 "Photo: Matt Binter")
 "Photo: Matt Binter")
While the rest of the U.S. slows down in the summertime, taking a break from school, work and the daily grind, Kansas farmers prepare for one of their busiest times of year: wheat harvest.
Manhattan-area farmers have been harvesting wheat since Thursday afternoon, said Darin Marti, manager of the Manhattan grain elevator.
"We had our first dump Thursday at about 5 [p.m.]," he said. "[On Monday we did] about 30 dumps, and we should finish up in the next day or so."
Because Kansas had such a cool, wet spring, Marti said most farmers in the northwest part of the state are starting cutting about one-and-a-half weeks later than usual. He also said hail from recent thunderstorms and the June 11 tornado did hit some wheat fields south and west of Manhattan, but the damage was not too extensive.
"It's just good that we finally got started cutting," Marti said. "The longer we go without harvesting, the more wheat gets shelled out."
THE FARMER'S ROLE
Roger Naurth, Manhattan-area farmer, has been farming for about 40 years and said this summer's harvest has been fairly calm compared to years past. Naurth farms about 400 acres of land, and about 70 of those were planted with wheat this year. Naurth said when it comes time for cutting, he starts his day with a routine maintenance check of all his machinery, including the combine, which cuts the wheat off at the stalk and then shells the grain from the head.
Because harvest is the busiest time of the year on a grain farm, Naurth said most wheat farmers hire extra help to get through the weeks of cutting. Rodney Dembkowski, however, has been farming for about 16 years and works for Naurth year-round on his farm. Dembkowski said during summer wheat harvest, he typically operates the combine while Naurth drives the grain truck to and from the Manhattan grain elevator for storage.
"It's just how we've always done things," he said. "This is how we like it, and it works for us."
After spending about an hour cutting down the golden wheat stalks and separating the grain from the heads, the combine needs to unload its haul, Naurth said. An auger, which is a metal tube that uses an engine-powered rotator to transport the grain, dumps the wheat from the combine to the grain truck or semi-trailer. The farmer then drives the load to an area grain elevator where it can be either stored for sale at a later date or sold immediately to the elevator, Naurth said.
THE GRAIN ELEVATOR'S ROLE
Matt Marshall, manager of the Alta Vista grain elevator in Alta Vista, Kan., said his staff was pretty well prepared for this summer's harvest.
"Since we were all a little later in cutting than normal, we had some time to be ready for it," he said. "But we've got two of our guys out spraying fields, so we haven't had as much help unloading."
Naurth made a routine drop at 5:30 Monday evening at the Manhattan elevator. Marti explained that about half of the area farmers who dump wheat at the Manhattan elevator deliver it in a standard grain truck with a tilting bed and back hatch that empties the wheat into a pit in the ground covered by a metal grate. Brian Saddler, junior in horticulture and employee of the Manhattan elevator, stooped down in the midst of swirling grain dust and deafening motor noises to make sure Naurth's grain made it safely into the elevator. Saddler said he has worked at the elevator for two years and enjoys helping with wheat harvest.
Marshall said he and one other elevator employee work to unload the grain when the farmers bring their loads in because Alta Vista's elevator only services about 24 wheat farmers and their grain bins hold about 220 bushels of grain. Tony Hieger, Manhattan elevator employee, said Manhattan's elevator provides storage space for about 750,000 bushels of grain - 225,000 bushels of which are wheat - and 50 wheat farmers.
Most of Alta Vista's farmers are either done or close to being done cutting, Marshall said. Though Alta Vista farmers are slightly ahead of Manhattan farmers, Marti said his staff will probably be done unloading by today or Thursday.
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