Wheat harvest continues in Marion County
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Lines were long Friday at Tampa, where harvest was in full swing. It was stalled after rain late Friday evening. Off-and-on showers since then have kept combines idle. Some farmers got back in the fields Monday, and harvest was expected to resume in full force on Tuesday.
Many wheat fields remain to be harvested in northern Marion County.
Mark Hajek of rural Marion was combining Friday on a 70-acre field south of Ramona, not far from where he grew up. He was hoping to get it cut before the rain came. His wife, Colleen, was hauling the grain in two gravity wagons.
Ed Vinduska was waiting in line at Tampa to unload his semi-trailer of wheat. When asked how many acres he had to harvest, he replied, "Enough to pay the bills and buy a little beer."
Vinduska figured he needed three more days to finish the harvest.
Gary Evans was pleased with how his wheat turned out.
Gary Grentz of Marion was hoping to finish his harvest of 930 acres this past Friday evening.
The 61-year-old farmer has been farming since he was 13 years old, when he started with 40 acres. All of the land he farms is rented on a crop-share basis.
He has a 9600 John Deere with a 24-foot header and a 300-bushel grain hopper.
Grentz said wheat yields have averaged from 35 to 40 bushels per acre, with one field making 60. Test weights were good, with some wheat testing at 64 pounds per bushel, four pounds above normal.
Ray Koegeboehn of Marion and Jay Klassen of Hillsboro, both retired, were driving trucks for Grentz. They said it gave them a chance to be involved in farming for a brief time.
Grentz supplements his farm income by painting houses and buying scrap iron.
Though farmers generally are pleased with the harvest and with the price ($4.45 per bushel Friday at Tampa), they are quick to point out that much higher costs for fertilizer, fuel, and machinery repairs will eat up much of the price advantage.
But they have much to be thankful for considering what other farmers are going through in drought-stricken areas of the southern and western plains.
