The Color Of Money

My Mom, along with my Uncle Ray, are owners
of Ray Smith Farm. It's an 80 acre farm named
after my Grandpa who farmed it for over 40 years.
Principally, corn and soybeans are grown on the
land, and through a joint agreement with a local
farming family, the crops are planted, grown and
harvested every year.


Usually, it's about a month from now that the
corn is picked out of the field because it has
to have a certain lack of moisture in it's content
and if it isn't dry enough, all of the cost of the
drying will ensure that it won't get a good price
on the market. This year however, a huge local
dairy near I-65 is in desperate need for grain to
feed their cows. Since the corn is so good this
year on our farm, they're willing to pay top dollar,
as well as pay for drying costs if they can get the
corn to their feedlot immediately.


After a day or two of test picking, the combine
started it's job and after only a few hours, the
field was empty. It's amazing how quickly the
combine cuts a swath through the field and how much
corn ends up in the truck. About five years ago,
Lynn got to sit behind the wheel of our neighbor's
combine while it was picking soybeans. I didn't get
the chance to hop on this year, but it was still
interesting to watch the process. All of this to feed
a dairy full of cows. It's nice to know where the
corn is going this year since usually it goes to
somewhere Cargill has determined it will go.
Sometimes overseas, sometimes domestic. This
year it's local.