[9860jd]

Here are wheat and flax harvest pictures. We only used the Deere for the flax as the chopper does a better job on the wirey straw than the NH would.

Grain bagger are becoming popular up here. More and more land is rented farther from home with few or no grain bins. These are a cheap way to have good storage.

Hawks often congregate on the swaths to look for mice as they migrate south.

We had to swath the flax because the straw would gum up the knife on the draper. The crop only grows a couple of feet high. The seeds are teardrop shaped. The residue is usually baled or burned. We'll see if the hoe-drill can go through it next spring without it lumping up all the straw.

I put my foot in the picture to try and show scale.

This is what the straw looks like when it comes out the back of the combine. It will take probably 2-3 years to completely break down. It is a low yielding crop but now the price is high but I wonder if it is worth the hassle of swathing and the fact that the stuff plugged up the chopper on us this year. The seeds were ripe but the straw was still green in places. If you swath it too soon, a strong wind can blow the windrows all around.
Here is a picture of the seed. There is are yellow seeded varieties called Linola. It, like canola has a healthier oil profile. Our yields were low (25-30 bpa) because of the July heat right during flowering stage.

 

[combiness]

Very nice pics and well done. Now is this that golden kind of flax?
I also love the beautiful passage [immature] red-tailed hawk in full flight, too. Those are magnificent birds!

 

[tascowboy]

What is the flax seed used for? Here we call it linseed & we sell the seed into the bakery trade (1st grade), 2nd grade seed is sold for birdseed.

What sort of yields do you get? Here dryland crops range from 1.5 -2.5 tonnes / ha, can do up to 3 tonnes / ha under irrigation.

Very nice photos, BTW

Regards,

TC

 

[dusty]

Great pictures, Most of the canadian flax is exported to europe. Besides Linseed oil it is used for making linoleum. It is used also more and more in animal feed to make the end product healthier(Omega three eggs) Lately too we have had a few people come by for a bucket of flax to put a bit on their breakfast cereal. Apparently it grinds in a coffee grinder. Oh and most importantly Barry Bonds uses it to hit more home runs.

 

[tascowboy]

Ok, very interesting Dusty

Linseed bread is quite popular here, so the linseed we grow goes into this product.

 

[brickwalker]

Very Nice Pics, I enjoyed the explanations aswell, I learned a Thing or Three There

 

[combiness]

Too bad you all are up in Canada!

I would be happy to buy a 50-lb sack of that stuff just combine-run for $20-$30.

Here in the US, farmers really gouge for flax, especially the high-ligning yellow stuff--$3-4/lb in bulk, $6/lb in small amounts.