Dunlap Livestock Auction

DENISON, Iowa — The way Dee and Randy Kruse harvest corn is something of a family tradition.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time,” Dee said.

Their two-row New Holland corn picker belonged to Randy’s dad. Dee’s father still picks corn on the ear, but other than him, Dee said she doesn’t know of anyone else in the area who still harvests that way.

Dee and Randy still pick corn on the ear on their operation near Denison because it’s a cheaper and more efficient way to feed their cattle.

Grinding corn on the ear provides feed from the corn and roughage from the cob.

“If you feed straight shell corn, then you have to feed hay or something else along with it because cattle need roughage to keep their rumens going,” Dee Kruse said. “When we grind the cobs, it gives roughage for the cattle, so it’s a lot less expense for us to do.”

She said storing and grinding ear corn would not be as efficient for large cattle operations, but it works well for their 14-head operation.

“Luckily, we still have our corncrib up, so that’s where it goes,” she said.

Corncribs on most other farms have been torn down so the ground could be farmed or to be replaced by machine sheds. Loading the corn into the corncrib requires a corn elevator instead of an auger; the elevator has to be moved around, and heavy chutes have to be attached to direct the ears of corn into the corncrib.

A downside to harvesting the old-fashioned way is that the technology is starting to disappear.

Parts for the corn picker are becoming harder to find.

“We go to a junkyard and hope they have the corn picker there and the part isn’t gone already, but most of the time it is,” she said.

The same is true of the elevator.

“You don’t find many of them around anymore either,” Dee said.

Picking and storing the corn involves a lot of manual labor.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Dee said. “It’s not for the wimpy.”





	Will Epperly along with Kyle Wadsworth, Austin Schaben, Jay Schaben at the 2017 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship in Billings, Montana. Will placed 3rd out of 31 finalist. Congratulations Will, great job!

	Old-fashioned harvesting is still in style for Iowa family By Dan Mundt / World-Herald News Service Nov 16, 2017 Updated 18 hrs ago DENISON, Iowa — The way Dee and Randy Kruse harvest corn is something of a family tradition. “We’ve been doing it for a long time,” Dee said. Their two-row New Holland corn picker belonged to Randy’s dad. Dee’s father still picks corn on the ear, but other than him, Dee said she doesn’t know of anyone else in the area who still harvests that way. Dee and Randy still pick corn on the ear on their operation near Denison because it’s a cheaper and more efficient way to feed their cattle. Grinding corn on the ear provides feed from the corn and roughage from the cob. “If you feed straight shell corn, then you have to feed hay or something else along with it because cattle need roughage to keep their rumens going,” Dee Kruse said. “When we grind the cobs, it gives roughage for the cattle, so it’s a lot less expense for us to do.” She said storing and grinding ear corn would not be as efficient for large cattle operations, but it works well for their 14-head operation. “Luckily, we still have our corncrib up, so that’s where it goes,” she said. Corncribs on most other farms have been torn down so the ground could be farmed or to be replaced by machine sheds. Loading the corn into the corncrib requires a corn elevator instead of an auger; the elevator has to be moved around, and heavy chutes have to be attached to direct the ears of corn into the corncrib. A downside to harvesting the old-fashioned way is that the technology is starting to disappear. Parts for the corn picker are becoming harder to find. “We go to a junkyard and hope they have the corn picker there and the part isn’t gone already, but most of the time it is,” she said. The same is true of the elevator. “You don’t find many of them around anymore either,” Dee said. Picking and storing the corn involves a lot of manual labor. “It’s a lot of hard work,” Dee said. “It’s not for the wimpy.” Randy Kruse pulls an old two-row corn picker, which removes the corn from the stalks and augers it into a wagon. Corn is dumped into the Kruses’ corncrib. The corn will dry there and later be ground up for livestock feed. A rugged piece of equipment used to transport the ear corn from the wagon is this elevator, which brings the product into the second floor of a corncrib. The elevator and the corncrib are both becoming rare sights in the farming industry. Dayna Crandall, a family friend, helps with the harvest of ear corn at the Randy and Dee Kruse farm. She unloads a wagon of corn into a corncrib as Daisy, the family dog, keeps a watchful eye on everything. Dee Kruse climbs out of the seat of a four-row corn combine to touch base with her husband, Randy, and friend, Dayna Crandell. At this point, the three-person crew is stopping to change equipment to a two-row, pull-behind corn picker. Ear corn, rarely harvested this way today, can sneak out through the spaces between wooden slats in the corncrib and pile up a bit outside — but none of the corn goes to waste. DENISON, Iowa — The way Dee and Randy Kruse harvest corn is something of a family tradition. “We’ve been doing it for a long time,” Dee said. Their two-row New Holland corn picker belonged to Randy’s dad. Dee’s father still picks corn on the ear, but other than him, Dee said she doesn’t know of anyone else in the area who still harvests that way. Dee and Randy still pick corn on the ear on their operation near Denison because it’s a cheaper and more efficient way to feed their cattle. Grinding corn on the ear provides feed from the corn and roughage from the cob. “If you feed straight shell corn, then you have to feed hay or something else along with it because cattle need roughage to keep their rumens going,” Dee Kruse said. “When we grind the cobs, it gives roughage for the cattle, so it’s a lot less expense for us to do.” She said storing and grinding ear corn would not be as efficient for large cattle operations, but it works well for their 14-head operation. “Luckily, we still have our corncrib up, so that’s where it goes,” she said. Corncribs on most other farms have been torn down so the ground could be farmed or to be replaced by machine sheds. Loading the corn into the corncrib requires a corn elevator instead of an auger; the elevator has to be moved around, and heavy chutes have to be attached to direct the ears of corn into the corncrib. A downside to harvesting the old-fashioned way is that the technology is starting to disappear. Parts for the corn picker are becoming harder to find. “We go to a junkyard and hope they have the corn picker there and the part isn’t gone already, but most of the time it is,” she said. The same is true of the elevator. “You don’t find many of them around anymore either,” Dee said. Picking and storing the corn involves a lot of manual labor. “It’s a lot of hard work,” Dee said. “It’s not for the wimpy.” More than a century ago the son of a German immigrant built a sturdy barn in Sarpy County. It weathered storms, blistering heat and freezing cold. Now the land it sat on will be turned over to a developer, and the barn will weather that, too. On Tuesday crews moved the old barn 3 miles southeast from where it sat in the county’s rolling hills near 114th Street and Schram Road. Ron Tex said his great-grandfather built the four-story barn in 1903 on a farm where the family grew corn and raised cattle and horses. Tex said he and other family members sold the 160 acres. Preliminary plans call for 335 homes on the land under development by Boyer Young Development Co., according to the City of Papillion. But Tex could not let the barn die with the sale. “It’s the last part of the memories,’’ he said. Tex, 63, remembers seeing a news clipping that said 300 people turned out for a dance at the barn after it was built at the turn of the century. In recent years the barn has been used for storage and will continue in that role at its new spot. Tex has lived in a ranch home on the property and crews also moved it Tuesday, along with a machine shed. Crews from Ensor Movers Inc. used hydraulic jacks and steel beams to lift the barn off its foundation. The beams were set on a rolling platform that served as a trailer for the move. A similar process was used for the house and shed. Tex said the barn is in excellent shape. It got a new roof and paint job about seven years ago and has not required any major work to keep it up. Ryan Baltensperger, owner of Ensor, said that because the barn is in good structural condition, it was well-suited for the move. He said his Nebraska-based business moves a couple of barns a year in the region. Semitrailer trucks towed the three structures at a top speed of 8 mph. Moving the barn and other structures took about 4½ hours, with the crew getting them in place by about 1:30 p.m. Baltensperger said that’s a good pace for moving three structures, even if just a few miles. Workers from the Omaha Public Power District required time to temporarily drop or raise some power lines above the road so the barn could pass through. The house and the barn are now on land Tex owns in the county along Fairview Road. The shed was moved to his son’s property nearby. Tex said the move went well and he’s especially relieved that the barn is safely at its new location. He said he never got the chance to meet his great-grandfather, but knows he’d be proud that his barn lives on.