Friday, September 28, 2012

Soybean Progress

We were out at the field today so a certain little girl could ride with her daddy in the combine. Then later we took supper out to the guys.
 

 
Her favorite factoid from daddy was that the soybeans they were harvesting today could be made into fun things like crayons!
 





 Soybean harvest should be finished on Monday. Yields have been good, but there has been a lot of trouble plugging up the combines because even though the beans are dry, the stems are green.

 
And of course the most exciting thing about riding in the combine (aside from spending some one-on-one time with daddy) is getting to pack a lunchbox.

 
Chad said they will likely go right into corn harvest once the beans are done. Harvest is moving right along!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Soybeans Are A Go!

Finally the guys headed out again today to combine soybeans, and it was a go!
 
The combines and grain cart parked and ready to go.



Friday, September 21, 2012

Rollag

Still catching up with photos here. Over Labor Day weekend, Chad, Terry & Norman visited the steam threshing show at Rollag, MN.

 
The show featured lots of farm equipment from years (or decades, rather) past along with field demonstrations and highlights the use of steam threshers.



a steam thresher

a homemade four wheel drive tractor


Massey Harris side hill combine



field demonstration
Chad said he would like to go back again another year to take in the field demonstrations as there was a lot to take in.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Blue Flint Tour

Do I ever have some catching up to do! These photos are from a while back; Chad attended a tour and appreciation day at Blue Flint Ethanol in Underwood.

 
Blue Flint is an ethanol plant. They take in corn, make it into ethanol and they also ship out dried distillers grain, which is a by-product that is used as feed for swine, poultry and beef.
 
Our Freight Solutions trucks haul corn into and dried distillers out of this location often.

grain storage


Diagrams were posted throughout the tour explaining the different processes the corn goes through as it becomes ethanol.



 
Outside view of the plant where all the action takes place.



Here is a photo of one of the large dryers.

Here is wet dried distillers grain (DDG).


And this is dry DDG.

 
Trucks and railcars dump corn into the underground pit here.


ethanol tanks

Outside view of some railcars at the plant.



In harvest news, the guys took the combines out to try some soybeans today but they are still not ready. They will try again in a couple days.