This was the first time I have ever participated in an oat harvest.  I was lost at first, but it became easier.  I had to pay close attention to each step.  When the truck arrives, we record the truck's color and the combined weight of all the oats and the truck.  Then Noriko and I took samples throughout the truck and took a bag to the testing area.  My task was to measure the moisture and thickness of the oats.  Scooping into a machine that would test the moisture.  Alongside, adding it to a shaker to test the thickness and see if any unwanted items were present.  Or just to see how much dust would come off the oats.  Noriko would take the oats, grind them, and then add them to a container to test the gluten.  If one of the tests failed, the oats could not continue to the next step.  If they passed the moisture and gluten tests, Rick, the farmer, would take the oats to the mill, where we would set up a conveyor to carry them on.  The truck was backed up.  We would turn the machine on, slowly lift the truck, and open the hole so the oats fall through.  

Now, for the first time, I had someone with me to show me how to do it and make sure nothing went wrong.   But they did not clearly explain what to do if a backflow occurred.  I have never done something like this, so I did not know what to look for if an incident was to happen.  Now a backflow is when the oats go into the mill too fast, and the elevator taking them in gets overloaded and cannot withstand the load.  This equipment is smaller than some other mills, so it needs to go slower.  The first time I was alone, I did not check whether there was a rollback on the line, and I was shocked to see oats pouring off the conveyor belt.  Panicked, I ran to the emergency turn-off button and grabbed Noriko.  Apparently, I should have closed the hole in the truck slightly when it was tipped back more.  I did not notice that the oats were coming out of the truck so fast.  So, in the end, we opened the elevator and let all the oats fall out.  We scooped up the oats and sent them through to save them.  From that day on, I learned to watch the belt like a hawk.  I did not want to clean up that mess again; it was the worst experience ever.                                                    

Some days, the oats were dustier than others.  I will never forget the itchy feeling I felt during that time; the dust would fly everywhere as they dumped the seeds.  Some days there was one truck; other days there were multiple, so depending on the day, I would be covered.  It just seemed to settle around me.  I was being coated in it.  And it's not like I can avoid the dust when I have to watch the seeds being dumped.  Just thinking about it now is making me itchy around my neck.  One day, I left and went to school to hang out with some friends who live in the dorm. I had so much dust in my hair that it looked like I had dandruff.            

To be extra safe about the trucks' weight, I was tasked with following and taking a picture of the scale.  So, after the truck was empty, I would run to my car and drive to the scale.  I tried to get there first so the trucker did not have to wait for me.  After I got the picture, I would send it to Noriko so we could have a detailed list and record of the time and weight.  Then I would quickly head back for cleanup.  

There was so much dust that it had to be cleaned each time.  It coated everything from the ground to the conveyor belt.  I grabbed the broken broom that sits in the area and swept it all up.  Scooping it into a snow shovel to dump was trickier than I thought, but I got it done.

Looking back, participating in the oat harvest taught me more than how to test and transport oats.  It showed me how much responsibility goes into a process that I had never experienced before.  I had to learn how to operate equipment, communicate with others, keep track of important information, and respond when something went wrong.   Not every day went smoothly, but each challenge gave me an opportunity to learn something new.  By the end of the experience, I had a better understanding of the work involved in harvesting oats and the importance of paying attention to even the smallest details.  What started as an unfamiliar task gradually became something I understood and felt more confident doing.