Tuesday, May 31, 2011

new age farming...

I hear a lot of tractors working in the fields around here these days...
but this was a different sound.

There was a helicopter circling in the skies over the cranberry fields nearby...
so I went to investigate.

I wasn't really sure what it was I was seeing at first.

But it turns out...
they farm with helicopters over there instead of tractors!

The fertilizer spreader is like a giant basket hanging beneath the helicopter.

(I took the photo from the top of overpass...
through hydro wires...
in case you were wondering why there was a cable attached to the helicopter.)



In our fields they are using the old-fashioned method...
tractors and organic fertilizer!
I'm not sure the helicopter would work for that...
but it would be one way of covering the low spots without getting stuck.

We still have lakes...and wet spots where the tractors dare not go!
We are promised a half-day without rain today... 
and are actually aiming to get a little corn seeded this morning.
We'll see.


7 comments:

  1. Well I'll be sure to tell the farmer about this. What next? We had about 20 minutes of a soaking rain yesterday which was lovely to me - the first in weeks and weeks but it halted seeding yesterday. Enjoy your summer!

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  2. Oh that rain...

    I am hauling John in on his lunch break to see this. At first I thought that the cable was attached to the helicopter and that it was like a mountain top ride or something. (Whatever they call those things, which evades me at the moment like so many words do of late.) Glad that you explained that. Makes for a fascinating picture. Hope that the rain holds so the corn can go in!

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  3. I hope the rain stays away. .i need to get out there and do some weeding.
    I sure would not want to get too close to take pictures of either method.

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  4. Hope the weather holds for your seeding. That helicopter farming is very interesting...

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  5. I hope the rain holds back so you can get the corn planted. Farm life is so dependent on the weather, isn't it?

    Interesting development to fertilize with a helicopter! Would cranberry bogs be too wet and slushly for wheeled vehicles?

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  6. Well, they say you learn something new every day....so I've learned my new thing...helicopter farming! I guess it works if it's not windy! :-) I am sorry for Corinne, happy for Janine, and impressed with the way you handled it...very nice!

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  7. To have a helicopter do the fertilizing sounds like a major investment...and quite noisy too!

    I am finally going to plant my tomato plants tomorrow...very overdo!

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