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 At each event a family style meal consisting of fried chicken,
mashed potatoes and gravy, a vegetable side, bread, and a selection
of pies was served. Each of the winners of the feed in the field
drawing was encouraged to invite family and neighbors to join them
for lunch. At both events guests for lunch numbered more than a
dozen.
On Tuesday, the FCS staff on hand for the lunch was Vice-president
John Hartman, Regional Manager Larry Ellinger, Crop Insurance
Specialist John Klemm, and Sales and Service Specialists Amy
Deilbert and Julie Yoder. On Thursday, Deilbert stayed at the office
for customer service there, and the group was joined by Sales and
Service Specialist Allison Rahe.
At the Thompson farm, Doug Thompson said that he farms approximately
1,600 acres with the assistance of one hired hand. Wife LaVerne
plays several roles, helping on the farm, keeping house, cooking,
doing laundry and working all the time at Eminence Grain and Coal
Co. She said that in reality, the Feed in the Fields was a gift to
her. Typically she is at the elevator working, then makes a mad dash
home to get a lunch put together, so she can then dash back to the
elevator and resume her work there. She laughed and said that last
year she told Doug, “I need a cook! And he agreed!”
Harvest is underway at the Thompson farm, with corn being shelled,
and soybeans coming soon. Thompson said he does split the farm
between corn and soybeans, but this year he has a few more acres in
corn than soybeans. Thompson said that for some, the dry weather in
August brought about an early harvest, but for himself he’s only
been in the field a few days. He started out, he said, with what he
feels are his best fields, protecting those yields against the
uncertainty of fall weather.
Those good fields he said are hitting 200 to 220 bushels per acre,
but he said in stark contrast, he’s going to have fields that he
knows the yields will be in the low 100’s, maybe 130 bushels per
acre.
In August the Farm Bureau Young Leaders did a crop survey of Logan
County corn crops. In their work they walked through and grabbed ear
samples from multiple fields throughout the county. Their study
concluded that taking into consideration the very best fields, and
the very worst, those damaged by the June flooding, county wide the
average yield was going to be 174 bushels per acre. Thompson said he
was hopeful that he would hit that projected average, but he isn’t
going to know until he sees just how bad those bad fields are.
Thompson said one of the biggest challenges this year was monitoring
the corn dryer. Corn is dry, in some cases too dry. Thompson said
keeping the dryer set right so that corn will not be over-dried is a
challenge as the yields are coming in right at or just slightly
above the optimum moisture content of 15 percent.
On Thursday the feed in the field was held at the Bob and Nancy
Dorch farmstead. The Hassebrocks farm the ground owned by the
Dorch’s. Gene Hassebrock commented that when he was attending high
school at Lincoln Community High School, Bob Dorch was his Ag
teacher, and now he is his landlord.
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The Hassebrocks; Gene, wife Marsha, and son Corey farm about 2,300 acres.
Hassebrock said that the family has been in harvest mode for a while and have
shelled maybe 1,000 to 1,200 acres of corn. He said yields are “decent”, but the
fluctuations in the field can be quite dramatic. He said he had a yield monitor
on his combine. The Hassebrocks were out that day bringing in the crop in the
field directly adjacent to the Dorch home. Gene said that watching his monitor
as he goes through the field, at one end the yields are 200 bushels or better
per acre, but then he will hit spots where that the yield drops to as low as 100
bushels.
Asked if he thought he would hit that projected 174 bushels, Hassebrock didn’t
want to commit, but he appeared to be doubtful. He also commented that right in
his area, yields are probably better than they are to the northwestern part of
the county. He said he had heard that many of the fields in the Hartsburg area
were coming in low.
John Klemm of FCS is also part of a local farm family. John’s dad Robert is
known in Lincoln as the owner of Klemm’s Tax Service but is also a farmer on the
Logan/DeWitt County line. John said that on the farm, yields are decent thus
far, but they are faced with the issue of corn coming out of the field too dry.
When corn dries, it loses weight. Therefore simply put, it takes more kernels of
corn to equal a 56-pound bushel in dry measure. So, while dry corn saves money
at the dryer, corn that is too dry is going to lose money on the scale.
At the end of the meal at each of the two visits, the farmers were presented
with first-aid kits to put in their combines or tractors.
The goal of the FCS with its Feed in the Fields program is to encourage farmers
not to get in too big of a rush during harvest time. Even with today’s modern
technology, harvest can be a tedious and tiring job. Everyone should take a
break out of the truck, tractor and combine to relax for a few minutes and give
their minds and bodies a rest.
On Tuesday, Hartman spoke about this separate from the presentation saying that
an early harvest and good weather now, doesn’t necessarily relieve the pressure
of getting the crops out of the fields quickly. In the fall, the weather can
turn in an instant. Heavy rain and strong winds can come at any moment, and have
a devastating effect on a field of six-foot tall corn stalks.
This year in addition to giving out the first-aid kits, the FCS is starting
early on the celebration of its 100th year of service to local farmers that will
be marked officially in 2016. To commemorate the milestone anniversary, both
families were given wood cutting boards,with the 100th anniversary noted with a
wood burnt stamp in the corner of the board.
In addition to the feed in the fields each year, the FCS also puts on an
elevator lunch in October. This year, there will be two Logan County grain
elevators where that FCS staff will be on hand one day at lunch time, passing
out free lunches to area farmers as they haul grain into the facilities.
[Nila Smith] |
