By Rep. Paul Anderson
With harvest winding down over most parts of the district, yields, for the most part, have been a pleasant surprise. Both corn and soybean fields have been producing crops that are average or a bit above. Especially on heavy soil, where the moisture we did receive lasted longer, yields did very well.
What amazed me the most was the overall quality of the crop. In all my years of farming, I have never hauled corn out of the field at moisture levels of 12 to 14 percent, which was common this year. That means the crop can go directly into the bin or elevator without artificial drying, which saves both time and money. The weight of the crop was also above average, with some reporting corn test weights of 60 pounds per bushel or even higher.
The weather also cooperated by remaining dry all through September, with no rain delays to speak of. The continuing drought does raise concerns for next year, however. It also makes fall plowing or other tillage difficult, if not impossible. The ground is so hard that the tips or points of chisel plows, for example, have difficulty in penetrating the soil surface. In cases where the tillage equipment is able to work the ground, those tips or tillage points get extremely hot because of friction and wear down quickly. Putting a new set of them on the machine is an expensive proposition, and could cost a thousand dollars or more, depending on how large the machine is and how many tips is has.
One drawback of the dry fall has been the amount of dust generated by combines working in the field and trucks driving down gravel roads. In addition, many of our recent hot days have had little or no wind, so the dust just hangs in the air. This has caused some beautiful red sunsets, but it’s difficult working in those conditions. I watched a worker unloading soybeans at an area elevator, and the dust coming out the bottom of the trailer was like a thick fog.
***
Took part in an impressive ceremony Oct. 7, marking the dedication of a monument honoring past, present, and future firefighters of the Brooten Fire Dept. A student at BBE, Jacob Solbreken, came up with the idea for the monument and used it for his Eagle Scout project. Jacob comes from a long line of firefighters, with his grandfather, Loren, having 42 years of service under his belt and still being active in the department, serving as assistant chief. In addition, his dad and uncles also serve with the department.
-30-