I spent one whole summer working for our local corn sheller. I worked from "set up" at around 6:30 am till we finished at noon or until 2:30 if it took longer at the particular job. From there I rushed home, took a shower and made it to work for second shift at Clay Equipment. One. Whole. Summer. (between freshman and sophomore years at ISU) Work was harder and paid less shelling than factory work but I enjoyed it more, We shelled a couple times for a "tight" farmer who would pass around a bucket of apples for a short break around 11 am (while trucks were changed between loads or the cob wagon was changed out.) His sole intent was to fill you up so you wouldn't eat as much at the noon dinner, ha ha. Takes all kinds. Worked every job in that vidio. It didn't show the wire cribs we shelled that were not cleanly picked and needed a pick ax to dislodge the corn into the drag, or the wood floored cribs that had nails sticking up that would bring your shovel to a dead stop when cleaning up. A couple times we would create a funnel along a crib with a wood plank that would lead to a running lawn mower discharge chute which worked pretty well at eliminating rats/mice.
The '24 Iowa Harvest thread
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I spent one whole summer working for our local corn sheller. I worked from "set up" at around 6:30 am till we finished at noon or until 2:30 if it took longer at the particular job. From there I rushed home, took a shower and made it to work for second shift at Clay Equipment. One. Whole. Summer. (between freshman and sophomore years at ISU) Work was harder and paid less shelling than factory work but I enjoyed it more, We shelled a couple times for a "tight" farmer who would pass around a bucket of apples for a short break around 11 am (while trucks were changed between loads or the cob wagon was changed out.) His sole intent was to fill you up so you wouldn't eat as much at the noon dinner, ha ha. Takes all kinds. Worked every job in that vidio. It didn't show the wire cribs we shelled that were not cleanly picked and needed a pick ax to dislodge the corn into the drag, or the wood floored cribs that had nails sticking up that would bring your shovel to a dead stop when cleaning up. A couple times we would create a funnel along a crib with a wood plank that would lead to a running lawn mower discharge chute which worked pretty well at eliminating rats/mice.
Yup, all that. I remember impatiently unloading wagons (and barely able to hear the radio) of ground ear corn as George Amundson led a game-winning drive against the dreaded huskers, an unheard of event in '72, only to have Tom Goedjen be the hero and the goat in the same game. But back then a tie was like a win.
1972 Iowa State football recap, Nebraska game -- HuskerMax
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We've been harvesting beans along the Iowa/Minnesota border since last week. A few others are too.
MF 1080 with no cab and an AM radio on the fender. Blasting Pete Taylor while going balls out pulling two full wagons from the field to the farmstead to unload. Warming by the fire in the burn barrel while emptying the wagons into the auger (powered by a Ferguson TO-30). Then hauling ass back to the field to hitch up to two more full wagons and start the process over again. If the timing was a little off, dad would have to wait....standing outside the cab of the combine with his hands on his hips, shaking his head with disapproval. We were a well-oiled machine...Man those were the best times!
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There are fields of beans harvested right at the edge of Ankeny.
As much as I was hoping to get rained out tomorrow so I can watch the game, I absolute love listening to Walters & Heft.
I spent a lot of time as a kid listening to Pete and Eric, as well as Eddie and Dolph while I did all sorts of random jobs. One of my jobs was hanging out at our bin site and dumping semis (we had more trucks than drivers, so the driver would just pull up, jump out, and get into the empty truck and take off) and I'd unload the truck. I had a radio in the scale house, and a radio by the dump pit, so the only action I missed was while I pulled the truck onto the pit (unless the driver was listening to the game of course).
Either that or chopping stalks with a pull behind Hiniker stalk chopper in an IH 1086, back before chopping heads.
I spent a lot of time as a kid listening to Pete and Eric, as well as Eddie and Dolph while I did all sorts of random jobs. One of my jobs was hanging out at our bin site and dumping semis (we had more trucks than drivers, so the driver would just pull up, jump out, and get into the empty truck and take off) and I'd unload the truck. I had a radio in the scale house, and a radio by the dump pit, so the only action I missed was while I pulled the truck onto the pit (unless the driver was listening to the game of course).
Either that or chopping stalks with a pull behind Hiniker stalk chopper in an IH 1086, back before chopping heads.
So many memories! My favorite by far though was similar. We also had livestock so those chores needed tending at the same time, I decided hog feeders needed to be filled before days end and decided to do that while unloading corn and that threw the schedule off a bit. When I got back to the field I got the expected "where the hell have you been" over the hand held radio as I pulled up next to the combine sitting there with a full hopper. I noticed that the discharge auger on the old 6600 Deere was still in the folded position as he reached down to engage the unloading auger. Who would have guessed that it was my fault I didn't remind him before corn started gurgling out onto the ground?
A few folks started late group one maturity beans last week in the Jefferson area. By this time next week dang near everything will be ready to roll North of Hwy 30 and West of 169. Quite a few fields that could go right now if the growers could get past the idea of cutting green stems.
On a side note, planting power has way outpaced harvest power on the farm - particularly for beans. Guys are giving up a ton of yield cutting 9% beans simply because they can't cover the acres fast enough.
On a side note, planting power has way outpaced harvest power on the farm - particularly for beans. Guys are giving up a ton of yield cutting 9% beans simply because they can't cover the acres fast enough.
Yep, I loved shelling corn. When I was in JH and HS there were enough still doing it in my area to get plenty of work. Did it for a couple family operations. Equipment set up and tear down was interesting. Good physical work but not brutal like baling. And there was something satisfying about trying to get the flow just right. Only time I didn’t like it was being in a round crib once that had rats out and visible.
Our crib was a wire free-standing crib that was probably about 25-30' tall. Some of the ears would inevitable get stuck in the mesh towards the top. Being the youngest, I was charged with climbing up the wire and freeing the trapped cobs that couldn't get shaken loose. My grip strength as a 10 year old probably rivaled a grown man.
November 11, 1972. 15 year old me is unloading ear corn into the elevator to go into the bin. My mother is yelling out updates on the ISU/Nebraska game. Cyclones down by 6. Three updates and three George Amundson completed passes later it is tied at 23. Then the final update: "they missed the extra point!" Only extra point Tom Goedjen missed at Iowa State.
Bondurant area today. Couldn't even find any unpicked seed corn.
I was a towny so most of my farm experiences relate to building and maintaining grain bins, and those smells are not ones you want to remember.
We would jump into the bins sometimes, and you’d sink thigh deep in the corn and man it was kind of exhilarating
The place was going absolutely nuts after the touchdown. Majors should have called a timeout to calm everyone down before kicking the extra point.
Midnight sound of corn dryers, the smell of frost-bitten then sun warmed and dried corn stalks, and all those corn leaves blown around on a blustery October day...
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Mid to late 90s. Every fall weekend was spent driving the grain cart while my dad combined. A couple memories that I still cherish. Having lunch on the tailgate in the middle of a half harvested field brought to us by my mom. Listening to college football in the old Case IH on a crackly AM radio. The excitement from actually being involved in the family business and not ever getting paid physical money.
I also think about my professional career when I was still in field research and ran the combine in the fall. My favorite activity all year at work. Even if it meant working literally until midnight to get the plots harvested.
I also think about my professional career when I was still in field research and ran the combine in the fall. My favorite activity all year at work. Even if it meant working literally until midnight to get the plots harvested.
