York County dominated corn production in 2024, averaging 227 bushels per acre to yield 48.8 million bushels of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statics Service.
“Green corn” is emptied into one of the receiving dumps behind Jake Brouillette, west field region innovation agronomist with Bayer.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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Paddles automatically swipe corn cobs from the conveyor belt into hoppers in the sort-husk line.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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People hand sort the corn to remove any ears with remaining husks or other contaminants before they are sent to the dryer.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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Get a glimpse of the journey DEKALB seed corn takes from the cob to the bag at the Bayer Crop Science facility near Waco, Neb.
Kristen Sindelar
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Five buildings contain 24 dryer bins each at the corn production site at Waco, Neb.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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Bella Jacobson observes as seed corn is automatically packaged into bags. The double bagger system can fill 26 bags per minute.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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Of the 2.2 million units produced in the Waco facility, approximately 500,000 units of DEKALB are shipped to corn dealers in eastern Nebraska annually.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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The lab organizes and ships more than 14,600 samples of incoming corn from the fields and completed product.
Midwest Messenger photo by Kristen Sindelar
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Reporter Kristen Sindelar has loved agriculture her entire life, coming from a diversified farm with three generations working side-by-side in northeastern Nebraska. Reach her at Kristen.Sindelar@midwestmessenger.com .
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