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.