Working at a grain elevator

A typical old fashioned grain elevator

I am working at a grain elevator, and lately it has looked like Halloween, with grown men stepping from their trucks and carrying small buckets. If they were only in costume they would resemble children hoping for treats. Unlike the children's buckets on Halloween, the buckets the farmers carry hold grain, not sweets.

After a delayed planting due to a late spring snow and followed by weeks of heavy rains, the farmers are anxious to climb into their huge combines and harvest their summer's work. They meet in the scale room, joking with the workers who will test the moisture content of the grain. If the grain is too wet, the harvest must wait. If the grain is too dry, many bushels could be lost onto the ground.

Everyone in the building is anxious for the harvest rush; long hours lie ahead, with the future of the co-op intricately tied to the success or failure of our clients, the farmers. Their anticipation feeds into us and we too become restless, waiting for the grain trucks to begin their yearly parade across the scale which will determine their yield.

Let the harvest begin!