CCF

After the fields were cultivated and disked, several farm employees planted on winter squash and pumpkin/gourd seedlings. Because of the nature of the plants and soil used on the farm, these plants need to be started off in seedlings, then planted on by hand:

Although the large amount of rain that the farm has been received has helped this year's crops immensely, it still has caused some standstill on the farm. Although the rain has not down poured many times this summer, it has still kicked up a large amount of minerals and sediment that poured into the farm's pond, and in turn clogged up the irrigation filters on the drier days in which the irrigation system was needed. As the forecast called for a relatively dry week, the farm owner drained the pond completely, and dug up the sediment with the excavator:

To prepare the field for the next crop, all that had to be done was a quick cultivation and discing. Dave took cultivation duty, because the soil was relatively free of rocks and weeds, he was done with the four rows within an hour:

Marky was quite pleased when the Farm Owner told him to disk up the fields instead of giving the John Deere tracked tractor an oil change:

FARM JOURNAL #2

At Cider Hill Farms, it is evident that the summer is starting to wind down. During the past few evenings, the temperature has been dropping down to 10-12 degrees, and there is a hint of fall in the air. We are now starting our gradual descent into the main harvesting season with the harvest of several of our root crops. So far the past week, the weather has cooperated with us quite nicely with clear skies and minimal rainy days, definitely a good sign for things ahead. Fall is right around the corner now!

Early in the week, we went out to inspect several root crop fields for harvest. The crops were definitely ready for harvest as evident in the pictures, so we spent most of the day harvesting the four rows. What is seen in the picture is about a quarter of all of the root crops grown on the farm this year:

After the crops were inspected, we started by harvesting the Onion fields. The few weeds that were growing in the field were tossed into the back of the gator, while the Onions were placed into the loader bucket to be brought up to the barnyard:

While Garrett and Gavin were harvesting the Onions, Zane and Martin harvested the two rows of potatoes. The potatoes were placed on a small wagon to be brought up to the barnyard for washing. Most of the potatoes will get sold in this coming weekend's farmer's market:

Unfortunately, one of our Onion field got completely overgrown by weeds because it was shaded by several trees in back of the field. The farm owner tried to dig up a few of the onions to see if they were any good, but all of them were not much larger than gum ball size. The farm owner sent Gavin out to mow down the field with the brush mower. The farm owner told Gavin and Martin to go back to the field and try to pull out as many of the small onions as possible and dump them in the pig pen, as the farm owner does not want Onions to be grown in that field next year:

Thank you very much chaps. 

Putting the last of the plants for the season in the ground as well as harvesting up some crops. Cleaning up the farmyard and getting ready for the final harvest as well. 

Fantastic shots BN, especially enjoyed the Massey at plowing. 

What can I say Graham, you are truly the master of small detail. Great real touches, makes the barn itself look much more realistic. Superb as always mate! 

Nice display you have going there BlueFan, good to see the old Ford workhorses still at it in the fields! 

Welcome aboard Quirky, hope you enjoy the forum! 

Hi Chris welcome to the forum, enjoy your stay! 

Hope you had a good one Simon 

As always stunning photos, thank you for taking the time to capture the Claas at work. 

nice story you can see how much effort goes into this topic 

Cheers jcb mate 

After the hay was cut, it was baled after sitting and drying for a few days. We were lucky enough to choose several days in which there was no rain for the hay to dry:

In June, weeds start to become a problem around the farm. This year, we have been right on top of keeping all of the weeds neatly cut down with a rotary brush mower:

Weeds grow everywhere on the farm during the hot months of the summer. Weeds have not been as bad as past years due to the many rain days with cooler temperatures, however it is still important to get rid of them in the field, as they have taken over whole crops in the past. This year, we have been weeding at dusk, and have been using the Gator dump bed for the weeds instead of a loader bucket. By doing this, we minimize the compaction of the soil, making it easier and faster to till when a new crop is being planted:

Well, this about brings everything up to speed on Cider Hill Farms. Now that the busy part of the summer has gone by, I hope to get back to the model farm on a weekly basis. Tune in next week for some root crop harvesting and general farm work.

The large chunks of dirt that are cultivated up from the ground are thereafter broken up with the disk:

One of the main focuses of the farm this year has been to save as many resources as possible to keep costs down. We have done this by cutting back farming land, and therefore spending less on seeds/seedlings, fertilizer, fuel, and water. This year, we have done most of our planting at dusk when the temperature starts to lower. By doing this, drivers need fewer breaks, therefore saving idling engine time on machines. Working at dusk is also much easier on the machines:

Our hay field was cut in May, and is due for it's second and possibly final cutting of the year within the next few weeks. As we still cut a vast amount of hay on our and other farms, we have decided to keep the self propelled mower conditioner for another year:

FARM JOURNAL #1

I apologize for not adding to this topic sooner chaps, this summer has been very eventful thus far and has not given me much spare time for down on the model farm. This journal is a catchup journal from May-early August (Present). Some of the photos are not up to their optimal due to lighting problems, hope to fix that in newer journals however. Enough talk, time for the journal and pictures!

Several weeks before the ground was fertilized and tilled, several farm employees went out and picked up any large stones and rocks in the field that would cause trouble for the fertilizing units and tillage. All of the rocks were dumped into the irrigation stream to further improve the water quality:

Due to this year's extremely high prices of fertilizer and fuel and the ever rising price of seeds, the farm has decided to cut back on the land farmed this year by several hundred acres. The farm only is farming 500 acres in total land now, so it is considered a small farm. With the large amount of money the farm has made from clearing residential and commercial driveways of snow in the wintertime, the farm will be able to still make it by this year with a good sized profit. Here, fertilizer is being applied to the ground with a dry fertilizer spreader:

After the fertilizer is applied, the ground is tilled up. As the decision to cut back on farmed land proved to be successful, the farm will most likely be trading this tractor and implement in at the end of the summer for something more suitable to the land size:

Nice buy John, may she provide you with many years of reliable service. 

Happy belated birthday Scott, hope you had a good day mate. 

What a beauty you got yourself Adam, congratulations. Treat her with care and she will last many more years to come. 

What type of ground was the NH harvesting on? Not typical to see them running on tracks as opposed to wheels, must be a big boggy out there?

Thanks for the pictures Cerin, an impressive model. Excellent detail Paul, certainly a credit to you. 

I've never seen a spreader like that before, interesting efficient setup. Is it designed specifically for orchard use, or for general row crop work? 

Nice collection of pictures mate, " Massey 6475 and Haybob.JPG " is a nice head on picture. Is that 9pm that you left the field, as it still seems bright out for that time of day?  \

Looks like another day of rain and dark clouds here in the states. (New York) Sure enough when it comes time to harvest wheat all we get is rain.  Maybe by next week we can see some sun.\

Ah so you've got blasted with the storm I am about to get mate? The amount of rain here has been unbelievable this year, yes all of the crops are getting enough water, but the rain has done quite a number on the crops as it is.  \

Impressive set of photos mate, shots look quite realistic!