The Love of Fall Harvest | by Jill Zwiener

It seems if you ask anyone in the farming/agriculture industry what their favorite part of the year is, most of the time you will hear “fall harvest.” There is something extra special about turning the calendar to October when harvest is in full swing.

It starts with walking out in the morning, a slight fog hangs in the air as you take in that first breath that is a little cooler than the months before. As everyone starts to gather in the field to begin harvesting, you feel a sense of excitement. The entire team is working together to get the year’s crop brought in.

The sights, the sounds, and the smells of harvest are so special. The sound of the combine shelling the corn. The aroma of the corn drying while a slight dust floats through the air. As the sun starts to set after a long day, the lights of the equipment and grain systems come on.

The mercury starts to drop and you reach for that light jacket to keep warm as you watch everyone coming in from the field. You shut down the equipment for the day and that's when you not only realize your love for fall harvest, but the love you have for taking care of the family farm. If you are lucky, you might even experience the joy of sharing this with your own children, knowing this might turn into their love as well and keep the cycle of family farming going.

The only thing that can make it better is catching a big, orange harvest moon coming up over the horizon on your drive home, knowing that in only a few short hours you get to start the process all over again. 

Happy fall harvest to everyone in the agriculture community! Take care and be safe this year!

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Jill Zwiener Brand Manager Jill joined the Valley Irrigation team in 2011. She loves country music, fountain soda, food, college football, and the ski slopes of Colorado. She enjoys using photography to freeze the precious bits of time with her family into pictures that she can cherish for years.

Harvesting Pride – from the seat of a combine | by Brooke Stover

 Grandpa's $1,700 tractor Harvesting corn Grandpa Gene

Autumn is signified to me by many things: the changing of the leaves from green to shades of orange and red; the sun starts coming out a little later (making it a bit more difficult for some of us to get out of bed – not me of course, but some); and (something I have come to appreciate) the caravan of combines combing the fields of rural Nebraska.

I was asked to write about the harvest, which I don’t know too much about, but I did know who to ask. So I visited my grandparents farm just east of Fremont, NE. As I drove down the gravel roads through clouds of dust with my camera and list of questions, I thought I knew what answers I was going to get and exactly what I was going to learn. I was both wrong and right, as usual. (I will most likely never admit to that again, so take note.)

After I arrived, I sat down at the kitchen table with my grandparents, and they told me how farming has changed. Their first tractor cost $1,700 and fuel could be purchased for 30 cents a gallon! They told me that, once upon a time, both weeds and crops were picked by hand. I, of course, teased them for that – a lot of horse and buggy jokes ensued, followed by a few about running water. But, all jokes aside, I am proud of where my grandparents started and where they are now. 

So, I was there to ask questions and take some pictures, but then my grandpa asked if I wanted to combine with him. Of course I did – I hadn’t been in a combine since I was eight! 


As we made our way up and down the rows, I could see why my grandfather enjoys farming so much. You can look right behind you and see what you have accomplished. You can see the corn as it flows from the combine to the truck, then look back out at the field and see what’s left.

On the way down row two, my grandfather said, “Grandma asks me when I am going to stop farming.” My grandfather is 76-years-young (he looks, maybe, a day older than 60). “And I told her, why would I quit now when farming is becoming easier?” Smart guy. Then he showed me all the buttons on his combine and told me that GPS could run the combine for him, if he wanted it to.

By the end of the day, I did, in fact, learn something I already knew – that farming has become easier. But I also learned something I didn’t exactly know – the joys of farming and the pride a grower deserves to feel about what he can accomplish on the land he owns. Those are the same reasons I am proud to work at Valley_®. We provide products like BaseStation and TrackNET™, which make the grueling and time-consuming tasks of farming just a little bit easier, a little bit more manageable, and a lot more precise, while instilling pride in every grower who calls farming his occupation.

As for my grandfather, well, he’s probably never going to quit farming. Sorry grandma.

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Brooke Stover Global Marketing Coordinator Brooke has been with the Valley Irrigation Global Marketing department since 2011. She spends her free time taking pottery classes; though she thoroughly enjoys this, most of her stuff is a bit lopsided. Brooke also loves to read and listen to Frank Sinatra. She enjoys traveling and has been to 11 countries with the goal to make it to six more in the next six years!

Agriculture in Autumn and International Intrigue | by Kelly Downing

Ah, fall. This is my favorite season. The weather cools down, the humidity drops, and conditions tend to be very comfortable. And there is football (American style)! 

As I watch my wife finish her garden activities (from a safe, non-involved distance, of course) and I see the combines roar through the fields sucking in crops and dispensing chaff, it hits me. One of the big reasons I enjoy autumn so much is the feeling of accomplishment we get in agriculture. It really does create a warm feeling for me, seeing the harvest hit the bin after the long growing season of work, and worry. So, I get a good feeling whenever I stand in front of the (literally) hundreds of jars of bounty in my basement, canned by my wife from her garden. 

But, back to reality. I was asked to write about our international efforts. As this hits our website, I will be in Senegal, Africa, visiting a pivot rice project. The farm is just beginning its second crop. The first crop, planted this spring and harvested in August, was definitely a learning experience. 

One of the lessons learned was the importance of adequate weed control. The growers planted into virgin desert soil, where there seemed to be little or no native vegetation. So, it was a little surprising how many weeds grew. The growers also had to work around some limitations in available herbicides. Here is a photo of some weed issues they faced:

This was a major problem, of course, and yields were very poor. However, the growers are committed to making it work, so they formed a relationship with the research team from the University of Missouri’s Delta Center that has been working with them—via regular conference calls—to improve their results. 

The “intrigue” comes, of course, from wondering how things will go in the second crop. While they are still battling the same issues all farmers face, it seems that the relationship with the Delta Center researchers has been beneficial. Early reports are better this time, so I am confident that the second crop will show improvement. 

The important thing, as we all know, is the process. There might be a lucky few who find success immediately, but nobody does their best work the first time they try something. So, the key lesson here is to keep trying, learn constantly, and put those experiences to work. 

I will report later on how things are going, and what I see there. I encourage you to stay in touch with us as well. Tell us how your harvest is going. 

And, remember to be safe. Get adequate rest and make sure your equipment is in good shape. I know things are hectic right now, and everyone is trying to finish. Just don’t cut safety corners to save a few minutes. We need you all out there next year, too!

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Kelly Downing International Ag Project Specialist Kelly, a Nebraska-based Irrigation Specialist, spent 10 years working on soil and water research projects for a major agricultural university, involving a variety of crops. His work focused on irrigation management, but also included other topics.  Since joining Valley Irrigation, he has worked in the fields of Service, Product Management, Product Reliability and Sales. Kelly focuses on developing projects in irrigation field management and providing recommendations for the Circles for Rice project. Kelly has traveled to several countries providing technical support, such as soil moisture monitoring and irrigation management training.

Big Iron (and a little rice) | by Kelly Downing

Last week I was in Fargo, ND, for the Big Iron Farm Show. It was a very enjoyable experience for several reasons. First, the weather was beautiful, with high temperatures near 80° F (27° C), while at home in Nebraska there were another few days of very hot (97° F, or more than 36° C) weather. Second, I got the opportunity to meet with several customers and potential customers from all over the world — North Dakota, other U.S. states, Kazakhstan, Liberia, etc. Third, farm shows are always fun. Fourth, and perhaps most important, I hadn’t had any cheese curds in quite some time — it was time for a treat!

The North Dakota Trade Organization (NDTO) does a great job promoting its state, which accounted for the large number of international visitors, and it was a great pleasure to meet so many wonderful people from all around the world. I also got to spend some quality time with a couple of neat guys. Our dealer in Fargo, Ken Storm, is always fun to be around. I also got to hang out with a valued coworker, Ben Soliev. He is from Uzbekistan, so was invaluable in our communication with all the Russian-speaking visitors. Ken helped with the translations for the North Dakotans. ☺ Plus, they are both just nice guys, and it is always a pleasure to spend time with them.

We were asked to get some representative photos from the show. Here is mine:

You might notice that our display span for the show looks a little “different” than a typical machine in the field. That’s because, the night before the show, somebody hit it with a forklift! If any of you read the comic strip “Family Circus,” you can probably guess the culprit: one of those two gremlins named “Ida Know” or “Not Me.”

Other than this minor distraction, the show went very well. There was quite a bit of rain just before the show began, which forced the cancellation and delay of some field events. However, it had been very dry, so the moisture was welcome. Unfortunately for me, I had to leave the show early and go to southern Missouri and Arkansas for the rest of the week. Not that those are bad places, but the temperature was much higher. And, as you might have deduced, I am really a “cold-weather” kind of guy.

It was nice seeing the harvest down south. Lots of corn coming out of the fields and rice, too. The rice harvest is delayed this year, due to the late spring, but the crop looks good. Here are a couple of photos of the Jeremy Baltz pivot rice, near Pocahontas, AR. He is closing in on harvest and anticipates a good result.

Although it has seemed like a long time coming, harvest is approaching at home, too. I even saw several corn fields cleaned out this weekend as I drove through eastern Nebraska to visit my mom. This reminds me that I want to wish you all a very safe, productive harvest season. Take extra care and don’t rush; I want you to enjoy the fruits of all your labors! Stay in touch.

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Kelly Downing International Ag Project Specialist Kelly, a Nebraska-based Irrigation Specialist, spent 10 years working on soil and water research projects for a major agricultural university, involving a variety of crops. His work focused on irrigation management, but also included other topics.  Since joining Valley Irrigation, he has worked in the fields of Service, Product Management, Product Reliability and Sales. Kelly focuses on developing projects in irrigation field management and providing recommendations for the Circles for Rice project. Kelly has traveled to several countries providing technical support, such as soil moisture monitoring and irrigation management training.

Simple vs. Easy | by Kelly Downing

I (and I am sure many others) often blur the meanings of the terms “simple” and “easy.” We are all familiar with the adage “the best plan is a simple plan." I think most people inherently find this principle sound. Where it falls apart is the reality that simple does not equate with easy. There are many activities that are relatively complex, but we view as being easy. To use a couple of extreme examples, things like tying your shoes, riding a bicycle, or brushing your teeth require some relatively complex motor skills. Most of the time, though, they are considered easy to do (except with a broken wrist!). On the other hand, if we consider Omaha Beach on D-Day, the strategy for our heroes was relatively simple—jump from the landing craft, advance past the beach, and continue inland. Nothing could be farther from easy.

Valmont Irrigation Territory Sales Manager and
Valley dealer with crew

I was reminded of this difference recently while visiting a new rice operation. This was a brand-new development, growing rice in a desert area never before tilled. In theory, the process is relatively simple: plant, fertilize, irrigate, and control weeds. In practice, this is a daunting challenge. Our friends have made a lot of progress, but there are problems. As we toured the field and looked at conditions, I was reminded how difficult it is to start an entirely new enterprise like this. Building the infrastructure to supply water, installing the pivots, and getting the crop in the ground required a big investment in money, effort, and will.

Nevertheless, they were able to build the water supply system, install the irrigation equipment, and get the crop planted. They also have been diligent in irrigating and doing various field operations—herbicide application, fertilizing, etc. Unfortunately, a couple of “simple” things are causing some big headaches. The primary issue is weed control. As we have found in other areas, desert soils can grow many things quite well, if irrigated. This includes weeds, of course. In fact, with great water and fertility, they grow like… well, like weeds! Now the weeds have almost taken over the crop. The farm operators are working to battle this issue, but it is a tough slog. They decided to hand-weed and continue the fight.

Taken at sunset from my hotel room

As we all realize, there are a few factors that contribute to this issue. One is equipment, as they use hand-held sprayers to apply herbicide. This really limits the uniformity, concentration, and timeliness of the herbicide applications. Probably the biggest factor, though, was the limited number of products available. Relying on only one or two herbicides can really limit options. It appears that, in this instance, they “brought a knife to a gunfight.”

Fortunately, these are bright, motivated people, and they are working diligently to solve their problems. I am confident they will find and implement the procedures necessary to succeed with future crops. It will not be “easy,” but then, how many worthwhile accomplishments are? We will certainly revisit this project in the future, and I am sure there will be better news to report. It is important to remember that the first time any of us try something new, we never produce our best results. So, even when things look daunting early, we observe, learn and adapt to achieve success.

Now, I just need to remember these principles the next time I hear some goober (like myself) look at a situation from the outside and ignorantly say “It’s simple. All you need to do is…” Yeah, it may be simple, but that doesn’t mean easy. If it was easy, anybody could do it!

So, as you go out and face the challenges of your own operation, keep your chin up and keep fighting the good fight. It is a new growing season, and already there have been unique challenges in different locations. Keep working the situation, make good decisions and do what you can. Have a safe and prosperous growing season, and stay in touch!

For more information on the Valley Circles for Rice project, visit www.CirclesForRice.com. 

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	Kelly Downing Global Irrigation Specialist Kelly, Nebraska-based Irrigation Specialist, spent 10 years working on soil and water research projects for a major agricultural university, involving a variety of crops. His work focused on irrigation management, but also included other topics.
Since joining Valley Irrigation, he has worked in the fields of Service, Product Management, Product Reliability and Sales. Kelly focuses on developing projects in irrigation field management and providing recommendations for the Circles for Rice project. Kelly has traveled to several countries providing technical support, such as soil moisture monitoring and irrigation management training.