The Farm Road Trip – Day 2

I posted yesterday that as usual I brought the rain with me to Kansas City, however, I did get to ride the combine for one trip around the field before the rain came and stopped us.

Bean yields in the area seem to be pretty good compared to normal.  Many fields are  yielding in the high 50s and low 60s.  Corn yields are down from normal probably due to the high heat in August.

Today (Tuesday), I traveled up to Mason City, Iowa to meet up with David Olsen ofIntuitive Agritech Systems, Inc.  David provides management accounting services for farmers in the Midwest and his father, Uncle and cousin farm together about 50 miles northwest of Mason City.

I got to ride on an one year old John Deere 9870 for a couple hours today harvesting 180 bushel corn.  There is something therapeutic about watching 12 rows of corn come into a combine at almost 5 miles an hour and keep a grain cart and two semi trucks going.

I am off to Cedar Falls tonight and am looking forward to actually running the combine for several hours tomorrow before I head to Illinois.