K Ramsay Farm

09/04/2026

Visited the nearby Pioneer Seeds research farm recently for the company's 100th year in business.

They had planted plots of corn representing different notable changes over the decades. The picture of the grass looking plants are the ancient predecessor. Next plot was a variety of Ried Yellow Dent. If you look closely you'll see a wider spacing in 2 directions. That's so a horse & cultivator could w**d in 2 directions. Yield was 24 bushel per acre back then. Today I get disappointed when yields drop below 200 bu/ac.

One thing I learned: Grandfather used to say a constant ear height was one of the first traits (other than yield) seed companies selected into their varieties. The on site plant breeders said that was more of a benefit that came along. Pre hybrid, open pollinated varieties were genetic "siblings". Hybrid seeds are genetic "clones". With siblings one can see different heights, with clones everyone is the same height.

08/21/2026

1908 county fair winner?

Editing a picture is not as modern as you may think.

Artist W.H. Martin was famous for his early 20th century photomontages where he combined different photographs to create "out-of-scale" exaggerated scenes. He would then rephotograph these collages to create comedic postcards. They served as a relief from the harsh realities of midwestern agricultural life while also satirizing the idealized pictures that had lured people to the region a generation earlier.

This image features a county fair where the ears of corn are so large, each need its own wagon!

🌽 W. H. Martin, "Our County Fair contest on Iowa corn," 1908, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery.

08/16/2026

Teenagers getting the job done.

08/13/2026

Boone County Fair this week.

08/11/2026

Visited PAMA - Paulson's Ag Museum of Argyle with a group the other day. Lots of interesting local farm & household history including this pictured.

Most history credits Cyrus McCormick with the grain reaper that mechanized wheat & grain harvesting in the 1850s. There were others such as Rockford IL John Manny with his Manny Reaper. When Manny passed away, business partner Ralph Emerson took over. They were so successful that Cyrus McCormick decided to sue for patent infringement in 1855. Emerson hired big city lawyers such as Edwin Stanton & a central IL lawyer he knew named Abe Lincoln. McCormick lost at the Supreme Court.

20 years later is the (photo) version of Manny's - now Emerson Talcott - Rockford IL reaper. Points are the guards for the cutting sickle. Green wood slats gather in the grain. Don't know what brand our farm used but a reaper was on the farm as northern Illinois was the wheat belt before most wheat growers moved west.

Take a tour of Paulson's museum. I was part of a group from Roscoe UMC & in that group were folks +/- 80 years young sharing stories of how museum pieces worked and the locals that used them.

07/03/2026

Happy 4th of July

🎆 Think fireworks are just sparks and explosions? Think again! 🌽

Corn plays a small but important role in many fireworks displays. About **5 grams of cornstarch** can be used in a firework shell to help bind the chemical ingredients together, keeping everything in place until it's time for the big show.

It's just one more way Illinois corn shows up in everyday life making celebrations a little brighter this Independence Day. 🌽

06/23/2026

The 2026 Farm Breakfast is coming up quickly on June 27th! All-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, and more! Hosted by the Fitzgerald Family. Reminder this event is cash only! (2913 Carlson Rd, Belvidere, IL)

See you at the farm soon!

05/18/2026

Love to talk about Agriculture and work with kids of all ages? Join our Agriculture Literacy Team!

The Winnebago-Boone Farm Bureau is looking for a part-time Agriculture Literacy Educator to assist our Ag Literacy Coordinator in presentations and training opportunities for K-12th grade teachers and students (both public and private) of Boone and Winnebago counties, as well as at community events.

Visit https://form.jotform.com/261264463783160 for more information and to submit applications by May 29, 2026.