Corn and High Tunnel

We've been flying along on the high tunnel.  We're down to the final pieces that are needed to hold the plastic on, and then we'll be putting on the automated roll up side curtains parts. I'm hoping that this coming week we'll be able to pull the cover on.  Now that we're nearing completion I can see all of the ways that I could have made things go a little faster and smoother, but that's always the way when you do a project for the first time.  I've made some major changes to our high tunnel based on the input from other guys who have had their high tunnels up and had serious issues with manufacturer design flaws.  Weak side walls and zippers were a major complaint that we heard from just about everyone, so we've installed hard sides made of fiber glass panels and wood framing to overcome that flaw.  We've put in sliding doors and a man-door on the west side of the high tunnel as well.  Regulating temperatures was the other issue that we have heard regularly so we went ahead and invested in the temperature controlled automatic side curtains.  This was a huge expense, but we figured that if we lose one set of plants because of our inability to manage the temperature, it would more than pay for the side curtains.
We'll take a break from the high tunnel today to combine and haul our corn.  We're hoping for a good crop and we'll know by the end of the day how we yielded.

High Tunnel

The high tunnel is nearing completion.  Having learned from those who have them up in the county we decided to put solid sides up instead of having the soft poly type sides that come with the high tunnel. We ordered auto-rollup curtains for our high tunnel as well.  They came last week but some of the materials were damaged in shipping so we'll have to wait for the new parts to arrive.  In the mean time the plan is to finish some of the minor detail items to get things ready.  Our goal is to have everything in place before the weather cools too much, because the plastic poly type cover that is the main covering needs to be added when it is warm or it will stretch when the weather does warm and can cause all kinds of problems with our winds here in NW Iowa.

2012 Chicken Days

The last batch of 2012 chickens is more than half completed.  We finished up yesterday afternoon later than we'd hoped. It's not that things didn't go well, it just seems to take a very long time to process the chickens to our satisfaction. I think we have the scalding, plucking and cutting-up moving at a very efficient pace. It's the gutting that seems to take the longest amount of time. We've seen how others process more quickly, we're just not happy with how they look when they're processed that way. Maybe we'll change our minds - some day, but for now we're sticking with what gives us the best looking product. On the subject of efficiency and best look, we purchased a poultry cutter this year to make the cut-up process just a little neater.  Based on yesterdays processing it makes cutting up much quicker, but I still like the way a knife takes the thighs off of the chicken better than the cutter does it, so I use a combination of the cutter and the knife.  Using the cutter is nerve-racking. You can send your hand or arm into the cutter without much effort, but it makes a split breast look great and it has definitely made the cut-up process more efficient than it even was before. Today should be a nice day to finish the last of this batch. I started the scalder at 5AM and we should be in full swing by 7.  Oh, and of course we have to thank the Boernsen's for their help with chicken processing. Okay, and it wasn't all work yesterday.  Once we had cleaned up we switched to some real redneck farm fun with the Boernsen kids. We jumped rope with a long lariat (this was group jumping at it's finest) and then shot some clay pigeons before going out and catching today's birds under the moon light.