PINE CITY
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016 VOL. 131 NO. 46 www.pinecitymn.com $1.00
ELECTION RESULTS: See how Pine County voted in the Nov. 8 general election. P12
Farmers grateful after ‘phenomenal’ harvest BY TERRY SALMELA NEWS@PINECITYMN.COM
“Phenomenal” is how many area farmers described this fall’s soybean and corn harvest. After one of the wettest growing seasons in history, the weather finally cooperated in recent weeks to allow farmers to harvest over 90 percent of the soybeans and over 80 percent of the corn by last weekend. “It has been a phenomenal year,” said Bret Severtson, manager of McVay Farms west of Mora. “The corn is nice and dry. It’s yielding well above the county average. It’s been at 1516 percent moisture so it does not need much drying time. We can’t get it through the dryer fast enough.” “Corn yields are averaging between 170 and 200 bushels/acre and soybean yields 45-50 with
some fields at 60 and even 70 bu./ ac.,” said Steve Bankers, manager at Crop Production Services at Brunswick. “One farmer said that on one of his fields corn averaged 200-240 bu./ac.” “Unbelievable’” is how Nancy Rys, Rock Creek described this season’s yields. She said that the yield on most fields was above last year’s yields which were also phenomenal. Her husband Tom and their family farms east of Rock Creek. They also have a grain drying and storage business and a Pioneer Hybrid dealership. They dry and store grain for 20 farmers in their area. She said that she has seen this fall’s corn yields at 180-190 and into the low 200 bu./ac. Soybean yields have also been 50-60 bu./ac. and up into the low 70s. “The highest corn yield that I have heard of is 240 bu./ac.,” said Rys.
Test weights have been tremendous and as high as 58 lbs./ bushel. (56lb./bu. is standard). Corn moisture levels have been in the 17-18 percent (13-15 percent is ideal for storage) and soybeans coming in at 12.5 percent. So, the grain has not needed much drying. Luke Olen, who farms with his father Bill east of Mora and helps at the Northland Grain Company east of Mora, said last weekend that corn brought in for drying was at 14.7 to 18 percent moisture and yielding from 150 – 200 bu./ac. He added that, considering the wet growing season, their yields were pretty good and better than last year on their farm. The recent warm and drier weather conditions have enabled farmers to get a good start SEE HARVEST, PAGE 15
TERRY SALMELA | THE PIONEER
Pampas grass and dust blow in the wind as soybeans are harvested on the Haugen farm west of Pine City.
Latest dive turns up empty for ‘lost train’ hunters BY TODD BECKMANN BURNETT COUNTY SENTINEL
Supermoon rises Nov. 13
Whether folklore or for real, the legend of the lost train of Devils Lake lives on for a Grantsburg man. Legend has it a train went off the tracks and into Devils Lake near Pine City in the 1870s. Others say the legend is a tall tale about a crash that never actually happened. Skeptics point out that there are no newspaper accounts or other records from the time of an accident that resulted in train cars falling into the lake. But according to the legend, people heard a train whistle even though the train never made it to town. “What they say happened is that the heavy rain caused a landslide and the landslide took the track down and the train went into the lake,” Karl Anderson explained. Anderson said he organized a fruitless first dive, then ordered a magnetometer to do a grid-search of the lake bottom last winter. Armed with the results of that grid search, Anderson and his dive team had a general idea of where the train is — that’s why the July dive was such a disappointment. “We were so excited that day on the lake,”
The closest full moon since 1948 (and until 2034) shines pink on the horizon.
SEE LOST TRAIN, PAGE 15
JUDY WOLF | THE PIONEER
MIKE GAINOR | THE PIONEER
Legend has it a train came derailed above Devils Lake and skidded down the slope into the water.
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