[AT] Rock Falls, IL

[John Slavin]

Paul:

Now you’re the one bringing back memories.  When I was a kid my dad ground with the hammer mill powered by our Farmall H with a belt drive.  I have clear memories of that ordeal of hooking up the belt (I was the belt guy as my dad backed up the H getting the tension just right).  It was an improvement when dad got a Letz mill that ran off pto.  But in both cases I or my dad would have to scoop ear corn onto a hopper 3 feet or so up in the air.  Very tiring.  I was really happy to see dad pull into the drive with a grinder mixer.  Quite the improvement to have that drag auger at ground level.  

Incidentally, we mixed in protein pellets and sometimes some alfalfa.  

When we went entirely to shelling corn, we’d have to be careful feeding cattle.  It wasn’t uncommon to founder a calf.  Then their toenails would grow long, they’d essentially go lame, and they stopped growing at a reasonable rate.  You never had that problem with ground ear corn which introduces a bit of roughage in their diet.  

John Slavin


> You fellows are bringing back memorizes. We had a hammer (grinder) in 
> the top of the barn. To belt it up the tractor was sitting at an angle 
> on barn bank. That was a lesson for a 15 yr. old. We ran corn on the cob 
> through with one screen then change the screen out for wheat and oats. A 
> dusty mess but I always kind of like the hear things grind up.
> 
> We fed 20 head of cattle and 200 head of pigs using that grinder.
> 
> Paul - IN