News Detail
Farmers making progress in the fields, Making lines at the elevators
11/20/2009 1:14:00 PM
WESTON - Curtis Havelka was seventh in line today when the elevator opened in Weston at 8 a.m.
He arrived at 6 a.m.
"I thing the first guy came at 5," the Weston area farmer said.
The line moved pretty quickly once Frontier Coop starting dumping the corn into their bins. Havelka was driving his truck into the dump area just shortly after 8:30 a.m.
Unloading his corn just ahead of Havelka was Ed Stuchlik of Weston. Like the rest of the farmers in line, Stuchlik had to come to town pretty early. But, he said didn't mind too much.
"Elevators can only do so much," he stated.
Area elevators are operating on specific hours due to the late harvest and the wetness of the corn. The wet corn must be dried before it can be placed into storage.
Frontier is accepting wet and dry corn from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If the corn comes in below about 16 percent moisture, it doesn't need to be dried in the bin. "Dry" corn is being accepted in Weston until 4 p.m. today.
Frontier personnel reported that the average moisture for corn has been about 17 to 18 percent.
Havelka said that is about what his fields are averaging right now too.
He added that the moisture was varying from field to field and variety to variety.
Stuchlik reported that his corn was averaging about 16 to 17 percent moisture.
Both Havelka and Stuchlik were hoping to finish up their harvest this week. While they may get done, other area farmers will still be out in the fields and waiting in line if they need to store or sell their corn in town.
But, the lines do have their advantages.
Stuchlik said he had a chance to get a nice breakfast during his two-hour wait. He also chatted with a lot of friends and neighbors who were also in line.
"It's a good time to socialize," he added.
