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Friday, October 25, 2024
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Sun Shines on the Johnny Poppers' Harvest


by Carolina Keegan

Published: Friday, October 25, 2024

When faced with the choice of the Fort Wayne Model Train Show and Swap at the Coliseum and the Johnny Poppers' harvest day in New Paris, Howard Mischler of New Paris said it was no contest. He traded in his model trains for his tractor and headed out to the New Paris fields on U.S. 6 last Saturday morning.

The harvest day began shortly after 10 a.m., which gave the sun time to melt the frost and dry off the corn. Along with Mischler, approximately 40 Johnny Poppers club members attended.

While there, Mischler alternated between harvesting and watching others while he reminisced with fellow club members. During one of these breaks to observe the harvest, he and Loren Classen stood together examining the lines of the corn rows. They noticed one with a slight curve.

"It's because we didn't use GPS," Howard said. "We used to pick a tree or something and head straight for it. That's what our GPS used to be."

"Yeah, my dad would never let me plant," said Classen. "He took pride in having the straightest lines."

The two moved from the topic of harvest to the weather. The day was sunny and warm with a bright, clear sky- perfect for a harvest. Club members drove in ones and twos, some with a plow and a grain wagons attached behind them and others splitting the equipment and driving side-by-side. A total of nine pickers and one combine were brought out for the work.

"We got a lot of corn put down this year," said Mark Yoder, the club farm manager. "In our four Goshen fields, we got over 200 bushels per acre (bu./acre), totaling 4,085 bushels of corn. By the time we were done, the corn was at 15% moisture."

He added that the Goshen fields caught a lot of early rain, making this one of the better years he has seen. The New Paris fields underperformed compared to the Goshen fields, having received less rain and being planted later due to wet conditions. Yoder said the New Paris fields tested at about 16% moisture before harvest.

After seven hours of harvesting, the New Paris fields produced a gross of 11,710 bushels and a net of 11,445 bushels, or 175 bu./acre. This is down from last year's yield, which came in at 185 bu./acre.

"We didn't get the rain we needed," Yoder said. "The Goshen fields were up because we got it in about three weeks before the New Paris fields."

Despite lower yields, Yoder was optimistic, partly because they were gifted an additional eight acres to use in Goshen, donated by Schrock-Holmes Development. That field produced over 230 bu./acre alone.

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