Wheat arriving at area elevators

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, August 28, 2008

Wheat started arriving Monday, Aug. 18, at the Farmers Elevator in Pelican Rapids. In all, when the final deliveries come in, the elevator will have taken in close to 120,000 bushels of wheat from farmers in the Pelican Rapids area.

“Soybean deliveries should start about Sept. 20,” said Doug Modine who on Wednesday checked the dockage tester following delivery of wheat at the elevator on the southwest side of Pelican Rapids near Carr Field. “Normally, we’d see deliveries of soybeans starting about Sept. 10. But not this year, due to the cold spring weather and the late planting.”

After that will come corn, starting about Oct. 20 — also about 10 days behind schedule this year.

Bruce Walker, manager of Farmers Elevator which celebrated its centennial in 2005, works with his employees to serve 250 cooperative members. The board president for Farmers Elevator, Inc., is D. Michael Johnson.

In all, the Farmers Elevator in Pelican Rapids has a capacity of 420,000 bushels of grain. The facility also deals with feed, fertilizer and chemical applications.

Wheat farmers in the Pelican Rapids area, as was the case statewide, reaped the benefits of warm and dry weather all last week. There were nearly seven full days suitable for field work last week.

The dry spell, however, has taken its toll in the Pelican Rapids area, other sections of Otter Tail County and throughout the state of Minnesota. Topsoil moisture supplies were 56 percent short or very short and 44 percent adequate or surplus across the state.

As of Friday last week, 62 percent of corn and 65 percent of soybeans were rated in good or excellent condition.

The Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers (MAWG) believes that farmers should look to minimize negative trends and capitalize on the most promising opportunities that change has to offer production agriculture. To do so, MAWG leaders emphasize that wheat growers need to challenge conventional thinking and view change as an opportunity.

The MAWG has been successful in many areas and has established a national presence. Many members don’t realize that the MAWG was a leader in the successful effort to establish barley deficiency payments. MAWG lobbying efforts also led to increased loan rates, target prices, regulatory relief, farmer-owned reserve and paid land diversions, to name a few successes.