Woe is Me

The combine flew into a million pieces at 6 pm on July 3rd with only 11 acres of wheat left to harvest.

Spider mites are eating the soybeans, so we need drench the fields with pesticides (which I’m fundamentally opposed to) that will cost 5 dollars an acre. Unless it starts raining the soybeans are going to die anyway and that will be money down the drain.

The corn crop is essentially a total loss at this point from the drought.

On the plus side the wheat we were harvesting until the combine self-destructed is the best we’ve ever raised. The bin we store wheat in is stuffed to the eaves. We’ve been hauling semi-loads to town because the bin is full. And because the grain traders in Chicago are panicking the price of wheat is through the roof. So we have lots of wheat to sell at a high price. That’s a good thing.

And we have crop insurance, so if the corn and soybean crops fail, we get an insurance payment. That’s a good thing too, but still, it’s like your house burning down. It’s nice that you have insurance and you’re not ruined, but you’re not happy about it.