Calling all Stateline Members!

As in the past, I will be putting together a slide show for our annual meeting on November 13th.  I would love to include photos from our members of their families & crews throughout the dry bean planting, field work, irrigating, and harvest season!  Please email or text them to me at your convenience.  Almost everyone has some sort of electronic device with a camera with them at all times, so there is no excuse!  Last year I received photos from 3 members out of around 260 - I think you can do a little better than that.  Thank you in advance everyone  :-)

 

Henkel Farms

Dave Dietrich is out at Henkel Farms this afternoon running the weigh wagon on their test plot.  It was a slow day for combining with all of the widespread fog this morning.  Hopefully the next few days are a bit more conducive to combining!

Variety Trial Harvest Update

Update on Pinto Variety Trial Harvests:

Roger Rasmussen - Tuesday, October 2nd - 11am

Henkel Farms - Friday, September 28th - 11am - Weather Permitting!

 

There have been some showers around the region with the front that has been passing through... Stay tuned for changes in the schedule.  Results will be available in the coming weeks on all of our variety trials.

Torrington Station

The Torrington facility has been running smoothly & the beans are looking great!  I have been known to cook a few burgers during harvest & I might fire up the grill next week if you want to stop by for one...  Jalapeno poppers may be on the menu as well...
 
Just head south on Highway 85, take a right after Bomgaars & look for four bins on the north side of the road...

'Coyne' Great Northern

 

'Coyne' is a new variety of Great Northern that has been commercially grown in the region for two years.  It was developed by Dr. Carlos Urrea at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research & Extension Center.  The seed quality is excellent - You can immediately tell that a truck is delivering Coyne when you climb the ladder to take a sample.  The load seems to shine in the sunlight.  Coyne is a semi-upright variety with a maturity of approximately 91 days.  It is resistant to common blight and common rust, which is a big plus in our area.  On our website, http://www.statelinebean.com/Growers.html , you will find a link to the results from our growers who produced Coyne in 2011.  Many of them planted it side-by-side with varieties including Orion, Marquis and Prairie.  It consistently had less disease pressure and ripened more uniformly at harvest.  The yields were variable, but it outperformed many of the other varieties depending on the situation.  We will have more information available following this year's harvest.  Contact us if you would like to purchase seed for the 2013 year!

Harvest Update

Variety Trial Harvest Update

Flats Farms Variety Trial - Harvested Sunday, September 24th

Rasmussen Direct Harvest Trial - Scheduled for Thursday, September 27th at 11am

Henkel Farms Variety Trial - Rescheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 26th or Friday, Sept. 28th

 

Directions to all plots can be found on the blog post from September 6th.

 

These are some photos from my tour around the "Dutch Flats" this weekend.  There are several fields cut, but very few harvested thus far...  Stateline has a transfer station north of Morrill that we loaded some "Coyne" Great Northerns out of this morning.  They were hauled to our Bridgeport processing facility.

Harvest Custom Haulers...

Today I noticed harvest starting to pick up around the region.  We've had some decent drying days but some fields just don't seem to be ripening as quickly as we would hope.  I have been dispatching trucks to the fields for some of our growers and the cool dewy mornings are great for cutting, but not so great when the combine needs to be running.  If you anticipate needing a custom hauler, please call 308-225-1775 and I will put you on the schedule.  This year, with many crops being harvested simultaneously, last minute trucks are hard to find.  I don't think the drivers realize how much Stateline appreciates their flexibility and patience during harvest!  Picking up beans out of the grower's field is a little more time consuming than hauling corn or beets...  Thank you!

 

Membership

Stateline is always looking for new growers to become a part of our cooperative!  We accept new memberships 365 days a year.  Bean growers can join for $250 (one time membership fee) plus an investment of $300 per 100 cwt of delivery.  The details on the membership for Dry Pea growers will be available soon. Visit our website Statelinebean.com for more information!

                                                          - Stateline Member Benefits -
5 Convenient Receiving Locations, Spring Production Meeting, Annual Banquet, Investment Program, Small Grower Meetings, Leasing Program, Pool Marketing Opportunities, Quarterly Newsletter "Cup of Joe", Pinto Variety Trials in Cooperation with UNL, Access to Excellent Varieties of Seed, Patronage, Field Specialists, Freight Reimbursement, Custom Hauling from the Field during harvest, Website, Blog...

A quote for the day

"Farming is a profession of hope..."  - Brian Brett

 

Variety Trial Harvest

Stateline's pinto variety trial harvests are about to get underway...  Here is the preliminary schedule, weather permitting:

 

Henkel Farms - Friday, September 21st

Flats Farms - Saturday or Sunday, September 22 or 23

Roger Rasmussen - Tuesday or Wednesday, September 25 or 26

 

Feel free to stop by during the variety trial harvests to see first hand how the different varieties matured, combined, etc...  We will have results on our website later this fall and likely available at the annual meeting.  For directions, please refer to the blog post from Thursday, September 6th.  Stay tuned for updates! 

 

Planting the plot at Flats Farms this year

Wildlife

We had a visitor in Torrington today...  I took the photo below as a bull elk ran past the front of the office and through a pasture of cattle to the south.  He was in a hurry because there were three cars following him around the countryside.  This was after I read on the KNEB website that a Moose had to be herded out of Mitchell last evening.  It must be the drought that is pushing these animals out of their normal habitat and into our backyards.  I live in Morrill and a rattlesnake with 8 rattles was killed at my neighbor's doorstep two weeks ago... 

 

 

Local Farmers' Markets

It's Farmers' Market season and I wanted to remind everyone of the great local produce, meat, cheeses, crafts, and other products that can be found all around Wyo-Braska.  Some of the towns with weekly markets include: Morrill, Torrington, Scottsbluff, Bridgeport, Chadron, Alliance, Melbeta, Gordon... and the list goes on.  This link:  http://prairiebloom.com/farmers-markets/  hasn't been updated since last year, but most of these markets are likely at the same time and place that is listed.  I would also like to mention WindHarvest Farms, which is a pick-your-own farm north of Henry that is now right in the middle of raspberry season!  Visit their website here: http://windharvestfarms.com

You might be able to find me wandering through the Torrington market on Saturday morning with a latte in my hand if I don't have any trucks on the scale!

Save the Date - Annual Meeting

Members, mark your calendars!  Our Annual Meeting will be Tuesday, November 13th at the Gering Civic Center.  We will have a fabulous dinner followed by a short business meeting, guest speaker, and the presentation of the Joe Franks Award & Clean Bean Awards (awarded to those who bring in beans with the least tare during harvest.)  You will receive a formal invitation as we come closer to the date - So don't forget to RSVP!   

I usually use the ornamental gourds that I grow as the centerpieces for the tables...  The gourd crop is doing very well this year on the concrete wall on the west side of my vegetable garden - photo below...

A Welcome Shower...

I hope everyone enjoyed our weather today!  I've heard reports from growers in Albin, Alliance, Bayard, Bridgeport, Kimball, Morrill & Scottsbluff and it seems as though everyone received between .5 and .75 inches.  Usually we'd all be a little annoyed with a storm system like this during bean harvest, but this year we'll take it...  Hopefully this will finish out the crops that are out of ditch water and be a help to dryland farmers contemplating the planting of their wheat crop.  Harvest is progressing at a steady pace and should really get going by the beginning of next week. 
 
The pinto variety trials will likely be on the schedule for harvesting next week - So stay tuned for more information!

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Mitchell Pass

Dry Edible Peas

An opportunity presented itself to our Cooperative late this spring...It was regarding the number of dry edible peas produced in the region and the fact that there is no processor who will accept them that is able market them and capture the margin in the human food market.  Growers were simply using them as livestock feed or shipping them hundreds of miles to a processor. 

 

Last Thursday, the Grower-Owners of Stateline voted to expand their cooperative to be able to take in other commodities and therefore begin the process of entering into the business of receiving, processing, and marketing dry edible peas.  This enterprise will be structured identically to that of Stateline's dry bean business but will function as a separate profit center.  Before long, we will be accepting membership from pea growers so that we can generate capital to use for the construction of storage space and a wet-splitter at our Bridgeport plant. 



 


Yellow Peas running over the gravity table

If you are a dry edible pea grower and would like more information about this new business, please contact me, Courtney Schuler, at 308-225-1775 or our General Manager, John Lightcap, at the Gering Office - 308-436-2186.  We would be glad answer any questions you may have.  



Torrington's First Load

Saturday we received our first load of beans in Torrington!  It was nice to finally run a load over the equipment to make sure everything was operating correctly.  I will be stationed at this location for the remainder of harvest.  It is designed so that we can get trucks in and out quickly.  Then we can transfer to Gering or Bridgeport as needed.   

 

First Truck at Mirage Flats

Today we received our first load at the new Mirage Flats receiving station!  Tomorrow we should have the first load in Torrington.  Thank you Dan for taking these to document this historical moment for Stateline.  Happy Harvesting!

 

 



Pinto Variety Trial Field Tours

First... We have one addition to the Custom Harvesting List:

 

Roger Rasmussen - Pickett Twin-Master Combine

Cell: (308) 430-1926, Home: (308) 232-4417
Call for Rates, Location: Mirage Flats
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Stateline sponsored three pinto variety trials this year in conjunction with Dr. Carlos Urrea and his staff from the UNL Panhandle Research & Extension Center.  A big thanks to our growers and everyone who helped with this project - It takes a lot of time to do trials of this size and complexity.  We had great attendance at our field days in August and hope everyone enjoyed the tours!  Directions to each of the locations is below - harvest will be taking place soon and we will notify our growers when it is taking place so you can swing by if you'd like!  

 

Roger Rasmussen designed a Direct Harvest Pinto Trial this year.  It consists of eight varieties (ND 307, Buckskin, Sinaloa, Medicine Hat, Windbreaker, Sonora, 99-217, & Croissant) and will be harvested with a MacDon Flex-Draper.  There are varieties representing different growth habits and maturity and we hope to gather some valuable information to help those growers who are moving towards this method of harvesting.  Directions: From our new receiving station in Mirage Flats at the intersection of 440th Road & Highway 87, go north to 470th road, turn east and travel 1 mile, trial is on the North side of the road on the East half of the pivot.

 

 

 
Flats Farms pinto trial is comprised of 12 varieties (6185, 6189, 5200, Sinaloa, Sonora, Montrose, Medicine Hat, Poncho, ND 307, Galeena, LaPaz, & Windbreaker) in four replications each.  Directions:  From the new receiving station, take 440th road East and turn North on 420th Lane, continue to 490 road, turn east and travel 1.25 miles, plot is on the north side of the road.

 

Henkel Farms pinto trial is comprised of the same 12 varieties as at Flats Farms.  Directions: Travel east of Bayard High School 1 mile and 1/2 mile North, plot is on the East side of the Road.

 

Conventional vs. Upright Structure

Harvest Time

Harvest is here!  A lot of change took place last weekend in fields throughout the growing region.  The pace should quicken through the end of this week and into the next.  Quality looks good, but the jury's still out on what average yields will be...  Weather looks to be favorable and a little cooler this coming week.  If you will need any trucks lined up to haul beans, call the Gering Office and we will get you on the schedule!  Also contact the office if you have any new landlords or field IDs that we can set up in our system ahead of time.    

One quick note to all members - Remember to attend our Special Member Meeting on Thursday, September 6th at 7pm at the Gering Civic Center.  If you cannot attend, please drop your ballot off at the Bridgeport or Gering Office by Thursday afternoon.  Thank you!    

Custom Harvest Operators

Several of our members are available to assist in your custom harvest needs.  Please contact them directly to arrange these services.

Jim Strauch - Pickett Twin-Master Combine - (308) 631-5825

Rates:      0-20 acres - $70/Acre
            20-40 acres - $65/Acre
                 40-80 acres - $60/Acre
                 80 + acres - $50/Acre
$500 minimum, Additional charges depending on the condition of the field
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Monte Lerwick - 8 Row 30" Pickett One-Step - Call for Rates - (307) 640.4037

Location: Albin, WY
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John & James Maser- Pickett Twin-Master Combine - Call for Rates – (308) 631-5632
Location: Minatare
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Tim Nab - Pickett One-Step & Custom Combining

Call for Rates  -  Cell (days):  (307) 532-6008, Home (nights):  (307) 532-7322
Location: Torrington
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­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Jeff Jenkins - Pickett Twin-Master Combine

Call for Rates:  Jeff - (308) 641-3457, Wes – (308)641-2772
Location: North of Mitchell
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­­­­­Bruce Lee - 9670 John Deere Combine with 35’ MacDon Flex Draper Head

Cell: (308) 430-0293, Home: (308) 232-4422
½ Circle minimum, Call for Rates, Location: Mirage Flats
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There are also several growers direct harvesting this year.  I will periodically post information on locations where it is taking place so that those of you who are interested can go check it out!


Frank Lussetto Direct Harvesting