What time do farmers go to bed?

[Dominic]

I know they start early in the mornings to avoid the heat, but I just went to say goodnight to the bunny and could distinctly hear the sound of farm machinery going in the distance. It sounded like a combine at work, to be honest.

I can't imagine them actually doing that in the pitch black at 10:45, but perhaps they were just driving it home. Do farmers do any ploughing in the night?

[cyprusmax47]

They do definitely in my area...
Max

[panoscouse]

Often see them working until near midnight. Plenty of headlights on lighting up the fields. Best time to do it at night, keeps the crows (or whatever they are) away.

[J B]

Well, I used to be a farmer (but I'm aright now) and I used to go to bed about ten pm

[PaphosAL]

I don't think you'll find that a typical wheat-growing farmer actually owns a very expensive combine harvester, which is only needed twice a year.

My understanding is that they hire them when needed, watching the forward weather forecasts like hawks. So yes, this usually means working very late at night and even to the early hours (on headlights), in order to harvest the whole field (with accompanying tractors towing large containers to collect the grain being spat out of the combine harvester chute).

The tractor will also be on headlights, in order that the driver can see where he or she is going. It's a very slick operation, all in all. Timetabled I guess to ensure that the combine harvester is ready for collection (so off rent) within 24 hours. After which, the farmer can catch up on some lost sleep, LOL!

Cheers- AL

ps: next episode later today, as there's more to share...

[cyprusmax47]

I don't think you'll find that a typical wheat-growing farmer actually owns a very expensive combine harvester, which is only needed twice a year.

My understanding is that they hire them when needed, watching the forward weather forecasts like hawks. So yes, this usually means working very late at night and even to the early hours (on headlights), in order to harvest the whole field (with accompanying tractors towing large containers to collect the grain being spat out of the combine harvester chute).

The tractor will also be on headlights, in order that the driver can see where he or she is going. It's a very slick operation, all in all. Timetabled I guess to ensure that the combine harvester is ready for collection (so off rent) within 24 hours. After which, the farmer can catch up on some lost sleep, LOL!

Cheers- AL

ps: next episode later today, as there's more to share...

In Cyprus we have some farmer, owning large equipment like combine harvester, large tractors, lorries... They have contracts for one year or so and do the jobs for most of the small farmers in a region. They are very busy at peak times, hence they work also very late at night. They also transport the large chopped straw rolls one can see at the moment in the fields... In the late 80th I used one with a huge tractor to prepare my land for planting orange trees at my ex-farm.
Max

[Polemi Dave]

I know they start early in the mornings to avoid the heat, but I just went to say goodnight to the bunny and could distinctly hear the sound of farm machinery going in the distance. It sounded like a combine at work, to be honest.

I can't imagine them actually doing that in the pitch black at 10:45, but perhaps they were just driving it home. Do farmers do any ploughing in the night?

Dominic
You must live on the urban side of Polemi (much more civilised) . Except in mid winter farmers can be seen and heard ploughing, spraying harvesting any hour of the night and sometimes all night. Not unusual for machinery to be be working 10 meters from our bedroom at 2am. Or to start at 4.30am.
In fact, so not unusual we take no notice.

The farmers I know do go to bed early - drive through Polemi any night after 10pm and see how few lights are on.

[WHL]

What time do farmers go to bed?
I guess it depends, if their on a promise..

[PolemIan]

Yes, Dominic last night it was a tractor in a field slightly to the north of Hardin in the general direction of PolemiDave in the 'less urban' part of the village. The combine is currently parked in a couple of fields from us. I asked the same question recently in the village and was told that with the combine it's also partly down to temperature- cooler at night to avoid the risk of combustion and starting a field fire.

Ian

[lefkes]

I know they start early in the mornings to avoid the heat, but I just went to say goodnight to the bunny and could distinctly hear the sound of farm machinery going in the distance. It sounded like a combine at work, to be honest.

I can't imagine them actually doing that in the pitch black at 10:45, but perhaps they were just driving it home. Do farmers do any ploughing in the night?

Not with a combine harvester,??, Leskes

[Polemi Dave]

I know they start early in the mornings to avoid the heat, but I just went to say goodnight to the bunny and could distinctly hear the sound of farm machinery going in the distance. It sounded like a combine at work, to be honest.

I can't imagine them actually doing that in the pitch black at 10:45, but perhaps they were just driving it home. Do farmers do any ploughing in the night?

Not with a combine harvester,??, Leskes

No the combines are mostly used for widening lanes, knocking down garden walls and gate pillars. This is because the combine harvester is designed
so that the front (wide bit) can be rotated by 90% for road use and narrow entrances. However many of our local contractors just can't be bothered to make the 90% adjustment - ooops there goes another gateway

[AndrewA]

Many modern combines have gps control systems. (New Holland's system is claimed to be accurate to 2.5cm!) so working at night is now very common in East Anglia. Similar systems are also used for ploughing.

[Jim B]

Where I lived in Ormskirk our house backed on to a 70 acre field and there would be combine harvesters working until two or three in the morning or sometimes right through the night. The baling machines were the same, amazing to watch the speed they could work at.

Jim

[PaphosAL]

... They also transport the large chopped straw rolls one can see at the moment in the fields...
Max

This is exactly what I was alluding to as a follow on tale last night, Max. At my local pub, the Silver Lion in Lilley back in the late 80's / early 90's, there was farmer Paul next door, who's main activity was growing and selling potatoes.

But he also had a couple of large fields, remote from his actual farm, where he grew wheat. I became quite friendly with him, and helped set him up with his very first PC at home. One August day, just after the wheat had been harvested, he had a dilemma. How to get those huge round straw bales out of his fields and back to his farmyard, under cover, in his huge shed?

His son Mark (who normally did this) was already pre-booked for a week's holiday to Ibiza at the same time. Paul asked me if I was interested in tackling the task. I jumped at it! Next morning, I was there for 8am, as agreed, and he gave me a 10 minute induction course on how to drive the tractor, plus (more importantly) how to work the grabber and lifter hydraulic controls for the rear attachment, in order to bring the straw bales back home.

Must admit, this was one of the most fun / adventurous day of my life! I did it, woo!! The route from the remote fields back to the farm was on public highways / bus routes, so one had to be very careful. At 6pm, I'd earned a free pint of Greene King IPA and thanks from farmer Paul.

Happy memories... AL

[Dominic]

I know they start early in the mornings to avoid the heat, but I just went to say goodnight to the bunny and could distinctly hear the sound of farm machinery going in the distance. It sounded like a combine at work, to be honest.

I can't imagine them actually doing that in the pitch black at 10:45, but perhaps they were just driving it home. Do farmers do any ploughing in the night?

Dominic
You must live on the urban side of Polemi (much more civilised) . Except in mid winter farmers can be seen and heard ploughing, spraying harvesting any hour of the night and sometimes all night. Not unusual for machinery to be be working 10 meters from our bedroom at 2am. Or to start at 4.30am.
In fact, so not unusual we take no notice.

The farmers I know do go to bed early - drive through Polemi any night after 10pm and see how few lights are on.

We're not on the urban side. We are surrounded by vineyards though, between the fenced-off tulip field and the "well".

[PolemIan]

Pretty urban Dominic - you've got streetlamps!

[trevnhil]

I thought every property with electricity had street lamps.

[Dominic]

I quite like our streetlamp. It's quaint.

[PaphosAL]

Photo please, Dominic?

Cheers- AL

[trevnhil]

Yes, I don't see how a Polemi street lamp can be quaint