Friday, Aug. 26, 2022
www.farm-news.com
Farm News / Fort Dodge, Iowa
2022
-Farm News photo by Lori Berglund
LENDALL MECHAELSEN has a good view from the catwalk at the Kamrar United Co-op site of workers down below preparing to install a new scale for harvest season.
CHANGE UNDERWAY AT KAMRAR United Cooperative puts major investment in Hamilton County sites By LORI BERGLUND lberglund@farm-news.com
KAMRAR — The skyline of Kamrar is taking on a new look as harvest season nears this year, but it’s what’s going on at ground level that may have an even bigger impact as farmers begin bringing in the harvest. Work is underway at United Cooperative in Kamrar for the installation of a new scale that will make it easier and safer for today’s bigger loads to weigh before dumping their loads. “It was just time to update,” says Lendall Mechaelsen, location manager at Kamrar. “This should make it faster and be very nice for everyone.” At 14 feet wide and 80 feet long, the new scale and deck will be two feet wider than the old scale. That additional size will provide ample
room for bigger tractors, bigger duals, and accommodate greater weights. With the old scale, larger tractors had to pull off in order to weigh just the wagons. Larger duals would not fit on the scale and the combined weight of tractor, wagon and load, was just too much, according to Mechaelsen. “This scale has a capacity of 200,000 pounds, and the old scale would not go that high,” he said. Today’s larger wagons can hold up to 750 bushels of grain, and with a tractor pulling two wagons, loads can get very heavy, very fast. The new scale is also set six feet further away from the building, allowing farmers to maneuver more easily as they approach. “In the fall, especially at night,
it could get a little tricky for them to see,” Mechaelsen said. The Kamrar site is open until at least 7 p.m. during harvest season and sometimes until 8 p.m., but it’s really up to what’s happening in the fields. “If we see bad weather coming in, and we know farmers can get some things done, we’ll stay open to help them out,” Mechaelsen says. Siouxland Scales is the general contractor for the scale. Mechaelsen said it will be much like the new scale at United Coop’s Stonega facility. The floor and walls will each be one foot thick, while the deck itself will be 16 inches thick. “It will be done by harvest, and
“If we see bad weather coming in, and we know farmers can get some things done, we’ll stay open to help them out." LENDALL MECHAELSEN Location manager for United Co-op's Kamrar site
See KAMRAR, Page 5C
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