Goessel wheat harvest is almost over
By DELBERT PETERS
Contributing writer
Farmers in the Goessel area are winding up the 2004 wheat harvest. Thursday night the number of farmers bringing in wheat was declining.
"You should have been here during the day when we had trucks lined up waiting to dump," said Alex Bartel of Mid Kansas Co-op.
"The rains during the second week of June caused the test weights to drop from 60+(pounds per bushel) to 57-59," commented Lyle Christ, employee at the elevator.
Something new for the wheat harvest was that Osage Street was opened up so that trucks could get from East Main St. all the way to Centennial Drive.
Farmer Don Schroeder stated, "The best part of having that street opened is to get the grain trucks off K-15 that are trying to make a left-hand turn into the elevator driveway."
Trucks coming from the north still make a right-hand turn into the driveway, but trucks coming to town from the south, east, or west enjoy the option of getting off K-15 at the intersection where they are expected to slow down and make left-hand turns.
This street opening prevents grain trucks from having to travel down Wheat Street, through residential areas in order to get to the grain facility.
"Opening the street has had nothing but good comments," said Christ. "The city needs to be given credit for that project before harvest."
The Goessel branch has taken in over 340,000 bushels of wheat from area farmers. Semi trucks have been taking the newly harvested grain to terminal elevators to keep room for the new grain coming in from the fields.
