The rainy weather has moved out of the area, and it’s good to see the sun again. The fields have dried to the point that we are able to combine the soybeans. I’ve gotten a few phone calls asking about the cutter bar, and if it’s still working after the rebuild. The answer; yes, it’s doing quite well. We’ve cut a couple hundred acres so far and it chews through the crops with great ease.
Things rarely go as planned. This is true in most areas of life, but especially farming. We should have the soybean crop harvested by now, but the lack of sunshine and abundance of rain has us slogging through mud, waiting for sunshine. This post is a little different, in that I don’t have any fun photos. There’s no way to properly frame the view of a cloudy sky, cold temps and the worried looks on the faces of friends and neighbors. While we wash another layer of mud from our vehicles, vacuum it from the carpets in the house and scrape it from our boots, let’s use this as an educational opportunity. A few interesting facts:
Soy Ink is used in 95 percent of America’s daily newspapers.
Soy Flour is made from roasted soy beans ground into a fine powder. Found in pies, cakes, pasta and frozen desserts, it may be used as a substitute for regular flour or eggs.
(1 tablespoon of soy flour + 1 tablespoon of water = 1 egg)
Soy Milk is popular with lactose intolerant folks.
Soy Sauce is made by fermenting boiled soybeans and roasted wheat or barley.
In 1920 there were only about 500,000 acres of soybeans planted in the U.S. In 2007 about 70 million acres of soybeans were planted.
Soybean Oil is the most widely used vegetable oil. Soybean oil accounts for about 80% of all vegetable oils and animal fats consumed in the U.S. each year.
Soy Crayons are safer to use, brighter in color, and less expensive to produce than petroleum wax crayons. One acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.
Soy Biodiesel is gaining a wider acceptance. When used as fuel in a tractor, the exhaust smells like french fries.
Henry Ford was a pioneer in the industrial use of soybeans. By 1935 every Ford car had soy involved in its manufacture. Soybean oil was used in the painting process, and soy oil was in the shock absorbers. In 1942 Henry Ford showcased a car with a plastic body made from soybeans. Attached to a tubular frame, the body weighed 30% less than a steel car and was much more flexible and durable. This experimental car was equipped to run on ethanol, but these novel ideas failed to catch on.
George Washington Carver and Henry Ford worked together in the 1930s and 1940s to use soybeans and other agricultural means to make life better for the common man.
George Washington Carver and Henry Ford
“All the world is waiting for a substitute for gasoline,” Ford said in 1916. “The day is not far distant when, for every one of those barrels of gasoline, a barrel of alcohol must be substituted.”
They worked together for many years, convinced that the day would come when agriculture would provide fuels. More about their collaboration here: http://bluephi.net/blog/2009/08/03/george-washington-carver-and-henry-ford/
At some point the constant cute has to end. The energy, the enthusiasm and quest for fun could get annoying, but Mac continues to be endearing. Yesterday I was standing at the workbench and looked down to see his head resting on my boot, his favorite rope toy in his mouth. He’s always ready to play, and is not subtle in his communication.
He loves to play fetch with corn stalks and ears of corn, and actually eats the corn.
Winter weather rolled into the area Friday afternoon. We were making good progress combining soybeans, but the snow cut short our time in the field. Charlotte took this photo as we were putting the trucks and machinery away for the day. More snow is forecast for tonight…
