Behind The Scenes

What happens behind the scenes is the reason for what happens in the limelight. This morning we are going to share some of the rest of the story of a busy week of harvest. Below Alex, Kasey, and BJ are making plans for moving after finishing Karl and Kristin's corn near the little community of Coal Creek south of Gibson.

Last weekend we received between 2 and 3 inches of rain. However the sun started shining again and we were combining by noon on Monday.

One of the many things the field crew does is to observe weed control. A nasty weed is a Burcucumber. We first got acquainted with this guy already in the 1970s. My landlord at the time, Daryl, told me this one 40 would have to be continuous corn because atrazine was the only herbicide at the time that was effective. Today with two pass applications and newer herbicides we are slowly getting it under control. 

On Friday evening we were looking forward to filling semis for morning and listening to Cody play football hoping to be in the house in time for late supper. Kurt's cornhead broke a shaft that runs half of the row unit gearboxes. Josh located parts and had them set out. He and BJ made a parts run returning home early Saturday morning.

Kurt made three trips to Grinnell for parts last week including early Saturday morning. The cornhead was back harvesting by 8am.

We take corn to the dryer bin when Cargill/ Eddyville is not taking corn. This dryer ran 24/7 all last week. The wet corn goes in the dryer bin. As 160 degree forced air takes moisture out of the kernels, an automatic sweep auger run by a moisture sensor takes the dry corn off the floor, runs it up a center auger, and transfers the dry corn to an adjoining bin where it dries another two points as it cools in the storage bin.

Since a majority of our crop is already sold we deliver as much as possible straight out of the field. We use 8-10 trucks to take the corn from the field to the plant including ours and hiring others to help us.

Last week we talked about little people. Children absolutely love to help. Sydnie enjoyed riding with her dad, Karl. It was heartwarming to see other families including Luke, Ben, and others who had their kids helping them as well.

Cargill/Eddyville is one of the largest food ingredient plants in the country and we are fortunate to have them in our community. It has around 500 employees and an additional 500 contractors. It unloads between 250 and 400 trucks in a 10 hour day. So quite often one of my jobs is to get in line early in the morning and usually arrive around 4am for a 6am starting time. 

Occasionally the DOT sits at Eddyville and weighs and inspects trucks. Two of our loads were stopped and weighed.

When we arrive we look for the truck with his flashers on meaning he is the last truck in line. After anywhere from a 3 minute to 3 hour wait we pull up to the probe shack where a grain sample is taken. Being a food ingredient plant Eddyville has strict standards.

Often there is then another wait to unload in one of three dumps. Two dumps use truck scales. The third has a scale in the pit. Often wet and dry corn are split. The dry corn goes in one of two, million bushel bins. The wet corn goes in one of 5 concrete silos and is used immediately.

After dumping and pulling out of the way, truckers go in to sign and receive a scale ticket printed out by one of the dump operators including Patty, Doug, Dustin, and Pablo shown below.

On Thursday evening after Eddyville closed much of our crew geared up to combine soybeans. I didn't get a picture of harvest because I was combining corn, loading trucks for the following morning. BJ and Karl combined while Kurt and Kasey hauled beans to the bin with wagons since our graincarts were full of corn. John watched the unloading auger at the bin. They cut around 90 acres testing 11% moisture and yielding in the low 60s bpa. They were a late group 2 soybean planted April 25.

Most of the time Mike is pushing dirt for folks cleaning ditches, building terraces, or leveling for a building pad. He takes 3 hours off every day to help coach football. However what folks don't know is that he is always willing to help out. We sometimes give him a call to help move cornheads from one farm to the next. He even drove graincart for Ethan while Ethan combined with Mark and Stacy's family. Stacy also drives combine while Amelia or Elijah or Anton run the cart while Mark is trucking corn to their bin or to Eddyville. It's very rewarding as a parent to hear them on the 2-way farming as a family.

One of the things Jan and I have that's maybe not all that necessary is a JD 9560 combine. It's a smaller machine that helps with soybeans, that I enjoy using the grandkids with for smaller jobs, and for sharing with others who use it to get their  crops out.

In July at our county fair I usually go to the 4-H auction and support the kids who are selling their projects. Many kids or parents show their appreciation at the auction. A few write thank you notes. I was blessed with a surprise yesterday. I had bought some sheep and a champion turkey from Andrew and Olivia below. Last evening around 7 pm just as I was pulling our little combine in the machine shed out of the rain, Andrew, Olivia, and their parents stopped by with a leg of lamb and the champion turkey I had bought from them and let them keep him. It was over 30 pounds. They had taken it to the Amish in Bloomfield to get cleaned. It was a behind the scenes thank you for our support. :) Olivia wants to be a vet. Andrew was celebrating his 13th birthday yesterday. Thanks for blessing me yesterday Olivia and Andrew. Also thank you parents, Tom and Orla, for being parents behind the scenes.

Whether it's farming, relationships with friends and help, or being a husband, dad, and granddad (family), I would be a complete failure without my faith and trust in, and help from God who makes everything happen in my life behind the scenes. Last Sunday our oldest grandson, Gideon, made profession of faith at our church, meaning as a young man he intends to serve the Lord. This morning our youngest grandson, Lane, is being baptized, meaning his parents, Kurt and Emily, promise to God to do everything they can as parents to raise their son loving his Lord. And ask God for His promise to help them do that. Behind the scenes. Have a great week.