Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | buenymayor - 2/9/2019 06:35
Every time I see a picture of a field in Australia, seems there is a lone tree out in the middle of it. What's the purpose? A single tree in the middle of a field here would get a chainsaw taken to it pretty quickly.
I was on a farm tour there several years ago which was very enjoyable and I would like to do it again. Anyway I asked that very question. This is an answer that I received. Typically the farming areas are not much above sea level. Rains are infrequent but when it does rain it may rain a considerable amount bringing the water level up into the root zone of the plants. Since this water may be salt water, it may hurt the crop. During a dry spell, the trees will dry out considerably but during those heavy rain periods, the tree will soak up some of this excess water thus helping to keep the water level lower, hopefully below the crop root zone.
It didn't seem to me that a lone tree here or there would help the situation much. My personal observation was that maybe it was just easier to go around the tree than go through the work of removing it. Maybe there are laws prohibiting cutting them down. If that tree were in my field, it would certainly be removed. Maybe the original poster will reply.
I watched the video and it brought back some observations of how farming there differs from what I see around home. You may have noticed that the truck driver was standing on the right side of the load watching it fill. This is because they drive on the left so the driver sits on the right side of the vehicle. I noticed the pickup truck on the road. This is an extremely common combination of a small white pickup (Ute) with a flatbed and snorkel. I believe the snorkel is more for looks than actual use.
If you look at the auger filling the bins you may notice that it is self-propelled. I saw several of these. Some were built around an older smaller tractor which powered the auger but also allowed it to be moved. There must be advantages but I would rather use a loose tractor so it could be used for other purposes. On the farms I visited I noticed many what I would call smaller bins rather than a few larger ones. I asked about this and the reply was that by having smaller bins, he could split up their crop based on factors so that when they sold it they could maintain those factors rather than having the grain commingled like many of us do here.
A couple of other observations include the lack of shed doors, the red soil and a license plate on the combine.
A Jack-A-roo might drive his Ute loaded with a slab of stubbies on the flat top to meet his mates. Translation: A farm hand might drive his small pickup truck with a flat bed and case of beer to meet his friends. They do appear to like their beer.
Edited by tedbear 2/9/2019 07:34
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Barley Harvest, (Pics Video)
