Corn day memories and harvest ahead

By Doug Tenney, Leist Mercantile

“Corn day.” Instantly, you are drawn to your own unique stories as memories flood your mind. It could mean the first or last day of planting or harvest, harvesting with the grandkids, the day the last load of corn went to town, or going to the mailbox and seeing the check for that final load.

For me, corn day means gathering with siblings and their families. In a flash, I’m drawn back to my teenage years on the family dairy farm, sitting in front of a mountain of sweet corn. More than 60 dozen ears would be husked (yes, I already know yours was larger), silked, blanched, chilled in an ice-cold bath, cut, and frozen.

Siblings from down the road and even out of state traveled with their families to gather for corn day. The goal was always to freeze as much corn as possible while making sure there was plenty to savor right off the cob with butter and salt.

My least favorite task was using a hand brush to remove as much silk as possible. Mom was always the best at that tedious job. After blanching, the ears needed to be completely cold before we could move on. I can still hear my oldest sister: “Dougie, the cob is still warm. More ice.”

In later years, the process got a little more sophisticated. Corn was placed into a homemade stainless-steel basket, complete with two handles, that held vastly more than the biggest pot of boiling water on your kitchen stove. The basket sat in a wash tub atop a 55-gallon barrel. A roaring wood fire underneath heated the water, with a door in front to add wood and a smokestack in the back.
One thing never changed. Our family never stood an ear upright and cut the kernels off with a sharp knife.

This year, corn day arrived on a Saturday morning, revealed in typical family fashion the day before. When I arrived, I discovered another upgrade: a spinning brush held in a wooden frame, clamped to a sawhorse and powered, of course, by a cordless drill.
Within a few ears, I had mastered holding and rotating the cob against the brush, quickly pulling away the silks before reaching for another.

“Where has this been my whole life?”

Later that morning, I used a concave wooden corn stripper for the first time. Each ear was pushed through and rotated several times until a kernel-free cob emerged. My brother provided the best compliment of the day when he said my cutting was “singing” just like his.

And guess what? No injuries.

What new experiences has this summer etched into your mind?

China continues to be an active buyer of U.S. soybeans, making several purchases during the first half of August. On Aug. 5, China bought 800,000 tons, or 29.3 million bushels, of U.S. soybeans, equal to roughly 13 cargoes. At that point, China was estimated to have purchased a total of 6 million tons, or 220 million bushels, of U.S. soybeans for the new-crop marketing year that began Sept. 1. In October 2025, China agreed to purchase 25 million tons, or 916 million bushels, of U.S. soybeans, according to U.S. reports.
Both Russia and Ukraine continue to be major players among world grain exporters. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, though its wheat exports in August could fall to 3 million tons, compared with 4.5 million tons last year.

Agricultural products remain Ukraine’s largest source of export revenue, according to an Aug. 11 FarmDoc article. Ukraine has roughly 59 million tons of grain storage capacity, which could be full by early November, leaving an estimated storage deficit of 11 million tons by the end of autumn. Reports indicate Ukrainian farmers remain confident in their ability to store corn on the stalk into winter.

Ohio weather took a drastic turn in early August as thunderstorms became quite prevalent, bringing afternoon and evening rains. For many producers, it was the rain needed to finish the corn crop, and expectations for above-average yields quickly became commonplace.

Due to early April planting, I expect soybean harvest to begin earlier than normal. I’m still expecting fall harvest to be a long, drawn-out event because of the huge width of Ohio’s planting season. Some fields will be ready to go while others still need time, making this fall another season when patience could be just as important as getting the combine rolling.

Thought for the day: “Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me, those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” — Henry James