After planting the corn and soybeans, it’s time for irrigation and spraying. They send fertilizer through the irrigation systems and they spray herbicide with a huge applicator. When all that is done, the farmers go back through the fields with a cultivator. When the cultivator has been through the ground (it fertilizes as it is cultivating too), the ripper goes through the field as a final pass-through. The cultivator chops up the sprayed weeds and grasses. It also turns the ground to disrupt weed and grass growth. I like when the farmers cultivate, because it makes the fields look neat and fresh again. After the cultivator work, the ripper comes through to make sure the ground is not compacted amongst other jobs. The twirling paddles, dammar diker, make little pockets to catch rain/water so that the moisture is not wasted or goes to a “run off”. Some people say this is redundant, wastes money/fuel and “old school”. Some farmers around here rip the fields and others do not. However, The Owner states that he has much better yields per acre because of ripping. So ripping they shall go.
We stopped by the shop the other day for a visit and Wooster was getting the ripper ready to do its job.
All the bolts have to be aligned and tightened. Then the parts have to be greased. Sounds easy and quick, but it is an all day job getting it ready. The job is long, especially if you find bolts that are worn, broken and need replacing.
See these little vertical lines? I first thought they were for filling in cracks on the teeth of the ripper. After some investigation and inquiry I found out the lines hold a special purpose to the ripping. The lines are a form of welded engineer coating on the teeth of the ripper. Because of sandy conditions the beads are placed at a right angle of travel. This bead work allows for fine materials, such as sand, to compact in the spaces and provide protection to the base metal. This helps lengthen the life of the individual teeth on the ripper and helps prevent breakdowns.
These are all the buttons to push (or not push in my case), that the driver uses to get the machinery up, down, arms moved, etc.
View from up in the cab of the tractor looking back. Notice the father talking to the Kid. Sweet huh?
The little fork lift is used to help hold the arms or align the arms of the dammar diker.
We like stopping by for a couple of minutes to learn about the farm and how it works. R could care less, as long as she has her trusty frog friend and a seat, she’s happy.
Matt may be doing some of the ripping but more than likely he’ll be helping support. Everyone here on the farm does all jobs that need to be done. So, Matt isn’t the only ripper. There are many rippers and I don’t think that anyone’s name is Jack. 🙂
**If any information is inaccurate or misleading for the farm or machinery, all errors are mine and not the farm’s or Wooster’s**
Update: August 9, 2011–Wooster did end up supporting. He ripped twice. We are nearing the end of irrigation season and Wooster is now getting ready to harvest.
