Written: 12/9/08
I finished the last field of soybeans with the 72' bauer before the planter hit the ground. As I was folding up the planter and as I shifted the weight to the drawbar, WHAM, the drawbar broke. I was glad it didn't do this as I was transporting or even planter, for it would have done quite a bit of damage to both the tractor and planter. Anyways, the planter sits out in the field currently as the drawbar gets fixed.
Well, we can officially retire the 72' bauer for this season. After a month, 20 inches of rain, no seed at key moments, and a tractor that didn't want to work for us at the beginning, we are finished with about 2500 hectares (6,250 acres). It's had its fun moments knocking out 750 acres in 24 hours, to its downfalls when you get only one round in and it starts raining. It was also very frustrating when the sun is shining and the ground is in optimal condition to plant and there isn't a seed on the farm to plant. Also very frustrating is when you get one problem fixed, and another arises the next round. Through these frustrations I have come upon a appreciation for convenience of parts, a knack for troubleshooting, and the need, the need for seed. ( haha, I love Top Gun) It has also been very fun running a planter twice the length and triple the number of units as my dad's planter. Disappointing that I wasn't able to run autosteer because of the nonexistence of the Tractors GAI ordered, I was able to hone my driving skills and hope to put them to good use back in the States.
For the next two days we will be helping out on the farm getting the additional soybeans planted with the smaller planters. On Friday all the interns will be in town for one last weekend out on the town. I am really looking forward to that since I have been out at Rondonia the last 6 weeks with only a couple of days in town. However I will miss Dino. Dino left the other day because his father is in the hospital. I won't see him again, but before he left I gave him my Iowa State hat for him. He always told me he liked it when I wore it. He didn't hesitate to return the favor. Today a package came from town, and it was from Dino. It it was a John Deere hat and a note that said, "friend, don't forget me". Anyways Dino will be missed, but I hope to keep in touch with him through e-mail.
Well back to my chocolate candy bar!!!!!!!!
Signing off.................
-Hrubes
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Back in the saddle
Written: 12/5/08
Well the last 2 days have been really good. Yesterday I got started about 11 am and went til about 8, when the rain opened up. At the beginning of the day I had somewhere around 400 acres to do. Day started off really good, and at noon it looked a little gloomy. Luckily I had my spurs on and I planted through the rain. It was raining hard enough at one time that I actually need my windshield wipers. The rain lasted only about 10 minutes, and I was back on track without missing a beat. Towards the end of my shift it looked gloomy again and just sprinkled on me. Good news though, I planted through that and finished the field!!! Only one more field left to go, and it is about 550 hectares (1400 acres). However, this field will be no tilled and it is corn stalks. I am pretty optimistic that we will be able to go 24 hours around the clock if the rain holds out on us. We will have to see if the planter does a good job cutting the stalks at night when they are soggy.
Well 2 weeks from tomorrow I will be back in the United States. I am really looking forward to that, but will miss two things. Dino has been one of the nicest people I have met and we have had a lot of fun together. I am hoping to keep in touch with him somehow. Secondly I am going to miss driving manual vehicles around. It is so much fun!!
Well back to my ruffles potato chips. They really need some chive dip. I will just go to Kum & Go and pick some up.
Brazilian Proverb: The only thing that arrives quickly here is rain.
Signing off.......
- Hrubes
Well the last 2 days have been really good. Yesterday I got started about 11 am and went til about 8, when the rain opened up. At the beginning of the day I had somewhere around 400 acres to do. Day started off really good, and at noon it looked a little gloomy. Luckily I had my spurs on and I planted through the rain. It was raining hard enough at one time that I actually need my windshield wipers. The rain lasted only about 10 minutes, and I was back on track without missing a beat. Towards the end of my shift it looked gloomy again and just sprinkled on me. Good news though, I planted through that and finished the field!!! Only one more field left to go, and it is about 550 hectares (1400 acres). However, this field will be no tilled and it is corn stalks. I am pretty optimistic that we will be able to go 24 hours around the clock if the rain holds out on us. We will have to see if the planter does a good job cutting the stalks at night when they are soggy.
Well 2 weeks from tomorrow I will be back in the United States. I am really looking forward to that, but will miss two things. Dino has been one of the nicest people I have met and we have had a lot of fun together. I am hoping to keep in touch with him somehow. Secondly I am going to miss driving manual vehicles around. It is so much fun!!
Well back to my ruffles potato chips. They really need some chive dip. I will just go to Kum & Go and pick some up.
Brazilian Proverb: The only thing that arrives quickly here is rain.
Signing off.......
- Hrubes
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
3 Legged Planter
Written: 12/3/2008
Everyone remembers the 3 legged dog running around their neighborhood right?? I know everyone knows what I am talking about. They won't win the county pet show, however they do get the job done right?? Well we have a similar case here, however with a planter. We received a spare tire from another American in the area and fixed it to the planter. So now the planter has one "super single" (type of truck tire) on one side and two original tires on the other. It hobbles like a 3 legged dog, but it does plant.
However after our hassle with the tire problem, we got back to planting. We are full bore on soybeans now with the big 72' and the other 3 smaller planters. Last night however gave us some trouble due to some rain, as well as the whole day today. Sounds like the next 5 days will be like this and then another break in the rain. I only have 6 more days on the farm, and would like to put a good dent in the 800 hectars (2,000 acres) we have left of soybeans to plant with the bauer.
Anyways, things are looking up. We had homemade doughnuts for BREAKFAST!! I almost fainted with excitement. It felt as if I was back in a real country!! HAHA
Signing off............
-Hrubes (full of doughnuts ;) )
Everyone remembers the 3 legged dog running around their neighborhood right?? I know everyone knows what I am talking about. They won't win the county pet show, however they do get the job done right?? Well we have a similar case here, however with a planter. We received a spare tire from another American in the area and fixed it to the planter. So now the planter has one "super single" (type of truck tire) on one side and two original tires on the other. It hobbles like a 3 legged dog, but it does plant.
However after our hassle with the tire problem, we got back to planting. We are full bore on soybeans now with the big 72' and the other 3 smaller planters. Last night however gave us some trouble due to some rain, as well as the whole day today. Sounds like the next 5 days will be like this and then another break in the rain. I only have 6 more days on the farm, and would like to put a good dent in the 800 hectars (2,000 acres) we have left of soybeans to plant with the bauer.
Anyways, things are looking up. We had homemade doughnuts for BREAKFAST!! I almost fainted with excitement. It felt as if I was back in a real country!! HAHA
Signing off............
-Hrubes (full of doughnuts ;) )
Monday, December 1, 2008
What a day......
Written 12/1/08
Well today started off with a step forward. We finally finished corn (which should have been done this time last week), and then we moved on to beans. First step was to calibrate the planter so we were getting the correct population. I wasn't thinking obviously when I forgot to change the transmission from low to high, and I was wondering why we couldn't get any more seeds. Dino was getting frustrated as I was too, however he wanted to blame it on the new precision discs that we put into the planter. These discs can do corn, soybeans, popcorn, and cotton, which is new to both Dino and I. We are use to a disc for each crop. Anyways after that fiasco, we were running. We finished a little spot in the afternoon before I was suppose to head to the other end of the farm to start on a 750 acre field.
Made sure I had Diesel, cookies, my ipod, tang, and everything else, then I headed out. As I was leaving the yard, the bead came off one of the main tires on the planter. (this tire had been junk for a while, not holding much air anyways, it was the only tire to have a tube as well.) Dino and I looked at it and decided to limp it to the other end of the farm (prolly 10-15 miles). About 3/4 of the way there I hear a huge BANG!! I knew right away what it was. Luckily I was right next to one of our fields, so I started to pull it in (40 feet or so). Well since both tires on one side were out, I was riding on rims and the planter wanted to tip over so bad. Of the other two tires, only one was touching ground. I was a little nervous to say the least.
We will have to see what tomorrow brings. Supposidly were going to try and plant with 2 main tires since when it is unfolded, there isn't much pressure on the wheels.
To add insult to injury, my ipod fried today. Now I will just have to listen to myself whistle while I work. Not happy!!
Brazilian Proverb (I made this up): Man who wants convenience, doesn't come to Brazil
Peace out!!
Signing off............
-(a frustrated) Hrubes
Well today started off with a step forward. We finally finished corn (which should have been done this time last week), and then we moved on to beans. First step was to calibrate the planter so we were getting the correct population. I wasn't thinking obviously when I forgot to change the transmission from low to high, and I was wondering why we couldn't get any more seeds. Dino was getting frustrated as I was too, however he wanted to blame it on the new precision discs that we put into the planter. These discs can do corn, soybeans, popcorn, and cotton, which is new to both Dino and I. We are use to a disc for each crop. Anyways after that fiasco, we were running. We finished a little spot in the afternoon before I was suppose to head to the other end of the farm to start on a 750 acre field.
Made sure I had Diesel, cookies, my ipod, tang, and everything else, then I headed out. As I was leaving the yard, the bead came off one of the main tires on the planter. (this tire had been junk for a while, not holding much air anyways, it was the only tire to have a tube as well.) Dino and I looked at it and decided to limp it to the other end of the farm (prolly 10-15 miles). About 3/4 of the way there I hear a huge BANG!! I knew right away what it was. Luckily I was right next to one of our fields, so I started to pull it in (40 feet or so). Well since both tires on one side were out, I was riding on rims and the planter wanted to tip over so bad. Of the other two tires, only one was touching ground. I was a little nervous to say the least.
We will have to see what tomorrow brings. Supposidly were going to try and plant with 2 main tires since when it is unfolded, there isn't much pressure on the wheels.
To add insult to injury, my ipod fried today. Now I will just have to listen to myself whistle while I work. Not happy!!
Brazilian Proverb (I made this up): Man who wants convenience, doesn't come to Brazil
Peace out!!
Signing off............
-(a frustrated) Hrubes
Friday, November 28, 2008
More waiting
Written; 11/28/08
Well the last time I wrote we ran out of seed. We got going again for about 12 more hours, but ran out of seed again. Word is that the supply chain of Pioneer or Syngenta do not have enough seed on hand currently to cover demand. So there is really nothing we can do about it. I thought it was probably a problem with the donkey delivering it, or some weird story. The most creative person couldn't even make a story unrealistic to Brazil. So this week we have been running the land roller ahead of the other planters planting soybeans. One day I had the opportunity to run one of the smaller soybean planters. Wow was it a change from the 72' bauer. I had to get more fertilizer every 2 rounds and seed every 4 rounds. Wow was it not as efficient as the bauer. Anyways, those planters are very critical to advancing the ground to being more productive. The first 2-3 years of new ground, soybeans and lots of fertilizer are used to bring up the nutrient levels to a level where you don't have to put on as much fertilizer the following years.
So funny story the other day, so make sure you listen up. I was planting corn with the bauer the other day and I needed seed at the end of the field. So a bunch of Brazilians drive past me in the pick-up full of seed. All of a sudden they are sliding sideways in the truck across the field. I was wondering what the heck, and then it gets better. The truck slides to a stop, 6 Brazilians jump out and start chasing something. I saw some kicking, diving, and others just looking ridiculous. After the dust settled, I saw one of them carrying a tatoo (armadillo). They didn't kill it, but they must like the excitement of the chase. They let it go for all of you animal lovers.
Seed is at the farm, but it has started to rain again. The forecast for the next 15 days is rain, so its going to be interesting. We leave for the coast on the 11th, so the rest of the interns would actually like to get some things done. We feel a little guilty, however we can't control the seed donkeys or the weather. Were in town now for a couple of days getting recharged with food other than rice and beans, and will probably be going back out to the farms tomorrow.
3 weeks left, and I'm sure it will go fast. It always seems like this, but we will be leaving now that I am comfortable around the locals and can speak enough Portuguese to get around by myself.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Signing off................
-Hrubes
Well the last time I wrote we ran out of seed. We got going again for about 12 more hours, but ran out of seed again. Word is that the supply chain of Pioneer or Syngenta do not have enough seed on hand currently to cover demand. So there is really nothing we can do about it. I thought it was probably a problem with the donkey delivering it, or some weird story. The most creative person couldn't even make a story unrealistic to Brazil. So this week we have been running the land roller ahead of the other planters planting soybeans. One day I had the opportunity to run one of the smaller soybean planters. Wow was it a change from the 72' bauer. I had to get more fertilizer every 2 rounds and seed every 4 rounds. Wow was it not as efficient as the bauer. Anyways, those planters are very critical to advancing the ground to being more productive. The first 2-3 years of new ground, soybeans and lots of fertilizer are used to bring up the nutrient levels to a level where you don't have to put on as much fertilizer the following years.
So funny story the other day, so make sure you listen up. I was planting corn with the bauer the other day and I needed seed at the end of the field. So a bunch of Brazilians drive past me in the pick-up full of seed. All of a sudden they are sliding sideways in the truck across the field. I was wondering what the heck, and then it gets better. The truck slides to a stop, 6 Brazilians jump out and start chasing something. I saw some kicking, diving, and others just looking ridiculous. After the dust settled, I saw one of them carrying a tatoo (armadillo). They didn't kill it, but they must like the excitement of the chase. They let it go for all of you animal lovers.
Seed is at the farm, but it has started to rain again. The forecast for the next 15 days is rain, so its going to be interesting. We leave for the coast on the 11th, so the rest of the interns would actually like to get some things done. We feel a little guilty, however we can't control the seed donkeys or the weather. Were in town now for a couple of days getting recharged with food other than rice and beans, and will probably be going back out to the farms tomorrow.
3 weeks left, and I'm sure it will go fast. It always seems like this, but we will be leaving now that I am comfortable around the locals and can speak enough Portuguese to get around by myself.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Signing off................
-Hrubes
Monday, November 24, 2008
Sit and wait.........
Written; 11/24/08
Well the last time I blogged we were in the middle of a huge 800 hectare (2,000 acre) field. Well today I am here to tell you that we have about 24 more hours left on that field. We really should be done with it and moved onto soybeans, however I am in Brazil. For some unknown reason to me, we had some sort of mix-up and ran short of corn seed. So, yesterday we were done by noon and basically sat all day until today. I jumped into the land roller to knock out some land with that as we waited for our shipment of mihlo. Mihlo has arrived and we are currently waiting for it to get treated before the other intern heads out for the night. If tonight is a complete go, we will finish corn tomorrow late.
The good news is that the other 3 smaller planters on the farm are going full speed with soybeans. It is really getting crazy here, hardly enough help anymore due to 4 planters needing seed and fertilizer (smaller planters apply fert with the seed due to new ground).
Lately I have been getting a spoon with my meals out in the field. No fork or knife. We are served meat, spaghetti, and rice (unfortunately every, single, day, after day, after day). How am I suppose to eat that with a SPOON. Who does the cook think I am, David Copperfield???
This completion date of December 5th is just around the corner.........
Signing off.............
- Hrubes
Well the last time I blogged we were in the middle of a huge 800 hectare (2,000 acre) field. Well today I am here to tell you that we have about 24 more hours left on that field. We really should be done with it and moved onto soybeans, however I am in Brazil. For some unknown reason to me, we had some sort of mix-up and ran short of corn seed. So, yesterday we were done by noon and basically sat all day until today. I jumped into the land roller to knock out some land with that as we waited for our shipment of mihlo. Mihlo has arrived and we are currently waiting for it to get treated before the other intern heads out for the night. If tonight is a complete go, we will finish corn tomorrow late.
The good news is that the other 3 smaller planters on the farm are going full speed with soybeans. It is really getting crazy here, hardly enough help anymore due to 4 planters needing seed and fertilizer (smaller planters apply fert with the seed due to new ground).
Lately I have been getting a spoon with my meals out in the field. No fork or knife. We are served meat, spaghetti, and rice (unfortunately every, single, day, after day, after day). How am I suppose to eat that with a SPOON. Who does the cook think I am, David Copperfield???
This completion date of December 5th is just around the corner.........
Signing off.............
- Hrubes
Friday, November 21, 2008
Pictures of planting and other current activities
Here is a link to my album on photobucket.com
Enjoy
Enjoy
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