Well, this has been the third summer that I have had the opportunity to be in Sidney for wheat harvest. What a crazy time of year for the Narjes Farm. Needless to say I had quite a bit to learn about wheat two years ago. My parents simply farm around 500 acres of corn and soybean with a couple sections of alfalfa, so I didn't have much experience at all with wheat. Thankfully Tyson is a good teacher so he quickly opened my eyes to the wheat world. I love being outside and having to do and learn anything that involves agriculture, so I thoroughly enjoyed riding in the combine and hanging out in the wheat field. I am sure that Tyson enjoys having a passenger as well. :-)
The following is the little that I learned about wheat. Most wheat is planted in the fall usually in September, and it sprouts in the fall then upon the first freeze goes into a dormant stage. This is a crucial part; if the wheat doesn't sprout and go into dormancy it will not produce anything the next summer. In the springtime, the plant will come out of dormancy and grow taller while producing the wheat head. Depending on the variety of wheat, it can grow anywhere from 18 inches to 48 inches. Typically prime harvest time for western Nebraska is the middle of July. Depending upon the weather and moisture it can range from late June to late July. Once the wheat crop is ready, the combines hit the field and go practically nonstop until the last kernel is in the bin. Hail is quite typical in western Nebraska, so many farmers are eager to get their crop in the bin before any unfortunate hailstorms have the chance to hit the fields. But inevitably some fields may get hail during this summer, which can greatly affect its yield.
Check out these photos from this year's wheat harvest!
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| Tyson and I riding in the combine. |
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| A harvest sunset. |
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| Ryan's combine was flashing lights because the bin was full. Time to unload! |
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| Cool picture that Tyson took. |
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| Ryan unloading into the grain cart on the go. |
Fun Facts about Wheat:
- Did you know that Nebraska is the 7th largest wheat producing state in the Nation?
- Nebraska farmers contribute over 74 Million bushels each year.
- More foods are made from wheat than any other cereal grain.
- One bushel of wheat weighs about 60 pounds.
- One bushel of wheat contains approximately more than one million individual kernels.
- A bushel of wheat makes about 90 one-pound loaves of whole wheat bread.
To learn more about wheat check out the Nebraska Wheat Board's Website.
