High Tech Farming?

These days you will find computers everywhere... Sometimes they are just a chip, sometimes a complex system. The first day we had a new tractor the reverse gear stopped working. It turns out that it was a computer problem not a mechanical problem.

As we begin harvest, out optical sorter is not working. It appears to be a circuit board that is failing intermittently that is causing the problem. We had a technician from the Oregon manufacturer here for the week, but the parts were held at customs. Just after the technician left, the package cleared customs and I drove to Hamilton International Airport to pick up the parcel at the UPS terminal.

Now it is up to me to swap out parts and try to get it working. Some computer experience and good advise from the technician will help. So here I am, head in the sorter, pullin out a PCI card...



Hmmm... there is always something new down on the farm.

Weather

I do enjoy a good sunrise. I have seen many over our reservoir. We had 1/2 inch of rain last night so there was no frost when the sky cleared early this morning. As a farmer, I am always watching the sky... and the Internet.

Watching the weather is the great pastime of many as witnessed by the popularity of "The Weather Network" and other weather channels. I also go to the Internet to find out about the weather, short and long term. Looking outside is an effective method as well... you need to do it often and assimilate that information and draw relationships between the conditions just past and current conditions. Then you can predict. LOL ya right...

Look for the farmer... looking down at the ground... and up at the sky....

Coloring up

The cranberries are starting to color up... The shorter days and cooler temperatures signal the plant to go into dormancy. As the plant shuts down for the season, nutrient flow slows down and the vine begins to change to a maroon hue.

The fruit turns to first a bright red... then a darker red. This red color is anthrocyan, a pigment in the dermal layer of the fruit. This is the same healthful pigment contained in blueberries, and red grapes. There are other constituents in the fruit, phytochemicals, or plant chemicals, that that make cranberries and other fruit and vegetables good for YOU. Canada's Food Guide suggests 7 - 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. :-)

Supporting Land

I often speak of the some 400 acres (160 Ha) of supporting land that the farm has... land that gathers water... where we spill water into... and just undeveloped land adjacent to the farm that supports a variety of plants and animals.

I went kayaking in the lower reservoir today. The impoundment holds some 80 acres (33 Ha) of water with an average depth of maybe 6-10 feet (2-3 meters)... The dam that holds back the water has a sluice gate that allows water to drain from the pond.


The reservoir was an old beaver pond so some areas have trees where the forest was flooded and some areas are open water. Floating mats of vegetation move around so that landscapes change with the wind. On these mats are a variety of plants including Pitcher Plants and Sun Dew, both carnivorous plants. They get their nutrients from insects as the bog soils are low in nutrients and very acid. Many of the plants have passed their peak and are slowly changing to mottled browns and grays. Here and their tho there are still some specks of summer color.


I did not see much wildlife save for the birds. There were a couple of the ubiquitous Canada geese and some ducks that flew off long before I even got close. There were signs of life in different places. Muskrat houses were numerous and there is a Heron Rookery in our reservoir as well.