Greetings Farmers!

Today, I will show you guys another job we farmers always do during the rice farming season. The job is cutting grasses on our rice farm. Grasses are needed to be cut because they interfere with the growth of rice crops nearby. Also, grasses can harbor insects and pests that can wreak havoc on the rice crops if left alone.

In cutting the grasses we farmers always do it the traditional way which is using a bolo with an elongated handle, the bolo is locally known in our town as "Panabas". Cutting grasses is not an easy job especially if the temperature is very humid.

Luckily, during the rainy season, it is a little bit easier to cut grasses because the temperature is a little bit colder.

Apart from the temperature, another thing that we farmers always consider in cutting grasses is to not let the bolo hit or damage any of the rice crops nearby the bund where the grasses normally grow.

And here is the bolo that I used.

And as you can see in the previous images and gif images we farmers normally wear long sleeves, pants, a hat, and full face mask, gloves, and rain boots. But in case you are wondering why I am only wearing Sando, shorts, and rain boots it is because the temperature is a bit cool during that morning.

Here is the video while I am cutting the grasses

Draining a Section or Plot on our Rice Field (with video)

I have to pause cutting grasses because I remembered that I have to drain a section of our rice field that has water for longer than one week. Since I am practicing alternate wetting and drying on our rice crops I need to drain the water to a section of our rice field that has been containing water for more than one week already.

Below is a photo of where I dug a narrow opening on a bund that will act as drainage. I used a shovel in digging the narrow opening.

In digging the narrow opening I always practice digging in a location where the water level is shallowest. And below is the gif image after I am finished digging the narrow opening.

Here's a video of me going to the section and then digging the narrow opening

A video of the narrow opening that I dug

By the way, guys, before I end this blog, we farmers usually use commercial sharpening stone in sharpening our grass cutting tool which is the bolo with an elongated handle.