Harvest at the Hollow
The valley in front of Heiser Hollow has always been farmed, but in our time, the family across the valley has always planted corn or soybeans. Whatever the relative economic merits of the different crops, from an aesthetic point of view, a scraggly looking field of hairy little soy plants can’t compare with a golden field of ripe golden wheat.
The field, which hasn’t been planted with wheat since the 60s, was harvested over a period of several days, mostly with a late model Deere combine. It trundled up and down the field, raising huge clouds of dust, leaving behind neat rows of golden straw, more than filling up a semi-trailer.
The Moore family has farmed this valley for generations, and they’ve still got some of their original farming equipment. Sporting a new coat of orange paint and Allis-Chalmers decals, this pre-war AC tractor took a nostalgia tour across the wheat field, pulling an equally old, and equally authentic AC combine.
July 9th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
I’m curious, too, why they planted wheat. I don’t think farmers make as much $$ with wheat (I heard that somewhere). But I think there’s been some encouragement to grow it for some reason.
Beautiful photos.
July 9th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
He always plants some wheat, some where. He just hasn’t planted any in his front yard before. There’s a good market for the straw, so even though wheat isn’t worth as much as soy beans, there is a second source of profit.