The picture below is to give you a sense of how big this thing is. The wheels were as tall as our Chrysler Pacifica and this combine can mow down 12 rows of corn at a time like it's nobody's business. FYI, it also comes equipped with a GPS system that tells it exactly where the rows are (also used for precision planting) and a computer for keeping track of yield, seed moisture, etc.
After watching this thing maneuver around mile marker posts at 40mph (yes, they can go that fast) because the road wasn't wide enough, I started getting the itch to drive a combine. So, this morning I hopped onto this combine:
It's not quite as big as the John Deere 9870 STS Corn Combine, but it's still pretty intimidating when you're sitting in the cab watching it chew through three rows at a time and watching it convert 7-foot tall corn plants to mulch (as seen in the picture below).
After this morning I'm amazed at the extent to which technology facilitates agriculture. The field that got harvested this morning would have easily taken four people 2-3 days to harvest plus 3-4 days to shell.
As a final thought, I was driving home from the field on Friday afternoon and passing field after field of corn and soybeans and realized that I am a long way from where I thought would be 5 years ago...and I'm okay with that. Besides, I kind of like being called Farmer J.
