last pass through my double crop beans and made it back in the corner of the shed I was estatic. What a relief it was to be done and eliminate that anxiety.

This November is the 2nd time in the last 5 years I hurried to finish harvest so I could address medical issues. Tonight, I start to fast for a long anticipated surgery tomorrow. I know I will be back farming and writing very soon. I have to stick around, just like my 1982 model combine, I have value and may be needed to deliver in a clutch situation.

Categories: Articles

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *