Harvest season at William Shane Farms went very well this year. Is it time to rest? No, preparations for next year's crop begin immediately.

At every opportunity, the combine unloads without stopping. It takes careful coordination between the combine operator and the pickup auger wagon driver to prevent grain spillage. Brother Jerry is operating the combine and Nephew Mike Shane is driving the pickup wagon.
The huge machine requires a 10-foot ladder just to enter.

 

I got a chance to briefly operate the $400,000 combine, but it was too complicated for me without a lot of training.

Steering, watching for unexpected obstacles, constantly monitoring processes and coordinating with the pickup wagon takes a lot of constant concentration..

I gave it up after two passes across the field.

The view of the header from the operator's cockpit is excellent. The action appears quite violent as corn ears are ripped from their stalks.

The cab is surprisingly clean and quiet inside. Filtered air is heated or cooled as required for operator safety and comfort. The driver has cell phone and two-way radio for communication. He can even listen to music if he wants.

The pickup auger-wagon runs along side the combine that continues to harvest grain even while unloading. The wagon driver keeps a constant 4 mph speed while the combine operator varies his speed to spread the grain across the wagon's length. A little toggle switch turns the combine's dump conveyer on and off.
The combine, operated by my brother, Jerry, breaks through the end of an eight-row pass.

An amazing amount of modern farm machinery contains computers and GPS connectivity..

Nephew Mike Shane dumps corn from the auger wagon into a waiting semi tractor trailer. A single unload from this 1,000 bushel wagon fills the truck beyond legal road weight limits.

Size comparison between me and this massive auger wagon gives some idea ot it's size.

The tire is big, but low pressure, to keep from compacting the soil so much.

Brother Bill, the farms' owner and manager, starts the tractor powering the conveyer auger that lifts grain into the big dryer bin. The dryer system is fully computerized and the grain is automatically moved between dryer and storage bins when moisture content is low enough.

Weight scales, foreground, are used before and after each unload to determine accurate measure of grain unloaded.

Brother Bill opens the bottom of the semi tractor trailer to let grain enter the bin conveyer.

The harvest continues.

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