Across the Acres

Bryan Femrite

Farwell | Douglas County

How many acres and what crops did you plant this year? We planted corn, soybeans, oats and wheat this year.

What was the growing season like in your area? We experienced drought this summer; it was hot and dry in the area.

Tell us about your harvest this season. A challenge this season was the dry weather; it was a reward to still harvest a decent crop.

What do you enjoy most about fall harvest and why? I enjoy seeing the result of all our hard work through the growing season.

Tell us about a fond fall harvest memory you have. When my brother, Brent, and I were 6 and 8 years old, respectively, we hauled all the grain that fall; that was 42 years ago.

Dylan Fox, Rookie Farmers

Kimball | Stearns County

How many acres and what crops did you plant this year? We planted a little under 6,000 acres. We planted organic corn, soybeans, sweet corn, confection sunflowers, black beans, conventional corn, soybeans, light red kidney beans, dark red kidney beans, oil sunflowers and industrial hemp.

What was the growing season like in your area? The growing season at the beginning was great, then it turned hot and dry.

Tell us about your harvest this season. We harvested around 500,000 bushels this year. Harvesting kidney beans, I would say, was the most difficult part of our harvest. The crop was not evenly ready all at once.

What do you enjoy most about fall harvest and why? We all enjoy the fall weather. It may be long hours, but seeing our hard work pay off throughout the year is a big reward.

Tell us about a fond fall harvest memory you have. A fond harvest memory from the years past would probably be when a coworker buried a quad-track tractor in a swamp. It was not fun or funny at the time, but it is now.

Matt Thralow

St. Joseph | Stearns County

How many acres and what crops did you plant this year? I farm about 600 acres. This year was all corn and soybeans.

What was the growing season like in your area? It started out really well, and then it got really dry when the corn was starting to pollinate. This year was the most variable corn I’ve seen in all my years farming. It could be very different 20 feet one way versus the other. Soybeans were a respectable crop at home. I farm a lot of different ground types with some rented land, so I saw a lot of variables this year depending on the soil conditions.

Tell us about your harvest this season. At home, I plant what I call the high-maintenance crop of 12 rows of soybeans, then 12 rows of corn, then 12 rows of soybeans and so on. I can individually adjust the population with my new planter; it’s a lot of work, but I’ve seen the benefits. With my high-maintenance crop, corn was 200 bushels an acre and 65 bushels an acre for soybeans; both were till-stripped. The corn that grows next to the soybeans can pull some extra nitrogen from the soybeans, and it makes a better yield, in my observations. On my rented rotation grounds, I’m seeing comparably good yields this year, too.

What do you enjoy most about fall harvest and why? I love sitting in the combine and seeing what I can grow and ways to improve my farming practices. As an equipment operator, I am very particular about my equipment. It is very nice to be out working in the fields, and I enjoy seeing that things are working well. Seeing the progression of what it’s come to, from where I was when I was just starting out to where I am now, is very satisfying. Also, I enjoy seeing the ground get better and better by using cover crops. I strip-till, and with all the residue, I can be out there planting cover stock in the rain; things don’t get plugged up, with little to no mud.

Tell us about a fond fall harvest memory you have. I’ve been a heavy equipment operator for 43 years now, and I’ve been farming just as long. One of my favorite memories is back when I was working with an older John Deere 4400 combine. It only had four row-headers, so it was more labor-intensive than nowadays, but it was a beautiful Saturday morning, and I remember thinking that there was no place I’d rather be. I work long hours for work, and still, I enjoy seeing the fields from start to finish and all the hard work that goes into it.