Corn Drying Equipment

Clayton County Iowa

 Here you see the son of an Iowa Farmer showing off a new grain dryer.  The control station is housed in the shed next to the grain bin.

 Here is the Iowa Tractor Boy in the Control Shed/Monitoring Station as he observes the status of the corn drying operation.

This is a close up of the display which the Iowa Tractor Boy is viewing in the previous picture.  I have memories of picking ear corn when I was a much Younger Iowa Farm Boy.  We had a husking peg on our hand and stripped away the shuck and threw the ear corn into a wagon.  Most of the time the wagon was pulled by a team of horses.  Farming has certainly changed in the last sixty years.

John Deere

Open House

175th Anniversary

at the

Harvester Plant

Moline, Illinois

 My nephew works at this Plant and he had his Mother document the events of the day as John Deere Celebrated 175 years of progress in the Agriculture Implement Manufacture. 

 A Display of a one row Corn Picker. 

 I have fond memories of this style grain combine when I was a Young Farm Boy of 14 years of age.

 This view and several others which follow show the current "Combine," which is now known as a Harvester.

 This Harvester has an eighteen corn row header.  Certainly a much larger capacity than the 1950s models I watched as a young Farm Boy.

 A Harvester Motor

 The header

 This is the section that My Nephew works on.

No Open House is complete without Food.  I was told that about 10,000 people visited this Open House.



2012 Corn Harvest

Kale Avenue

Clayton County Iowa

Visitors to this Blog may recall that on August 15, 2012 I posted a series of pictures that showed a damaged corn crop, which was the result of a violent wind storm in late July.  The harvest has now commenced.

 This is a picture of a Corn Harvestor that has been altered to assist in the harvest of the corn crop when the stalks are laying low instead of standing up straight and tall.

 You will note the black tines which rotate to assist the stalks entry in the the harvestor header.

This is a picture of my Sibling assisting with the unloading of a corn wagon at the drying operation.  He always helps our Nephews with their corn harvest.



Corn Crop Report

Kale Avenue

Clayton County Iowa

 This past July the author of this Blog visited relatives in Clayton County, Iowa.  On 9 July 2012 as we were departing Northeast Iowa My Bride asked that I stop so she could take a few pictures of the corn crop.  The above two images show corn growing alongside Kale Avenue.

On 3 August 2012 one of my relatives sent me these pictures of the destruction of the corn crop that had happened to the week before alongside Kale Avenue.  Although the above four pictures were not taken from the same viewpoint as the top two in this post, they were taken within one half a mile. 

As you can quickly see, the damage at this time looks major.  The corn stalks were not broken off in most cases, however they are laying down.  These farmers will know the extend of the damage once they have harvested the corn this Fall.

In the meantime, my nephew  has had his combine fitted with special attachments which will assist in the harvest of the down stalks.  I have heard that the corn is still growing even though a lot of the leaves were stripped from the hail. 

I understand that this area of Kale Avenue has seen a lot of visitors to view the damaged corn crop.  I have also been informed that "crop insurance" will not supply much relief because the stalks were not broken.

You can be sure that I will provide a picture of the altered combine and a report of the impact of this storm once the harvest is complete.

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Motor Mill

on the banks of

Turkey River

Southeast

of

Elkader, Iowa

 During my recent Holiday to Northeast Iowa, my Nephew and his Son conducted a Field Trip for me to the Motor Mill.  The above pictures shows that renovation is in process.  The new windows have been installed.

 The next project will be the construction of a bridge which will be designed just like the original that has decayed away.  Here you see the Bride Pier in the middle of the Turkey River.

 There are several sturctures that supported the Mill.

 Of course the Tourist travel to the Turkey River to tube and enjoy the lazy days of Summer  in Clayton, County.

My nephew's son standing tall in front of "The Inn" sign at the Motor Mill.  This is but one of the Historic Sites in Clayton County, which allows everyone to connect with the rich history of the past. 

I enjoyed my Field Trip!!!!

Visiting Northeast Iowa

Recently I was able to visit Northeast Iowa, especially Clayton County to visit my Siblings and other relatives.  One Day My youngest Sibling took me on a Field Trip of the Back Roads of Clayton County and other local Counties.  Of course we got into trouble in Elkport, Iowa and were forced to visit the local Jail.

 My Sibling

 This Blog's Author

After our Jail Time we determined that we should visit the local church!

We then traveled through Amish Country Southwest of Elkport.  My Sibling took me on a gravel road because were in quest of rural scenes that would remind me of my Youth as an Iowa Farm Boy.  This Grain Binder was in on an Amish Farm.  The morning dew was damp enough that the Farmers had not commenced the cutting of the Oats Crop.  Therefore I was able to get several pictures.

These scenes are especially meaningful to me because when I was a mere twelve year old tender young Farm Boy I was shocking oats in a field much like this one.  This Binder is of the type that my Dad used to cut the Oats Crop.  The bundles were then arranged in Shocks to dry out prior to being threshed.

After the Amish Farm we then traveled to Edgewood and the Greely area.  My Sibling Brother wanted to show me the Turbine Farm where electric power is generated.  There were a total of 17 turbines on this farm.

Our next stop was a demonstration plot where various types of Soybeans and Corn are grown so that Farmers can observe the traits of the various types to determine which will perform best in their respective farm operations.

In recent years Farmers have painted "Quilts" on the ends of their Barns.  This has become quite a Tourist Draw.  In fact there are "Barn Quilt" Tours where people can acquire a map and visit many "Barn Quilts" in a day.

We concluded our Tour of Northeast Iowa by traveling to Elkader so that we could consume a late lunch.  Prior to arriving in downtown Elkader we traveled alongside Turkey River.  As I looked across the River I noted these two young Fisherboys enjoying the Summer.  I had my Brother stop so that I could take some pictures.  Once these Fisherboys observed me with a camera from across the river they posed with their catch. 

What a wonderful Trip down Memory Lane for me as my Sibling escorted me around some roads that I never knew about in my Youth.  A Delightful day and certainly a dynamic opportunity to connect with my Youth as an Iowa Farm Boy.