Alberta has 21 million hectares (52 million acres) of agriculture land that is used for farming and ranching. Wheat, barley, canola, oats, rye, dry peas, lentils, flax, dry beans and potatoes are the primary crops.
An Alberta Harvest – past and present.
Irricana’s Pioneer Acres hosts an annual Farm Days which features working demonstrations of the farm equipment that would have been used by our grandfathers and great grandfathers. This photo shows a wagon, a stationary thresher machine (which separates the grain from the straw and chaff) and a grain truck. The thresher is powered by a tractor (not shown).
Today, harvesting is done by self propelled Combines that cut the crop and threshes it. The combine doesn’t even have to stop moving to transfer the grain to trucks.
This is one of three combines that harvested the quarter section behind our place yesterday afternoon. It was a dusty day for everyone within a mile of the action (but probably not for the driver!)
Farming has always been a risky business and that is no less true today than it was in the past. In terms of absolute number of fatalities, farming is the most dangerous occupation in Canada.
Safety in his business means getting the word “hurry” out of everyone’s vocabulary. I’ve never seen a crop that didn’t get taken off the field. But I’ve sure seen cases where we had to bury someone when there was still a crop in the field.
– Brent Lee Johnson –
I ran the photo of the combine through Topaz Studio. The first photo is my favourite!
What crops are grown in your part of the world?
We live in what used to be Canada’s prime “tobacco country”. They still grow it here, but not nearly as much as they used to. Most of the tobacco acreage has been turned into ginseng farms. There’s also a lot of corn and soybean fields, some with hay and various farms producing fruits (including “ever-bearing strawberries”) and veg (squash, pumpkins, tomatoes). We’re learning a lot about country living by keeping an eye on how things are done, and when. Its fascinating!
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I didn’t know Canada had tobacco country. I suppose that would be as unpopular a product today as our Alberta oil is.
We have corn here too – when the Taber corn arrives, we eat a lot of corn for a while!
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This area is a real potpourri of crops. Soybean, cotton, tobacco, blueberries and scuppernong grapes to name a few.
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I had never heard the word scuppernong before! Did you know the original mother vine is on Roanoke Island, where it has been growing and producing for several hundred years!
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Best time of the year for enjoying the harvest!
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Yes, and maybe we will see some harvest moons next week if the rain stops and it dries up enough for harvest to continue!
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I have a lotta admiration for farmers– my grandfather was one. I also admire photographers that know how to use filters!! 😊
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You know, then, how difficult a farmer’s job is. I know I couldn’t handle the uncertainty that comes with the job!
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