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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] |
