Harvest in full swing

Well we have had a few career changes since I last wrote. This job definately affords us the opportunity to try many new things. After learning tractor driving last month I asked the question not too long ago on facebook 'What other new skills could I learn before 30 rolls around?' One friend suggested flying (which he reckons is not too far different from tractor driving) - Apologies Brendan but I still havent added flying to my portfolio but both Neil and I have added numerous other fun skills. We completed rock raking (Aka raking rocks into rows so they could be piled up and removed from the paddock). Neil became the front end loaded driver and I the dump truck driver as we used our rock collection to build up some roads that had washed out.

We work pretty long hours and have seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Harvest is now in full swing. We work 7pm til 7am. Neil is out in the paddock as a chaser bin driver-following the headers around collecting their harvested grain and dumping it in a larger bin- the motherbin.

Neil unloading a header into his chaser bin.

The new header- one of 5 on the paddock at once.

Neil unloading from a chaser bin into the mother bin

Neil driving a Case Mtx 600 with chaser bin in tow.


Trucks then bring the mother bin grain down to the silos. The trucks first pass my domain- the sample stand. Here the grain is sampled with a large vacumn (Yep Neil reckons everytime it breaksdown that I should be able to fix it- good practice he teases). We take 4 samples in the first trailer and 1 from every 10 tonne in the second trailer. This involves driving a pole to through the grain to the bottom to get a good respresentative sample of the whole load.

The samples are then taken into our sample testing caravan- kinda a mini lab. The 1/2 bucket sample is mixed and then a smaller sample is run through a machine which tests for moisture and protein (and oil content in the case of canola). A test weight is taken which gives an indication of the density of the grain. The test weight sample is then thrown into an agitator which contains a number of different sized seives. The grain that remains at the top of the seive is the retention % and the grain that falls all the way to the bottom is the screenings. The screenings usually contains small grains, any defective grains and any husks or foreign contaminants. All these numbers go together to give a grade for the grain. The grade determines what the grain is used for- human consumption or animal feed. The higher the grade the higher the $$$ monetary return for it. The moisture result is also a good indicator of if the grain is ripe to harvest so usually small test samples are taken of each paddock before harvest commences.

From the sample stand the trucks head to the silos to unload. Part of my job at night is to unload the trucks. I back them up to a hopper attached to an auger which is lined up with the opening at the top of the silo (for all our none farming friends). The auger is driven by a tractor.

It is a fine art to get the auger running at the right rate that keeps up with the truck emptying. Any miss alignment can cause a mess- and no I was not responsible for this one- even the most experienced men can have an oops- particularly when the lights are out at night for electrical work.

Oh so your looking for the loader- mmm just let me dig it out :)


The people we work for own about 10-15 properties dotted around Moree, Pallamallawa and Croppa Creek so we move from property to property a bit. We have both been escorts and have both been escorted which driving machinery down the road.

The picture should have given everyone the escort idea- but I did have a funny experience. I rang one of the header drivers- but had the wrong number and got a guy by the same name and I asked him if he wanted an escort- well you can imagine the idea he got and he arkwardly explained that he didnt need or ask for a female escorts services- hilarious story.

Tis crazy to think but the boss lets me drive most of the expensive equipment (harvester excluded at this stage :(). When moving properties the boss asked us to help- I jumped in a car to escort and Neil in a chaser bin- next minute the boss asks what I am doing in the car- no I'm driving another chaser bin- of course. I mention I have never (well rarely) towed a thing in my life and he says she'll be right. So off I go 70kms down the road in my little/ not so litte green machine. Neil was at the front in a similar set up.

The harvest started on some chick peas and then progressed to canola and then acres and acres of barley. The operation is big- 5 headers and 4 chaser bins pulled off 1500 tonne or more in barley in one night (bare in mind this is all carted in 30-60 tonne lots so thats a lot of loads for the chaser bins and trucks and then a lot of loads for me in the sample stand to test- arm muscles here we come and legs too with all the stairs). A breather is a rare event so when it's home time we have no dramas sleeping in the day. They can do 1000 acres in a night when the going is good and the straw not too moist. The 26000 acres of crop to harvest doesn't sound so big when 2000 acres can be taken off in a full 24hrs.

Canola is again been harvested before we move onto wheat today. The canola and barley are nearly finished and so it is just masses of wheat and chickpeas to go. We are having a ball and working with the most lovely team of 30 ppl- myself and one other make up the estrogen component. Everyone is so helpful and goes out of their way for each other- it is amazing to see when everyone is sleep deprived and working flat out- a rare occurance and perhaps a reflection of the boss- in fact on the night of the large grain spillage he was the one to discover it- he went around to the auger guy and asked him how his night was going (just as he would any other night). They guy answered 'well' to which the boss replied "just come for a walk with me for a second"- around the corner he pointed out the grain pile and half buried loader and said " a little work to do in the morning". He'd make a good dad if you accidently did something wrong.

Well it is back to work we go on wheat tonight. Nightie night.

Silverton, Menindee and East to join the harvest

Well we've covered plenty of territory lately. When we last left off we were in Broken Hill heading for a day at Silverton.

Silverton is a funny little spot- once a thriving mining community of 3000 people or so today supposedly 60 live there- although we struggled to count more than 10 locals- the 10 running the pub and tourist museums and galleries. Most of the houses were transported to Broken Hill when mining died in Silverton and resources were thin in the outback for building.

Today using your imagination you can trace out a few streets that were- a dot the dot between the courthouse, school, 3 or so churches and the pub and a few old homes converted into galleries. Dispersed around at old signs of life- railway scooters, concrete sinks etc. Everything charges you to enter (excluding the pub)- with no dollar coins and no atm's we didn't do much to support the economy but don't think we missed much either.

I love exploring old places and old buildings and where better to start than the Cemetary. Neil I discovered found this weird- and was not impressed that I dragged him wearing thongs through the desert (snakes and Neil are worst enermies) to view the tales of life and death on the oldest looking headstones (by passed the newbies cause it was evident Neil's interest was floundering from the outset).

The pub you have probably seen on TV. I knew of Madmax but it has been in heaps of other movies over the years- all before our time. Ironically MadMax came on TV the night before we went out. Neither of us knowing anything about it sat down to watch- totally weird- didnt get far through thats for sure so the interest in the car and other memorabilia wasnt really as enthusiastic as some of the other 60 plus year old tourists.

Just of out Silverton was a look out- a mound above the expanse of flat. There we got an appreciation for what lay beyond- no signs of civilisation just and endless panorama of desert scrub. This is one big country for sure.

The next day we meandered through Broken Hill. It really is a town in the middle of the mines. Mounds of dirt surround the town on all sides and mining equipment stands tall on the hills. Despite it's isolation the town itself is much the same as any of it's size- Centro and the usual stores. The town centre shows the hey day buildings and architecture- stunning old buildings still used today with all the character and wealth of old times. The houses are interesting though- mostly corragated iron clad- I imagine they must be well insulated to keep the cold out.
Some amazing local painters have captured the landscape amzingly and we enjoyed a gallery or two.
One artist gave us many a laugh with his depictions of bush life and the flying doctor's service- heres a few for your laugh- Howard William Steer:
"Sturt desert pea"

artchat.com.au

Next was off to Menindee Lakes for some R and R- i'll let pictures tell the story:

We free camped in the middle of nowhere for a few days on route from Broken Hill to Coonabarbran. We had heard mixed experiences about peoples trips through Wilcania and a few little towns on route but praise God our's was uneventful. We agreed to free camp if others were- and we weren't disappointed- 15 or 20 campers rocked up most nights. It was amazing how many buddies we had in no mans land. Alas we discovered cat head burrs and just about every other variety which to this day still turn up in the caravan, car and washing. Nynghan and Cobar do well to promote anything and everything they can find as tourist sites- old shut down mines and current ones viewed from the mounds and old water towers around. Most of the expereince is the country as your drive along though. I finally mastered caravan towing and more importantly the 'outback wave' on the open road. Town towing is yet to be perfected :).

Canola at "Collie Station":

So where are we now- Well it was always a dream of Neil's to join the harvest and give it a go. After much prayer and patient job application submissions a friend of a friend offered us work. We are based in Northern NSW about 70 km from Moree and 65Km from Warialda. We visited some family in Moree and then some old friends at Crooble- were nearly back in old home territory(Naomi's schooling country of Warialda- and close to where Neil's family had a property toward Mungindi).We will move around a bit from property to property within about a 70 km radius back towards Moree. Until harvest we are both tractor driving- yep the 17 yr old girl who was quote "never going to live in the bush and never going to marry a farmer...." is getting her hands dirty and enjoying the change. At harvest I will be a grain sampler and Neil will be chaser bin driving (and if he's lucky he'll hopefully get to try the headers out too). We will work shifts around the clock so that could get interesting- Hopefully we are on the same shift sometimes so it's not a hi, bye and who are you at change of shift.

Our new occupations:

Hard Worker :

Foreman: