National corn husking contest held in Flandreau

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FLANDREAU – Ears of corn flying through the air were followed by satisfying “thunks” as they hit the bottom of an old wooden wagon, before the team of horses moved on to the next piece of field.

Participants traveled back in time and raced against the clock as Jim and Deb Redder hosted the 2018 National Corn Husking Competition at their farm near Flandreau Sunday.

The event brought in more than 137 competitors, some from as far away as Ohio and Alaska. Many contestants have been participating for years, but for others, like Tom Stoick of Milbank, this is the first year they have been involved. Stoick was excited to see his first national contest so close to home while his team of horses pulled wagons for competitors.

Today, farmers harvest their fields with combines and use grain carts to carry their corn to its final destination. Farming, however, hasn’t always been so dependent on technology. The main goal of the contest is to help today’s farm generations reflect upon the history of bringing in the corn crop.

Horse and wagon teams accompany each competitor in the field. The wagons have a wall built onto one side to serve as a bang board as the pickers are throwing corn into the wagon. Each picker has a set amount of time to get as much corn husked and into the wagon as they can. At the end, all the corn is put into big barrels to be weighed.

Since the competition is about husking corn, penalties are given if there are too many husks left on the ears. Penalties are also given if the picker misses the wagon when throwing the corn, or if they pick past ears. Judges watch as the corn is being husked to intervene if there are any disagreements. 

Hand corn husking has as many techniques as there are competitors. One decision is whether to wear gloves.

Amanda Nytroe of Brandon said she wore gloves once, but they seemed to slow her down. She said the blisters that come from going without gloves are worth it if it means getting the plaque at the end.

Nytroe has been husking corn by hand since sixth grade and has travelled all over the Midwest to compete. She was the 2007 national champion in the Women’s 21-49 division.

Most competitors on Sunday agreed that the hardest part of husking corn is judging the corn’s condition. Wet corn is more difficult to pull back in order to get to the ear, but when the corn is dry, like it was this year, it tends to cut into competitors’ hands. 

Some contestants used hooks, which help pull back the husks. Others still prefer to use their hands to keep up the speed through the rows.

One of the most important components of the contest is the horses pulling the wagons through the fields. Teams are drawn in from all over the Midwest. 

Jared Deubbade of Baltic has been driving horses for more than 10 years and was asked to come drive for the contestants near Flandreau. 

“I’ve learned a lot being able to watch these guys compete,” he said. “I drove for a 76-year-old guy and a girl that was in her senior year of high school.”

Different age divisions had different time allotments to husk as many ears as possible. 

This year, there were many horse teams, so each team usually had a round to rest before they were needed to haul more loads from the field.

The teams varied from Belgians or Percherons to Fjords and Haflingers, and many have participated in other horse-powered events. 

Scott Salzer of Rosholt has been to the corn husking contest for two years now with his team, but they’ve recently started attending threshing demonstrations, too. 

“We pretty much go anywhere with horses,” Salzer said. 

The Nebraska Corn Husking Committee is in charge of planning the 2019 national c ompetition, to be held in Gothenburg, Nebraska. 

Late Sunday evening the 2018 National Champions were crowned:

Boys 14 and under – Gage Richard of Indiana shucked 126 lbs

Girls 14 and under – Savanah Hill of Kansas shucked 97 lbs

Boys 15-20 – Jonathan Dykstra of South Dakota shucked 180 lbs

Girls 15-20 – Shalia Campbell of Illinois shucked 119 lbs

Men 21-49 – Ray Penning of Kansas shucked 396 lbs

Women 21-49 – Sarah Manuel of Missouri shucked 393 lbs

Men 50 and over – Bill Doyle shucked 378 lbs

Women 50 and over – Robin Paullen of Missouri shucked 297 lbs

Golden-Age Men 75 and older – Cloid Fairley of Iowa shucked 149 lbs

Golden-Age Women 75 and older – Marlene Otto of NE shucked 116 lbs

Men Open – Frank Hennenfent of Illinois shucked 590 lbs

Women Open – Nancy Miller of Illinois shucked 391 lbs

For the full results, check out the Hand Corn Picking Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/SDCornHusking.

  

This is Amanda Nytroe of Brandon, SD with the corn she husked. 

 

Here is the wagons coming back from field. The corn with now be put into barrels to be weighed.

 

Erin Fairley of Gothenburg, NE scooping her corn out the wagon to be weighed.