When the peanuts are growing, there is constant work. It's a job that starts early and ends late. That can get cut down to every 10 days, depending on the rain. It can be 14 hours a day, long days. As harvest approaches, peanuts get close inspection to insure they are picked at the best time.
Some farmers take samples to the pod blaster to determine when to pick.
Ralph said he has done that, but he also has his own system for checking the crop. You can go by the blackness of the hull and the color of the peanut. When we figure about 72 or so percent of the peanuts are ready, we go to digging. Last year, the peanut yield for the Barefoots was about 3,500 pounds per acre, a good return compared to what it once was. We didn't have the equipment either.