Kane Borgeson of Rippey and his grandfather Al Frederick of rural Jefferson competed in the Iowa state corn picking contest at the Amana Colonies last Saturday.
They’re pictured not in the heat of competition, but practicing in Greene County for the event.
Kane picked 95 pounds of corn in 10 minutes and ended up with net weight of 58 pounds after deduction of four for gleaning and 2.oz. of husk. He was the only one in his age group.
Al picked 147 pounds of corn in 20 minutes and ended up with net weight of 121.0 pounds after deduction of three for gleaning and only 0.4 oz. for husks. It may not have been a heavy pick but it was clean!
The corn at the Amanas was still green, and it was a white variety of corn which the pickers say makes it harder to get a “clean pick”, Al explained. Gleaning is the number of ears left on the stalk or dropped.
After the contest the competitors attended banquet and were entertained by actor Tom Milligan, who presented his one-act play “American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace.” Sarah Borgeson accompanied the competitive pickers for the day. ~Jean Borgeson, Rippey correspondent
