Harvest excitement: where your bread comes from!

In our little town of less than 1,000, no time is more exciting than Wheat Harvest. There's a sense of movement all through town as grain dust floats from the fresh-cut fields and combines are on the move.

Not only that, the 150-foot-tall grain elevator is directly across from my house. We watch truck after truck after truck line up, waiting their turn to drop off their load of grain.

According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture:

On average, Kansas produces more wheat than any other state. Nearly one-fifth of all wheat grown in the United States is grown in Kansas. And, Kansas ranks first in the nation in flour milling, wheat gluten production and wheat stored. Roughly one-third of Kansas' 63,000 farmers grow wheat.  Normally, Kansas farmers produce about 400 million bushels of wheat a year, with a production value that hovers around $1 billion.

Here are some of the sights we see here during harvest:

Our local grocery store offers lunches for hungry farmers.

It's common to see several combines in one field. This is at the edge of town.

Trucks waiting their turn to drop off grain and then go get another load.

Truck full of grain heading down Main Street to the elevator.

Trail of grain that leaked from a truck down Main Street.

Grains of wheat on Main Street.

Pretty golden stalks near our house the day before they were cut.