Roven Farms Harvest

                                  By John Schomburg                          

       Roven Farms is located in North Central Wisconsin, not far from the city of Wausau.  We farm approximately 6800 acres of land.  3300 acres of corn, 2200 acres of soybeans, 800 acres of sweet corn, and 500 acres of peas.  Also, we custom harvest some corn and soybeans for Udder Chaos, a large dairy farm.

       Our harvest equipment consists of the following:

2 CAT 475R- 8 row corn heads, and 30ft. bean heads

1 Steiger Cougar 1000 pulling a Brent Avalanche Grain Cart

1 John Deere 4960 pulling a Richardton Dump Cart

2 IH “Straight” Grain Trucks (one 20ft. box & one 22ft. box)

4 40ft. grain hopper trailers pulled by Peterbuilt, Freightliner, and IH trucks

       Roven Farms Grain Storage System provides approximately 275,000 bushels (292,000 bushel total with the overhead bins included) of storage and the ability to dry approximately 40,000 bushel per day – all with one 120ft., 6000-bu./hour leg.  The dryer is a Sukup stacked continuous flow grain dryer.

       The grain set-up model is based on a real system on a farm in Indiana that I saw in a Farm Journal magazine about 5 years ago.  Actually, overall, the system is about only half of the storage capacity that Roven Farms really needs for the amount of acres it runs.  However, due to limited space (having large fields were more important to me), cost, and complexity.  I decided early on to go with the set-up I currently have.  Although, I may add a very large bin out to the west (away from the farm) of the system in the future, as it was made to accommodate such an addition.  This would require a conveyor of course to feed, since a downspout from the leg just wouldn’t work out.

       I built the majority of the system a year and a half ago, and since then it has remained uncompleted.  I hope in the near future to add the final touches, with the help of a fellow collector/builder.  These touches will primarily be the downspout support structures, bin vents, and the bin aeration fans.

       My prime recommendation to anyone inspiring to build a grain system of their own would be to look at the real grain storage systems, and if possible, take a tour of one.  You will soon realize that there are so many possible configurations to them, that no two are alike.  Also, to see in person the flow process of the grain, from the time it dumps out of the trailer, to the time it goes back into the trailer, will clarify many questions very quickly.

TTT October 2003 Page 9

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