Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

mother nature
Joseph
Bullock
Maquoketa
Jackson County producers
fared better than some of their
counterparts elsewhere in
Eastern Iowa after the Aug.
10 storm swept through with
hurricane-force winds, said
Joseph Bullock, who is one of
the owners Bullocks, Inc., a
grain dealer with its own fleet
of trucks located in Maquoketa.
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo /
Trevis Mayfield
where he was.
“I was in the shop working
and doing repairs, and it was
getting kinda loud,” he said.
So, he went to look out a window,
an experience he doesn’t
enjoy reliving.
“I watched the corn go
down,” he said.
“All I could think about is
how much fun we were going
to have harvesting it,” Petersen
said.
“We were looking at a
record crop in my mind had
this not happened. We will
still have a decent crop. I have
friends out west of here who
had to plow their corn under.
Thankful we didn’t have that
here,” Petersen said.
Considering the damage the
storm left in its wake, Schmitt
said grain quality could have
been worse.
“It was worse (the) further
west you went,” Schmitt said.
“In Benton County and the
Cedar Rapids area you could
stand out in a corn field and
people could see your ankles.
It was absolutely flat.”
In Clinton and Jackson
counties, while the corn crop
was laid down in places, it
didn’t cannibalize itself. That
happens when the plant’s roots
are not established enough to
draw nutrients; instead, the
plant begins stealing nutrients
from its stalks to sustain the
grain.
“There were a lot of roots
that got broken off. In the
fields, (the corn) looked like
an old oak tree that got leaned
over.”
Farmers began harvesting
early, and finished about
three weeks ahead of the
average schedule, according
to the Iowa Department of
In 1979 Bob Breeden
was Vermeer’s top
seller in the nation
earning him the title of
Salesman of the Year.
This ain’t our
first time
around the
hayfield.
When you need experience
to guide your baling needs,
contact us — we’ve been
at it for a while now.
Pictured below is Bob Breeden
with the next two generations —
Calvin and Josh Breeden.
breedensales.com
c4balers@netins.net
Breeden’s
Vermeer
563-686-4242
17047 167th Ave. Maquoketa, Iowa
eifarmer.com spring 2021 | Eastern Iowa Farmer 57