SVM-SS3_11122013

Strength in numbers

Illinois Corn Growers Association tackles policy with a punch – Page 2

Back in business

Walton elevator, blown down in June, quickly rebuilt – Page 6

Hay, the hard way

Tractor, baler, hayrack and sweat still getting the job done – Page 8

typed in Cosmos extra bold

Jim Dunn/jdunn@saukvalley.com

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A supplement to Sauk Valley Media

Today’s Farm

PAGE 2

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE | CORN

Finding strength in numbers Corn Growers Association tackles policy with a punch

BY KAYLA HEIMERMAN Special to Today’s Farm

They might be relatively small in numbers, but they are awfully mighty in force.

They are Illinois corn growers.

“There are a lot of farmers in Illinois, and a lot of guys growing corn,” said Lindsay Mitchell, project coordinator for the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

“But we are only a small part – maybe less than 2 percent – of the [farming] population.

“It’s important for them to join together because their numbers are so small.”

The Illinois Corn Growers Association, established in the early 1970s,

is a grassroots organization that represents the legislative and policy interests of between 4,500 and 5,000 corn growers at the state and federal levels.

The group works in tandem with the Illinois Corn Marketing Board.

The association mostly handles legislative affairs, although it also works to educate the public about corn production, while the marketing board works to expand the market for corn and corn products.

The Illinois Corn Growers Association represents those farmers who grow field corn or commercial corn, not sweet corn or popcorn. “[Illinois] is No. 2 in terms of field corn production, right behind Iowa,” Mitchell said.

“Our economy is built on agriculture. …

Between corn, beans and livestock, it’s very significant and important that we really invest

in and buy into this idea of a robust agricultural economy.”

The association’s top priority at the federal level, right now, is the Farm Bill, the current version of which expired Sept. 30.

ITS MAIN FOCUS at the state level is tax incentives for ethanol. Currently, every gallon of gasoline sold contains 10 percent ethanol.

But recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the sale of gasoline that is 15 percent ethanol (also known as E15), so groups like the Illinois Corn Growers Association are working to increase the tax incentives for retailers who sell such higher blends.

“Corn yields are increasing, so we need market opportunities that are increasing,” Mitchell said. “There are not a lot of livestock opportunities anymore.

But there are a lot of ethanol opportunities.”

For Illinois corn growers, the association is about strength in numbers.

“It’s similar in a lot of ways to being a member of the Farm Bureau,” said Craig Buhrow, who raises corn and soybeans between Interstate 88 and U.S. Route 30 south of Ashton in Lee County.

“It has a lot to do with representation in government.”

Buhrow, who represents Lee, Whiteside and Bureau counties on the Illinois Corn Growers Association board of the corn growCraig Buhrow (right), a West Brooklyn farmer and ers association, said board member for the Illinois Corn Growers Assohe is stepping down in ciation, greets state Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon. Being November. part of ICGA “has a lot to do with representation in government,” Buhrow said.

CORN CONTINUED ON 3

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Today’s Farm celebrates agriculture in the Sauk Valley and beyond. It is published by Sauk Valley Media six times a year – in January, March, May, July, September and November.

We welcome story ideas about interesting local people who are involved with agriculture.

Call Jim Dunn at 800-798-4085, ext. 511, or send an email to jdunn@saukvalley.com.

typed in Cosmos extra bold

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Today’s Farm

.OVEMBER s Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 3

Commodity groups are more focused CORN

CONTINUED FROM 2

Illinois Corn Growers Association

Paul Taylor, who farms near Rochelle and is president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, debates policy during the National Corn Growers Association Corn Congress in March.

“General farm organizations are as they sound, but commodity organizations can be much more focused with their issue,� added Paul Taylor, who farms 750 acres in Esmond Township, northeast of Rochelle in DeKalb County and is president of the corn

growers association board.

Both Buhrow and Taylor agree that because corn rules the agricultural roost in Illinois, the corn growers association has a lot of pull in Springfield and in Washington, D.C. They also agree that it behooves corn growers to be a part of such a group to ensure their voices are heard.

Mitchell, of the corn

growers association, agrees, too. “The corn growers [association] really is the last stop,� she said. “We’re taking our message to the right people and effecting change.�

Illinois Corn Growers Association P.O. Box 1623 Bloomington, IL 61702 Phone: 309-557-3257 Fax: 309-827-0916

Website: www.ilcorn. org Executive director: Rodney Weinzieri

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 4

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

MACHINERY REPAIR

Cylinder work a speciality of Cylinders Plus Experience, inventory an advantage for farmers

BY DAVE FOX Special to Today’s Farm

DEER GROVE – Working in a shop among the cornfields of southeastern Whiteside County, two brothers and a small staff provide a vital service for area farmers.

Cylinders Plus “is pretty much a one-stop shop” for hydraulic needs, said Shannon Pierceson, the owner.

“We’ve got a full machine shop,” he said.

“We specialize in hydraulic cylinders, but we can also do custom welding jobs, and lots of related services as well.”

Many in the farming community will recognize Pierceson’s name from the trucking line he operates.

“The trucking end of the business has been around for probably 40

years,” he said. “My dad took it over from his grandparents, and then I took it over from Dad when he passed away about 5 years ago.”

Pierceson and his brother, Dustin, work well together in that venue, as well as farming roughly 2,000 acres.

In what seems like a busy and already diversified family business, why take on a third venture in the cylinder business?

Pierceson recalled a similar operation, Farm and Track, that operated nearby, but it was bought out awhile back.

“One of our guys used to work there, and he talked Dad into starting our operation here,” Pierceson said.

“There is a huge need for this type of service around here.

“At least half our busi-

ness is farm-based, and we get people from as far as 90 miles away coming here.”

What exactly is cylinder repair?

“The most common thing we do is rebuild hydraulic cylinders,” he said, in farming, excavation and other heavy equipment.

“Every time an implement is used, a cylinder goes up and down. It gets a lot of wear, and eventually the seals need to be replaced, so the most common thing we do is rebuild the cylinders and replace the seals.”

The shop also repairs or replaces bent cylinder rods, along with making new hydraulic hoses.

Pierceson also cited a commercial application recently undertaken.

CYLINDERS CONTINUED ON 5

Dave Fox/Special to Today’s Farm

Shannon Pierceson reviews his company’s inventory of hydraulic seals. He said the shop carries about $42,000 worth of inventory, which reduces or eliminates the time a customer must wait for a repaired cylinder.

.OVEMBER s Sauk Valley Media

Today’s Farm

PAGE 5

Shop focuses on getting farmers up, running again CYLINDERS

CONTINUED FROM 4

“The Rock Falls hydroelectric plant, for example, has a hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes a floodgate at their plant,” he said.

“The gate was Germanmade, and it would sometimes take them months to get parts for repairs.

They brought the job to us, and we did repairs with American-made parts, and they found we can get them running again much quicker.”

Working quickly to get their clients back to work is important, he said, especially in the farming community.

“When [farmers are] down, they’re down, and they can’t afford to be down for long, especially during harvest or planting season,” Pierceson said.

Many jobs average a week in turnaround time, “but farming ourselves, we know the value of time when there’s field work going on, so we do all we can to get farmers up and running again the same day,” Pierceson said.

One thing that helps to complete a job quickly

Photos by Dave Fox/ Special to Today’s Farm

Tony Cook makes adjustments on the Cylinders Plus shop’s Nut Buster, a machine capable of exerting 53,000 foot-pounds of torque.

The device is used to dismantle cylinders that may be stuck. is a well-stocked parts department.

“We have a good variety of rods in stock at all times,” he said, along with hoses, fittings, couplers and other things.

“Usually, we have everything we need right here, and when there’s something we don’t have, we can generally have it by the next day.”

Knowledgeable workers also make a difference.

Cylinders Plus carries a large line of stock cylinder parts, including rods that can be cut to fit nearly any cylinder.

A large supply of hydraulic couplers and fittings is kept in stock by Cylinders Plus, which speeds up the repair process.

“The guys I have working on cylinders probably have at least 50 years’ experience combined, so they can usually take a look at a cylinder and know right away what needs to be done.”

Custom-made parts are also available, he said.

“We can take some iron and make parts that you can’t get at a dealer.

Dealers, a lot of times, will want to sell you a whole new cylinder, but you don’t always need a whole new cylinder.

“We can usually repair it, make it as good as new, when the dealers aren’t

able to do that, and since we have such an inventory of parts, we’re usually much quicker and less expensive than going through a dealer as well,” he said.

In addition to regular shop work, Pierceson prides his business on making service calls.

“Sometimes, it’s more practical if we go to the job instead of the job being brought to us,” he said.

Dealing with people and challenges make the job fun, he said.

“I enjoy dealing with people, because they’re

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 6

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

WALTON’S CONSOLIDATED GRAIN AND BARGE CO.

Blown down in June, elevator running again Manager amazed at the 4-month recovery from 100-mph winds

BY KIMBERLY WATLEY Special to Today’s Farm

WALTON – On June 24, straight-line winds of more than 100 miles an hour ripped through the Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. complex, leveling the majority of its structures.

The summer storm, initially thought to be a tornado, wiped out three 90-foot diameter grain bins, and one 105-foot diameter bin.

Just 4 months later, however, it was back up Kimberly Watley/Special to Today’s Farm and running – at fullA welding crew from A&J Construction works under- capacity.

No injuries occurred, ground, preparing steel at the CGB elevator in Waland none of the plant’s ton. Four months after the facility was leveled by 100four full-time employees mph winds, it is back up and running at full capacity.

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lost their jobs in the interim. Each was relocated temporarily to other CGB branches in Deer Grove and Chana.

The commercial corn also was rerouted to those facilities, keeping business as close to normal as possible.

Matt Cessna, CGB manager, expressed his appreciation and amazement at the quick recovery. “I truly appreciate the efforts of our employees and contractor to get us back in business as quickly as they did,�

Cessna said. “Thursday, Oct. 24, was our 4-month anniversary of when it was knocked

over. And in that time, we have been able to receive grain again, which is unbelievable.�

Normally, Cessna said, it takes at least 8 months to build a grain elevator

of this magnitude.

A&J Construction, of Ashland, worked 7 days a week, from Labor Day on, to see the project through.

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PAGE 7

Photos by Kimberly Watley/Special to Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm

A team of workers from A&J Construction, of Ashland, rebuilt the Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. elevator on Walton Road. A wet bin (above photo) and a flat storage building (left photo) replace the majority of the elevatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structures that were leveled in June.

Elevatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grain dryer was salvaged from storm, but not much else CGB

CONTINUED FROM 6

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Something like this, it took a lot of coordination and teamwork, and we are very lucky to have such a dedicated team,â&#x20AC;?

Cessna said.

The old grain dryer was the only thing salvageable, Cessna said, although it had to be somewhat rebuilt. The destruction ultimately was a blessing in disguise, as CGB wanted to upgrade soon, anyhow.

Schematics for rebuild-

ing included several advancements to make the corn plant more efficient. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve upgraded technology-wise 30 years,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was 1982 or so when the first bins went up. We upgraded our drying capacity. We used to

dry at 4,000 bushels an hour, and now we can dry at 4,700.â&#x20AC;?

A flat storage building that has a capacity of 1.5 million bushels now stands where the four round bins once were.

That type of building was the quickest way

to get back in business instead of constructing bins, Cessna explained.

There is only one bin now, used for wet corn.

Their per-hour dumping time also increased significantly, rising from 6,000 bushels an hour to 20,000 bushels.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to do the entire project and take grain this fall,â&#x20AC;? Cessna said.

Next year, they will begin phase two of the project, which will increase dump time to 40,000 bushels.

Ground will be broken in the spring.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 8

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

AG HERITAGE | THE WAY THINGS WERE

Baling hay the old-fashioned way

Kimberly Watley/Special to Today’s Farm

George Meusel of rural Amboy leans over the edge of a hayrack, with a metal hook in his hand, waiting to retrieve a bale of alfalfa hay as it comes off the conveyor.

Using a baler pulled by a tractor, with a hayrack following behind, the Meusels bale hay the old-fashioned way.

Tractor, baler and hayrack system still works just fine for the Meusels

BY KIMBERLY WATLEY Special to Today’s Farm

A

MBOY – Hey, there’s nothing wrong with making hay the old-fashioned way, according to the Meusel family.

George Meusel, 72, has

been farming all his life.

He taught his children, Molly and Mike, how things were done back in the day, and that’s the way they still do some things on the family farm.

They have two fields of

alfalfa hay. Their small production means they don’t have to spend a fortune upgrading equipment and machinery.

“I bought my first baler in 1958. I baled with that until 6 years ago,” George said.

“The kids helped all the time. Mike is doing the farming now, and I rent to him. When there is any help to be done, I do field work and sell all the hay for him.”

Smiling, both said they are accustomed to doing

things this way, and they enjoy the hard work. It’s obvious they appreciate spending time working together, as they joke and reminisce walking toward the field side by side.

Nowadays, equipment

is made to do more than half of the work, cranking out eight bales at a time without a single hand touching them.

Upgrades would cost well over $30,000.

BALING CONTINUED ON 9

Today’s Farm

.OVEMBER s Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 9

New seeding next year may boost production BALING

CONTINUED FROM 8

George said: “You’d have to raise your price.

Then again, no one wants to pay good money for hay.”

Mike said, “The costs are outrageous, and we just don’t have that big of a demand to make it worth the investment.”

Like a segmented centipede, the Meusels’ equipment takes to the field. Molly drives the tractor, which pulls along the baler, which in turn pulls behind it the hayrack.

She periodically looks over her shoulder to see that the alfalfa is entering the baler correctly.

Inside the baler, the alfalfa is pressed into a rectangular shape and tied, a process hidden within the casing of the machine.

The perfectly formed bales are then shot out the back onto a small conveyor, which is upwardly aimed toward the hayrack.

With hands like leather, George, leaning over the front of the rack, uses a metal hook to grab bales as they come out. Each weighs 50 pounds.

He then slides the bales across the wooden hayrack floor to Mike, who hoists and stacks them about five high before beginning a new row.

Their black Labrador retriever, Cinder, often rides with them, taking a rest on the bales and sometimes climbing them for the highest vantage point.

Molly said: “We’ve had some kids come and work for us. They see Dad and Mike out there without gloves, and they try doing that, but before the

‘‘

I’ve baled oodles of hay. Got about 5 to 8 thousand [bales] a year.

You can do the math.

’’

George Meusel

day’s end, they’re bleeding.”

The Meusels take turns driving and sharing the hands-on work as they make rounds.

George said they had a shorter yield this year because of the weather.

Next year, they will have 30 acres of new seeding, which he anticipates will increase production.

Year to year, alfalfa comes back. This year’s crop was 5 or 6 years old, he said.

“Needs to be turned and plowed under, reseeded, so we can have a good quality,” George said.

Their primary customers are hobby farmers who have a variety of animals. The rich hay is often too hearty for horses, yet is good for dairy cows.

“But I don’t think there is anybody with dairy cows in Lee County anymore,” he said.

The demand is ever changing.

“Last year, everyone wanted grass hay. They want it mixed, but that is hard to do because you can start a new seeding out and come up with a good mix, but eventually the grass will take over.

That is why I stick to straight alfalfa.”

In his lifetime, George says with a laugh, “I’ve baled oodles of hay. Got about 5 to 8 thousand [bales] a year. You can do the math.”

Photos by Kimberly Watley/Special to Today’s Farm

ABOVE: Mike Meusel takes the 50-pound bales from his father, George, who retrieves them from the baler with a metal hook. Mike then stacks the bales along the back of the rack.

LEFT: Molly Meusel drives a tractor along the Meusel family’s field to bale the final cut of alfalfa for the season. Her brother, Mike, and father, George, stand by on the moving hayrack and wait for the baler to crank out another 50-pound bale.

Today’s Farm

PAGE 10

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

AG HERITAGE

Kicking up the soil for a day of farm fun Plow Day puts classic tractors through paces

BY KIMBERLY WATLEY Special to Today’s Farm

AMBOY – “It’s just like little boys with toys,” Cindy Gerdes said, smiling as she sat on a flatbed truck watching antique tractors dig up the earth.

Her husband, Hank, was one of them, tooling around on a 1950 Farmall M. He stopped only long enough to pick her up.

The two went around a field at George Meusel’s farm during the Living History Antique Equipment Club’s Annual Plow Day.

Kimberly Watley/Special to Today’s Farm

Matt Shaw takes a 1959 John Deere D730 for a spin during the Living History Antique Equipment Club’s Annual Plow Day. Each year, a different club member hosts in a different location. Members brought out the oldies for the Oct. 5 event.

On a parcel, set back on Rockyford Road near Amboy, they turned soil,

tended the land, and carried multiple generations around for a day of play.

“Don’t know when it went from work to fun, but it sure is,” Hank Gerdes said.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 11

‘Oldie’ tractors perform PLOW

CONTINUED FROM 10

The club’s members brought about a dozen tractors, with twice as many people to ride along. Brad Estock, of Ashton, let his grandson, Colton Brechon, 12, of Byron, take his new-tohim 1950 Case DC for a spin.

Colton’s uncle, Danny, of Franklin Grove, stood on the tractor’s step to watch and direct the youngster, though he said Photos by Kimberly Watley/Special to Today’s Farm it wasn’t his first time ABOVE: The 1950 Oliver 88, owned by Bob Althaus, of Sublette, purrs like a kitdriving a tractor. ten and shreds like a wildcat. His was one of the oldest and most pristine tractors Judy Schmidt’s son, on hand at the annual plow day, Oct. 5, near Amboy.

Mark Forristall, and her BELOW: George Meusel, who hosted the Living History Antique Equipment grandson, Justin, took her 1959 Ford 801 PowClub’s Annual Plow Day, tries out Jared Grossman’s 1956 John Deere 80. ermaster out for its firstever time plowing since she owned it.

Information

To join the club or for more information, call Dave Shaw, president, at 815-440-5277.

The Living History Antique Equipment Club’s annual membership dues are $10, and cover an entire family.

Mark patted the shiny, pristine, white-andred hood. “Yup, it’s an oldie,” he said.

“Made the same year you were, Mark,” replied his mother, laughing.

Although the majority of the club’s 155 members live within a threecounty radius, it also has a family of five living in Scotland, and one member in St. Louis, Mo. Among the oldest tractors on hand were a 1950

Oliver 88, owned by Bob Althaus, of Sublette, and a 1954 Farmall Super M, owned by Paul Hamrick, of Spring Valley.

Other tractors included club President Dave Shaw’s 1959 John Deere D730, which was mostly driven by his son, Matt; Jared Grossman’s 1956 John Deere 80; and Meusel’s 1964 John Deere 4020.

Shaw said tractors more than 20 years old are considered antiques.

However, people can simply have a love of the machines to join the club.

Aside from the annual plow day, they also have bimonthly meetings and an annual show in Franklin Grove during the first weekend of August.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 12

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

AG RETAILER

Only thing you can’t buy there is tractors TSC serves farm, ranch, and city folks

BY DAVE FOX Special to Today’s Farm

DIXON – Tractor Supply Co. is the last retailer people will see as they travel south on state Route 26 on Dixon’s south edge – a perfect locale for a store that serves both town and country.

While the store caters to the agriculture community, Montana Cooney, store manager, said her store has something for everyone.

“We do offer products for all ages, includ-

ing clothing and footwear, garden supplies, and toys that the kids love as well,” Cooney said.

“Our pet department also appeals to all ages because everyone in the family shares a love for their pet.”

Serving a customer base primarily in Lee County, TSC also has a number of people who come from a 20-mile radius outside that area, Cooney said.

“They make the trip to see us because of the wide array of products we offer,” she said.

Tractor Supply Co. “is the largest retail farm and ranch store in the United States,” according to its website, touting more than 1,240 stores in 48 states.

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Tractor Supply Co.

Dave Fox/Special to Today’s Farm

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Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm

.OVEMBER s Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 13

First TSC store opened in North Dakota TSC

CONTINUED FROM 12

Founded in 1938 by Charles E. Schmidt Sr. of Chicago, the company was originally a mail order tractor parts business. The first retail store opened in Minot, N.D., a year later.

From those humble roots, the company now boasts more than 18,000 employees, and revenues of about $4.7 billion, according to the website.

Cooney said it is the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal to a wide variety of people that makes TSC a good place to shop. The website verifies that by claiming that TSC basically sells everything except tractors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have customers who are everything from

full-time farmers ... to weekend gardeners,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We offer the products that fulfill the needs of all these folks.â&#x20AC;?

Cooney has been with the company at the Dixon location for more than 11 years, starting as a part-time cashier in high school and working her way up through the ranks to store manager.

A company philosophy â&#x20AC;&#x153;that centers around doing the right thingâ&#x20AC;? is what makes TSC a good company to work for, Cooney said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The company places a very high value on honesty, integrity, mutual respect, and teamwork above all else,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Pet supply and gardening departments in the store have a very wide customer appeal, according to Cooney.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of our people really value their pets as part of their families, and many of them really enjoy gardening, too,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so we see a lot of people come in for those lines of merchandise. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really appealing is that we offer so much more,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Clothing and footwear, fencing, heating, hunting, power equipment, tools and welding supplies, and livestock feed, just to name a few,â&#x20AC;? she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what appeals to so many customers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of times, people will come in for one or two things, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll leave with a cartful.â&#x20AC;?

Dealing with people is a big part of what makes her job so enjoyable, Cooney said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really all about the

customers and the relationships we develop with them over time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They come to trust that we will not only have the products they need, but also the seasoned advice they need for the work they need to get done.â&#x20AC;?

Cooney said the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success is all about trust and reliability.

Dave Fox/Special to Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farm â&#x20AC;&#x153;For those whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never Tractor Supply Co., 1810 S. Galena Ave. in Dixon, sits visited us before, we invite them to come in at the border between town and country. Farmers and city folks alike will find useful products at TSC. and see us.â&#x20AC;?

LIVE UNITED

United Way of Whiteside County is reaching out to the farming community to participate in the annual fund raising campaign.

By working with local elevators all across the county, United Way is providing an easy way for farmers to support the campaign by simply designating a small amount of grain as a donation whenever they deliver it to local elevators.

Mobile: 815-590-2246 3J½GI *E\ 0MRGSPR 6SEH Sterling, IL 61081 FVMER HEPPHSVJ$GTWEKY GSQ [[[ GTWEKY GSQ

United Way of Whiteside County is a local, independent organization which works to support 19 local nonprofit agencies and programs providing health and human services to our friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. 99 percent of everything raised in Whiteside County stays in Whiteside County. Just one percent of what is collected is paid to United Way Worldwide in order to use the logo and take advantage of training opportunities at no cost.

Together, we get results no one could accomplish alone.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what it means to LIVE UNITED.

United Way of Whiteside County

P.O. Box 806 z Sterling, IL 61081-0806 z (815) 625-7973 z www.uwwhiteside.org

Today’s Farm

PAGE 14

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

ILLINOIS EXCHANGE

Being a ‘harvest wife’ is a full-time job Stay-at-home spouse still cooks meals for the men

BY KAYLEIGH ZYSKOWSKI Mattoon Journal-Gazette and (Charleston) Times-Courier

ASHMORE (AP) – When people ask Sharon Sweeney where she lives, her response is usually something along the lines of “out by Bin City.”

“Well, that’s the only thing I can see,” she said from her kitchen looking out at the grain bins on the family property.

She checked her phone, stirred the noodles on the stove, and gazed out the window again.

“Well, it’s ready, now I wait,” she explained.

After 52 years of being a farmer’s wife and stayat-home mother, she has the harvest lunch routine down to a science.

Today’s menu includes beef and noodles, mashed potatoes, peas, freshly sliced garden tomatoes, and pumpkin pie.

AP/Ken Trevarthan

Sharon Sweeney puts the finishing touches on lunch before the harvest crew comes back to eat at the Sweeney farm in rural Ashmore, Ill., in a photo from last month. After 52 years of being a farmer’s wife and stay-athome mother, she has the harvest lunch routine down to a science.

This kind of meal is nothing new for Mrs. Sweeney, who raised four children, spoils 13 grandchildren, and now brags about her family’s fourth generation, started with her first great-grandchild

and a second on the way.

On this day in October, she cooked for five, but usually she has seven to feed, a daily event in the Sweeney household, but she stays organized by making a menu she

Arrow Front Feeder

posts on the refrigerator. Wednesday’s menu featured enchiladas with carrots, lettuce, fruit and blonde brownies.

She shares the responsibility of feeding the men in the field with her

daughters-in-law – she and another take turns with lunch and the other two share dinner roles.

“It’s either send them a sandwich every day or take it to them when they are further out,” she

explained. “I’ve never worked away from home, so I like to cook.”

Mrs. Sweeney keeps her home cozy, quiet, and filled with family photos.

“I moved in here when we got married, and we haven’t moved since,” she explained, though they have added on to their house as their family grew.

She began feeding her farmers when her three sons moved back to Coles County and joined their father, Jack Sweeney, in the field.

“As they started coming back home, we got more ground and moved further and further out,” she said. “We go to 20 miles east of here, and there’s one or two farms in between.”

Harvest is typically a family operation – Mr. Sweeney; his grown sons Jerry, Mike and Don; a cousin, Bill Snider; grandsons, and occasionally a brother-in-law helps, too.

And the Sweeney women feed them lunch and dinner every day – except Sunday, that is.

MEALS CONTINUED ON 15

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Today’s Farm

.OVEMBER s Sauk Valley Media

PAGE 15

Sometimes lunch taken to the field MEALS

CONTINUED FROM 14

The Sweeneys never head out to the field on Sunday, she explained; and that means Mrs. Sweeney has her day off as well. “That’s when we go to town to eat,” she said.

“There’s a group of seven to 10 of us that meet in town and catch up and eat together. That’s about the only time I see people to visit.”

By 11:30 a.m. on this day, Mrs. Sweeney had lunch ready to serve when the phone rang from the field.

The start of Mrs. Sweeney’s day depends on the menu. This day’s meal took most of her morning because of the pies.

“It’s just one thing after another, but sometimes I don’t start until 9 or 9:30; it just depends on what I’m doing that day.”

The men came to the house for lunch on this day; however, when she needs to go to them, Mrs. Sweeney folds down the back seats of her Toyota Sienna, lays out the food, and takes lunch to them

picnic-style. They started the picnic-in-the-field tradition when the Sweeneys’ grandchildren were young.

“We started that because the kids wouldn’t see their dad the entire day – the dads would leave before the kids woke up and wouldn’t be home before they were in bed,” Mr. Sweeney said. “We’d shut down for lunch, set up a picnic, and the kids would come eat with us and see Daddy. They’d jump in the combine and go on short rides.”

When her family came in for Thursday lunch, they sat down on the sun porch to a set table as Mrs. Sweeney brought the bowls of food from the kitchen.

The quiet house quickly filled with talk of the family and clanking flatware on glass plates.

“Now, not everyone is this lucky,” said Jerry Sweeney, her oldest son.

“Some have to pack their lunches and take them to the field.”

Others head to town for drive-thru sandwiches or gas-station-made pizza, he explained. t '"3. t 7&)*$-& t $301 t )"*-

t 1301&35: t )&"-5) t -*'& t $0..&3$*"-

AP/Ken Trevarthan

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Jack Sweeney (from left), Jerry Sweeney, Bill Snider and Don Sweeney leave the fields for a lunch break prepared by Jack’s wife, Sharon, at the Sweeney farm in rural Ashmore, Ill. “Now, not everyone is this lucky,” Jerry Sweeney said of his mother’s tasty cooking.

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Today’s Farm

PAGE 16

3AUK 6ALLEY -EDIA s November 12, 2013

Friday, December 13 9 am to 3 pm Saturday, December 14 9 am to 2 pm at the Westwood Fitness & Sports Center 1900 Westwood Drive, Sterling

Saturday is Kid’s Day… Kid’s Pedal Tractor Pull at 11:00am Prizes awarded, all receive a ribbon!

Visit with the exhibitors and learn about the latest…

Farm Equipment Feed, Seed & Fertilizer Products Insurance & Financial Services Health & Safety Information New Technology for a Greater Yield $2 Admission/Kids 12 & Under FREE Free Parking! Door Prizes!

For more information contact the Chamber at at 815-625-2400, email chamber@essex1.com or visit www.saukvalleyareachamber.com

presented by…