Burning My Cane

[tbradsim1]

This morning they set fire to the cane to rid it of foliage , will cut it today , it's something to see the ballet of cutter and wagons side to side, when full the next wagon come up. They load it in 18 wheelers specially made with 3 huge chains laid in it with shackles and when they go to the mill crane hooks up and rolls all the cane on the ground. 80 acres done in a day and a half. Hand cutting would take a week. Christmas is Early for me. ::

 

[voorhees]

Awesome. Good to hear you have a "cash" crop. How much does your crop typically yield?

 

[texmexpipe]

Nice, I love that sort of stuff. The lot next to mine was recently logged and it was cool to see their efficiency.

 

[tbradsim1]

Jason the crop yields depending on sugar prices as they are higher now that people are using more of the real stuff. 50000 to 75000$ depending on yield, I get a Fifth, most land owners get a Sixth, but I take care of the Headlands during the year and help the Farmer out. This year I will give it to my oldest son to help with the College expenses he is incurring, in a couple of years my Daughters Daughter will start college so I guess it's no check for me again. HaHa

 

[Cliff_K]

Back in my late teens early twenties when I was living in Belize, there would be 10 or ppl with dump trucks with extra large beds that would get together during cane season. They would go to a large field and park all around it, get out with their machetes and work through the field. At the end of the day they would hand load the trucks, drive them home for the night and in the morning take it to the processing plant, then off to the next field. It was a ton of fun to watch while munching on a piece of cane they threw you. I'd love to so it done with the large machines.

 

[voorhees]

8O That is very nice. Very nice.

 

[conlejm]

Being from the North and not really knowing much about "Cane”, I thought this was going to be a thread wherein you tell us that you no longer need to use a cane for walking, thanks to the miraculous healing powers of pipe tobacco! :lol:
I would love to see how this Cane is harvested. You set fire to it first? The fire doesn't ruin the crop? Very cool.
The guy next door to me makes maple syrup, and in the old days he used taps and buckets, but now everything is surgical tubing leading right into the boiling vats. He doesn't even have to get out of bed and the sap is delivered right to his house.

 

[tbradsim1]

. Loading wagons going to 18 wheelers

 

[jpmcwjr]

Sweeeeeeet! Pun intended. Nice, Brad. Thanks for photo.

 

[tbradsim1]

18 Wheeler going to the mill with a full load,

 

[tbradsim1]

Emty 18 wheeler being loaded by Grabber and wagon waiting for his turn.

 

[ashdigger]

Pretty cool. Harvesting is fascinating. I've seen harvesting in real life for various things buy the History Channel has shows about it once in a while. The machines and techniques are interesting to say the least.

 

[hmhaines]

Cool stuff, thanks for sharing!

 

[tbradsim1]

Cane cutter, Big scoop in the picture swivels left to right depending where the loading wagon is, 2 big screws in front suck the cane to cutting heads cutting it to 2 ft lengths, old days they cut a full stalk, smaller stalk loads better.

 

[igloo]

I look forward to this post every year . It means I can pick some raw cane at the store . When I was a young boy my mother would buy it every year for us . Chewing on a piece of raw cane brings back many good memories .

 

[Cliff_K]

@igloo, agreed, something about the magic of raw cane and knowing when to spit it out just before the fibers sperate and chew your mouth up.
@tbradsim1, thanks for the pics! I love seeing things like this.

 

[mso489]

"People are using more of the real stuff." I'll say. You used to have to buy a Mexican Coco Cola to get cane sugar. Not any more. None of those substitute sweeteners from corn syrup to all of the non-sugar substitutes have ever tasted right to me. Sounds like a good harvest. Merry Christmas!

 

[jpmcwjr]

And it's pushed by nutrition experts saying what I've thought all along: Those synthetics are crap! Glad to see science is helping a fellow pipe man.

 

[jvnshr]

Wow, thanks for the photos Bradley.

I would love to see how this Cane is harvested. You set fire to it first? The fire doesn't ruin the crop? Very cool.

I am also waiting for an answer

 

[tbradsim1]

Monster Cane cutter comeing out the row. Look closely and you will see the big screws in front. No burning the foliage does not hurt the cane.