| Carrying on the Tradition |
 |
Owner operator, John Henderson (L) with mechanic Ed Snyder (R)
Mount Brydges, ON
The cultivation of corn has been carried on in North America from very early times. Fossil pollen grains of corn, estimated to be 80,000 years old or more, have been found in drill cores of lake sediment beneath Mexico City. In more recent times, the survival of the English colonists in north-eastern America depended on what they could beg, borrow, or steal from the native peoples in addition to what they were able to grow under their guidance. When the explorer Jacques Cartier visited the village of Hochelaga (now Montreal, Canada) in 1535, he noted the extensive corn fields growing in all directions.
Corn belongs to the grass family. Horticultural theory suggests that, at one time, each individual kernel was covered by its own floral parts similar to the kernels of oats and barley, and that the cob readily broke down into small segments. It is believed that this has allowed corn as a species to survive. The husk and cob, as we know them today, were gradually developed from wild varieties by the native population.
Carrying on the tradition of corn-growing in Canada is John Henderson who has farmed for more than 25 years near Mount Brydges, located in Middlesex County, in the south-west corner of Ontario. "We have sandy loam soil here and 2,900 heat units," says John. "Our growing conditions are quite favourable." John has approximately 1,000 acres planted with corn and soybeans and another 500 acres given over to vegetables -- sweet corn, peas, carrots, and green beans.
John also operates a year-round trucking business under the name of Jenli Acres. "Between June and December, we employ 5-6 drivers to haul waste and corn silage from a local processing plant to neighboring feedlots," explains John. "In the winter, we cut back to between 2 and 3 employees and haul mostly grain and fertilizer."
Diversification is clearly a priority with the Hendersons. John's wife, Violet, runs a thriving picture framing business from her shop in the house, besides being Mom to daughters Jennifer and Katie.
"I've got a pretty substantial investment in equipment with both the farm and the trucking operation," says John. "Personally, I don't get too involved with maintenance but I sure rely on my mechanic, Ed Snyder, to keep everything running smoothly."
|
| Better Safe Than Sorry |
 Ed Snyder is responsible for running the Henderson shop and keeping all the equipment in good working order. "We've got seven trucks (Western Star and Mac), plus the farm tractors (Case IH and John Deere) plus all the farm equipment - cultivators, rolling harrows, discs and so on. They keep us pretty busy."
According to Ed, one of the big challenges on the trucking side is that the trailers are constantly being exposed to wet conditions from the silage that they haul. "On top of that, they travel a lot on gravel roads where the dust flies up and cakes on the moisture," says Ed.
Ed is in the third year of using Power Up products and is finding they are a helpful addition to his preventative maintenance practices. "We use NNL 690 and NNL 690G throughout the farm and the trucking operation. We're very happy with the way the NNL 690G is working in the corn elevator gearboxes. Since they're 80 feet in the air, we certainly don't want to have to service them too often! We also use Power Up in all the transmission differentials in the trucks and in the wheel bearings in the trucks and the trailers. There's a lot of mileage on those trucks (our newest one, an '89, has over half a million miles) and we need to take good care of them."
Power Up's Thixogrease has also found a place in the Henderson operation. "We use it on the drive lines of the trucks and on the dump trailers. The equipment takes the grease a lot better -- we especially notice that on the dump trailers which are exposed to wet conditions all the time. On the rolling harrows and the cultivators, the Thixogrease seems to help the bearings last longer."
Both Ed and John believe that Power Up products are also helpful in ensuring the safe operation of their equipment. "Safety issues are a very important consideration," say John. "Wheels flying off trucks have caused several serious injuries and fatalities on Ontario roads. This has resulted in the provincial government cracking down severely on operators of poorly maintained trucks. Operators can now face fines of up to $50,000 if their equipment is found to be unsafe so you just can't afford to take any chances." |
|
|
