Farmers Own This Grain Elevator

I took this picture early Sunday morning on the way out to the farm. This shuttle loading elevator is owned by Crystal Valley Coop. Another words this incredible facility is owned by farmers. In out area there are elevators like this at Randolph and Delevan which are owned by Central Farm Service or CFS. Again, they are owned by farmers. I thought about what my grandfather would think about these elevators compared to the ones of his time?

Elevators like these can unload 3 semi tractor trailers at the same time. In addition both the front half and the back half of the trailer can unload at the same time. The first time to the elevator the driver gets a computer chip. After the first load the driver pulls onto the scale and the computer pulls up their name on a screen as a sample is pulled. The driver pulls moves over to the dump area. In 5 minutes he is on his way back to the field having never gotten out of the truck!

It was very cold Sunday morning and all the steam you see is coming from the corn dryer. Notice how big the pile of corn is. To put it in perspective the grain bins you see hold a little over a  million bushels of corn. When harvest is over the coop will get a contractor to put a cover over the pile of corn.