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This past winter's rains were beneficial, bringing a favorable year with a protein-rich desert plant called Filaree growing abundantly. This plant’s unexpected growth pattern is compared to wild oats, suggesting its resilience by lying dormant until conditions improve. David also notes the logistical ease and economic sense of managing cattle in Arizona but mentions the setback caused by border closures with Mexico due to the screwworm issue.

Host David Woodruff with Keith Flake of Snowflake, Arizona; Keith shares his experiences and updates on ranching at Gold Canyon, near Mesa, Arizona. Despite a lack of impactful monsoon rains, the past winter's rains were beneficial, bringing a favorable year with a protein-rich desert plant called Filaree growing abundantly. This plant’s unexpected growth pattern is compared to wild oats, suggesting its resilience by lying dormant until conditions improve. Keith also notes the logistical ease and economic sense of managing cattle in Arizona but mentions the setback caused by border closures with Mexico due to the screwworm issue.

Host : David Woodruff Guest : Nathan Cummins This conversation delved into Nathan's harvest logistics, including the use of semi-trucks and crop carts to improve efficiency by reducing the amount of dirt transported during harvest. This method not only minimizes logistical challenges but also enhances the preservation of crops.

Let's jump back in on that conversation between David Woodruff, our host, and Taff Hughes, custom harvester from Great Bend, Kansas. So now, is that fall rye? Yes. Yes, correct. Fall rye is a big crop up here. Not that it's so much of it is grown, but rye is forgiving, you can do everything wrong and it will still give you a good crop. Just historically, it hasn't sold for very much. So, but it's so great for keeping bean ground and potato ground from blowing. Yeah, and that's where we can raise it here in the sand. It keeps it from blowing. And then also, if you get fall moisture, you can really get some good grazing out of it, we raise a lot and feed our calves on rye here through the winter. Does anybody use it for silage? Yes. That's getting more popular. Some of the feed lots are doing that now on the irrigated. They take it for silage. Never used to. It looked quite a bit. Used to be harvested for grain and now it mainly grays in it out. And it depends on the price. We have a feedlot that I'm neighbor to and they've been, oh, it must be over 20 years now. And the original owners, they used to plant grain corn and if the price of corn was up, they could combine it. Great Bend Kansas custom harvester, Taff Hughes with our host David Woodruff.

Let's jump back in on that conversation between David Woodruff, our host and Taff Hughes, custom harvester from Great Bend, Kansas. We're on the road to Iowa to the US Custom Harvester Convention, rest of the week here. Oh yeah. Looking forward to that, like always, get together with like-minded people and people in the industry and look forward to seeing everybody learning some new stuff and have a great time. And where is that convention? Des Moines, Iowa. Okay. So I would love to get down there sometime. I got my nose to the grindstone up here with the school bus. Oh sure. I don't know why I've got such a big long nose. It should be a little nub of a thing. Yeah. Yeah. And tell them all hi from Harvest USA! Very good, David. And Cattlemen's Corner and Horseman's Corner. Okay. Thanks for calling. See you later. Have a good one. Bye-bye. Great Bend, Kansas Custom Harvester, Taff Hughes with our host David Woodruff.

Harvesting Progress and Winter Preparations: Glenn Jones from Greenfield, Iowa, reports that the harvest has been completed successfully, despite previous weather challenges. The cattle and calves are now settled for the winter, and recent snow has melted, improving conditions. Severe Weather Conditions in the U.S.: There are upcoming storms across the United States, with severe cold and snow expected in states as far south as Texas and across to North Carolina. Temperatures are forecasted to be below freezing in many areas, including Oklahoma City, leading to potentially treacherous conditions. Challenges with Crop Moisture Levels: Discussions involved trading and storing crops, with a focus on the challenges of maintaining optimal moisture levels in soybeans. Neighbors had to harvest soybeans at higher moisture levels and used aeration to manage their storage, though drying conditions have been less than ideal due to weather fluctuations. Concerns were raised about methods for drying high-oil-content seeds like canola and soybeans using low-heat techniques.

David Woodruff with Nathan Cummins Nathan detailed his current farm operations, including winter activities like rebuilding potato harvesters and managing shipments. His farming crew expands from 10 to 30 people during the harvest season. Staffing, especially during peak times, is challenging, but Nathan utilizes the foreign worker program to maintain labor consistency.