In early August 1997, I was able to harvest about 650 pounds of Nice-looking rye from a small field I had planted in 1996, and a week later I combined another acre or so over at Valley Acres Farm that they had planted as a cover crop and not gotten around to plow down, and got 539 pounds more. I used my fellow NOFA member's grain cleaner for my crop, but Walter at Valley Acres used a drop-type lime spreader to seed his cover crops, and took his straight from the grain bin. Our test fields of spring wheat and oats at the home place in 1997 failed - they should have been either drilled in the first place, or dragged to cover the broadcast grain better.
In 1998, B-69872 worked a little harder: we got 500 lb. of organic winter rye/vetch mix from the home place, and about 1,700 lb. at Valley Acres, enough so the owner didn't need to buy any for his Fall cover crops. Our small test patch of spring wheat was dry enough to harvest on August 21, though rather weedy, and we only got about 80 lb. At the same time we used the combine as a stationary thresher to clean a small lot of winter wheat that had been planted in a spot which was too tight to get the combine into; We had hand-harvested it on August 4. The oats were harvested on August 28 - a total of about 250 lb. with the hulls on.
In 1999, we combined about 6 tons of winter rye , even after skipping a couple of fields because the grain lodged. An acre of winter wheat was a complete failure - I don't know if it was the freeze/thaw dessication or frost heaving the roots that killed it, but by May there were only about 200 plants left from what had been a good stand in November. An acre of oats failed too - planted in mid-May (way too late, and maybe too thin to boot), it was overwhelmed by weeds by early July.
In 2000, my wife scheduled things too tight, and harvested several tons of rye and 400 lb of wheat too wet (the kernels didn't break cleanly when bitten). Fungus spoiled essentially all of it, and the combine sat for longer than it ought to have with the wet grain in it, so another hole got punched in the grain bin by the vacuum cleaner nozzle.
In the winter of 2000/2001, we had continuous snow cover from early December through March, and the first really decent winter wheat crop we've been able to get: about 700 pounds from an acre or so. Winter rye also gave good yield from the adjoining two acres, and another acre at home, but both crops were very weedy after sitting for three weeks while the combine was broken. This happened when my wife adjusted the concave clearance tighter and may not have gotten the locking nuts tight enough. A cylinder bar was wrecked in the first crunch, and it tore the rubber out from under the back concave bar in the process. When she replaced the cylinder bar from the parts combine, she didn't realize that the missing rubber would leave the concave bar bolts loose, and it got crunched before the combine cut another 100 feet. Luckily, I had a new spare bar and rubber strip, but I could only work on it on weekends. We then had a similar circus trying to get next year's grain field plowed, but it was followed by a decent winter for the wheat.
We didn't harvest any grain in 2002, as we were still using up the 2001 crop. In 2003, we harvested about an acre of wheat, but skipped the very weedy and lodged rye crop: We didn't get to it till mid-August due to all the rain, and one of the cleaning shoe hanger bars broke as we were starting. It was replaced from the parts combine, though a new one could have been bent from bar stock.
In 2003, we also bought the Hance Vac-Away grain cleaner we had used in previous years. We set it up on the main floor of our barn, although it shakes enough in use that it would be better on a concrete floor.
For 2006, my wife planted only 1.5 acres, half wheat and half rye. The 05-06 winter was good, however, the wheat wound up with a fair amount of rye mixed in, so it can't be re-planted. I harvested the somewhat lodged and somewhat overgrown by vetch rye August 13, but didn't bother with the wheat - we had a lot in storage.
For 2007, my wife planted only half an acre to winter wheat. The crop did pretty well, but other things on my schedule kept me from harvesting it till early August. I got 487 lb., but next year I really ought to get out in June and rogue the vetch plants.
In 2010, winter wheat was cheaper than rye, so the owners of Heron Pond Farm used it as a cover crop. A couple of acres where they took extra care with the seedbed had a nice stand in the spring, so they left it for me. I got about 1500 pounds of nice wheat on 30 July 2011. B-69872 operated smoothly except for the ball on the tractor drawbar working loose, and I was pleased with my work on the crop dividers a few years earlier.
On July 15 and 16, 2012, I harvested about 1,200 lb. of winter wheat from a field planted by Heron Pond Farm. Another clean crop, helped by starting the harvest early.
B-69872 didn't work in 2013. Starting July 31, 2014, I harvested about 2,000 lb of winter wheat from a field planted by my ex-wife. The late start made for a less clean crop.
B-69872 didn't work in 2015. Starting July 22, 2016, I harvested winter rye from three fields, totaling about 12 acres. The work was interrupted by several breakdowns and a spell of rainy weather, but generally I was ahead of the weeds. The rye seed was usable right out of the bin for cover crop purposes. For the first time since I've owned it, we used the long unloading auger to fill sling bags; this was much faster than sacking it 25 kg. at a time.
In 2017, B-69872 harvested a small field of rye on August 14 and 16.
In 2018, I harvested about 2,000 lb. of winter wheat, starting July 20 and finishing after a broken swing hanger on July 30. Weeds were almost tall enough to be a problem. Then about 1,400 lb. of winter rye on July 31. My only problems were with the cradle's front swing hangers and the tailings elevator door, which needs a hinge rather than flexing the sheet metal.
In 2019 we planted about an acre of spring wheat. The crop wasn't thick, but the harvest went smoothly.
