harvest 3.0
Once we have trucks or wagons full of grain, it is time to take them to the elevator. Our local elevator is Maco, and the process starts by weighing the full truck on the scale outlined by metal rails (see photo). Once they weigh it, they probe and remove a sample of the grain to test for moisture content, foreign matter and test weight.
Sub-standard grain will have it’s price docked. Wetter grain will include higher docks to pay the cost to dry the grain manually (with propane heaters), and potentially further docks for ‘shrinkage’ because wet grain weighs more (and once it is sufficiently dry, it will amount to fewer bushels). Having too much foreign matter (dirt, leaves, stalks, whatever) will also earn you a dock.
Dumping Grain and Bin Legs
The next step is dumping the grain in one of the pits. Below the trucks and wagons are dump pits conntected to huge legs (see last photo) that use augers and conveyor belts to lift the grain into one of the many bins there. Some of the bins are enormous, 120+ feet tall (these photos don’t do them justice).
After you’ve dumped, you return to the scale, weigh out, and the difference in weights is used to determine how many bushels you’ve delivered. At this point you are issued either cash (if you like the market price) or a ticket which serves as your claim on the grain. The elevator will hold the grain on your behalf for a small fee per bushel and then you can sell throughout the year when you like the price.
November 8, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Hey, Livy! I have SO enjoyed your blog! Thanks for sharing your experiences! Your harvest scenes take me back to my 20s, when I was an agribusiness writer for the Des Moines Register. At harvest I’d park at an elevator and jump in the cab with the farmers as they waited in line at the scale. It was the only place I could get an interview at that season! SO great to see you connecting with our agricultural heritage! Hi! to your Uncle Harvey, Aunt Jill and grandmother! Luv, Aunt Claudia