Why Aren't Soybeans Harvested When They Are Green?

 It's a question that I've heard many times.  Why aren't soybeans harvested when they are green?  We pick green beans in the garden when they are green, so why are soybeans harvested when they are brown and the plants appear to be dead?

In the following picture you can see green beans...

and in this picture, are soybeans...

Why Aren't Soybeans Harvested When They Are Green? 

If you or I waited to harvest the produce from our garden when the plants were dead, like we do with our field crops, there probably wouldn't be anything left to produce.  Sure, it would probably be there, but the quality wouldn't.  When you plant a garden, you aren't actually growing grain like we are.  While they appear to be dead, they are actually ripe!

Grain crops such as corn and soybeans are harvested when they are ripened which means their green tissue has turned brown, or dried down as we call it.  Crops have a long storage life, so they have to be dry so they don't get moldy.  No one likes moldy food, just like animals don't like moldy food if the crops are being used for animal feed.

Another reason that we let the plants dry down naturally is because if the grain is hauled into a grain elevator, to be shipped elsewhere and made into certain foods or other things, it needs to be at or below a certain moisture, so that it can be stored for long periods without going bad.  The moisture for soybeans needs to be at or below 13%.  If it is above that percentage we are docked in the price.

Here you can see the soybeans coming out of the grain cart auger. 

We are able to dry our grain, specifically our corn.  Most of the time we let Mother Nature handle the soybeans and they are able to be hauled straight to the elevator.  If they are too wet, we put them in a grain bin with a large fan to help dry them out before they are hauled to the elevator.  It's a little more difficult to get corn to dry down enough to haul straight to the elevator from the field, so we use our grain dryer most of the time for corn.

The grain dryer system is another post in itself, so I will have to fill you in on that at another time;)+

Catching Up...

 Well, sadly it has been two months since I last posted on here.  It's been super busy around here as I'm sure it has been for most of you.  And I started a fun little project which I will tell you about later in the post.   I've decided to do a post to catch you all up because I'm sure you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats wondering about us;)

We had family pictures before harvest started.  We usually wait until after we are done in the fields, so Brad doesn't have to take time away for pictures because we all know he would love that!  The girls are done changing each day like they did when they were babies, so I decided I wanted to have them taken in the summer, but summer quickly turned into fall and in September we had them taken, but we weren't freezing our patooties off!  This is pretty much how they went....

There's always that one sister!;)

Mel turned 7!!!!

Jo turned 3!!!!

3 is my favorite age, minus the terrible three temper tantrums.  I hate to tell you, but the tantrums don't stop at 2.

We celebrated all month and the month before.  The weeks leading up to her birthday, she kept saying, "My birfday's coming up."  Then the days after, "My birfday's coming up."  I think her birthday's from now on may have to be a month long celebration.

I started a new endeavor called The Farmwife Crafts.  I am so excited about this change.  I used to share recipes,  crafts, and family life here on this blog, but now all my crafts and recipes will be posted at The Farmwife Crafts.  Don't worry!  I'm not going anywhere.  I will still share stories here, but for all my crafts, DIY, and recipes, visit The Farmwife Crafts please:).

We visited our favorite pumpkin place to get our pumpkins.

Mel completed her first ever basketball camp and loved it and now she is doing gymnastics!  And she also did a cheer camp and loved it!

Jo got silly putty stuck in her hair and after trying every other option we could think of, she had to get it cut;(.  Goodbye curls...

We visited our favorite place not once, but twice this month.

We spent a lot of time with friends.  Some live close and others live far away.  Either way it's always fun to get together.

Jo filled her pockets with "beams" and cried when all of her "beams" were gone from the fields.  I, however, did not cry!

After 5 long weeks and only a couple rainy days we wrapped up harvest and were thankful for another year.

Last night we  carved pumpkins.  I don't know why we can't just stick to the basic triangle eyes and nose and crooked mouth, but we have fun!

Now we are ready for career day at school tomorrow with our teacher and farmer and Halloween on Saturday with a minion, cheetah, and zombie.

Summer Nights...

Summer nights are quickly winding down, much to our dismay.  Summer always seems to be our busiest time, but also gives us the chance to spend more time as a family.  The days and nights may be long, but we sure do enjoy them!

I captured these the other night while the girls were jumping on a trampoline...with a pool floatie, of course;)  The lighting and quality isn't the best...I'm still working on my low-light photography and after nearly 10 years, I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever master that, but I love them.

This one is my favorite.  Jo is in the shot also, but she is laying down;)

 Sunset, cornfields, and a trampoline.  Perfection!

Spraying Fungicide...

This has definitely been an interesting year thus far for farmers.  It's hard to believe that 3 years ago we were in one of the worst droughts in history.  I saw on the news today that in 2012 we experienced 51 days of 90 degree temperatures.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was pregnant and spent a lot of time in the pool, while watching our crops burn up.  That year we had some of the lowest yields on record.

This summer has been the complete opposite.  I forget the exact number, but we have only had a few days of 90 degree temps and the rainfall has been above average...way above average.  I've tried to refrain from sharing very many crop pictures on social media because I know that we are very fortunate where we live in terms of how our crops look.  I have seen pictures of fields that are flooded, fields that didn't get planted because of Spring being too wet, and corn that is only a foot tall and is beginning to tassel.  My heart is definitely aching for these farmers and their families and I am keeping them in my prayers.

With all the moisture we have experienced combined with late planting times, there comes a risk of diseases in corn that can affect yields.  Many farmers have chosen to spray their fields with fungicide in hopes of preventing further disease.  We decided to have our fields sprayed as well.  Some chemical companies apply the fungicide with an airplane, while others, like ours, use a helicopter.  Some farmers can use a "sprayer" with very tall wheels to get through the rows of corn to apply it, but there are only certain types of sprayers that can do this.  Fungicide is applied after the corn has tasseled.  It seems that for the past several weeks we have heard planes in the distance spraying corn.  It never gets old watching them spray the fields and it is easy entertainment for the girls;)

This was the first year that we have sprayed fungicide from the air, so the girls were pretty excited to watch.  It's not every day that a helicopter lands in the barn lot!;)

Here is a short video of the helicopter spraying...

 The helicopter landed on the back of the truck to fill-up with more fungicide.  They are able to spray 26 acres between fill-ups.

Here is a short video of the helicopter landing...

 A quick fill-up, which only seemed to take a couple minutes, and he was off again...