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Yellowstone County News
113 Northern Ave. Huntley MT 59037
Phone: 406-348-2649
Fax: 406-348-2302
Email: info@yellowstonecountynews.com
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Yellowstone County News for Week of Aug. 29, 2008.
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Barley harvest winding down at Coors Elevator
by Robert Nolte
HUNTLEY - More than two million bushels of barley were dumped into the receiving pits at the Coors Elevator during the past several weeks.
The harvest, comparable to last year’s, came from growers in the Big Horn, Clarks Fork and Yellowstone river valleys, hauled by grain trucks to the recently-expanded elevator on Highway 312, west of Huntley.
More than 2,000 truck loads were processed and because of a new dump pit and conveyor equipment, long lines of trucks waiting to off-load were eliminated.
“There were no bad lines and the new elevator system outperformed our expectations,” said Wade Malchow, manager of U.S. barley operations for Coors.
The elevator had an average protein of 12 percent and plumpness (size of kernels) was 95 percent, he said.
The harvest is ending with about 200 acres left to cut by contract growers.
Malchow described grain quality as good and yields this year as average, with some growers that “did real well.” The harvest season for elevator employees normally runs 3 to 4 weeks every summer.
The only hitch occurred two weeks ago when a train blocked access to the elevator, stalling a few trucks on the road during part of the day.
At the United Harvest elevator in Pompeys Pillar, manager Ray Dussault reported the wheat harvest at “pretty fair quality.” Spring wheat was at 13.8 percent protein, with a test weight of 59 pounds. Winter wheat was 11.5 percent protein, 61 pounds test weight.
Protein started out low, but came up fast, said Dussault. The export company sends most of its grain overseas, much of it to Asian and Pacific Rim countries such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
Growers using the Pompeys Pillar elevator come from Broadus, Miles City, Lodge Grass, Billings, Jordan and many other eastern Montana cities as well as from farms in Wyoming.
While cooler weather in May and June didn’t affect the wheat harvest in eastern Montana, other parts of the state didn’t fare so well.
Many wheat growers elsewhere in the state have reported very heavy yield losses due to wheat stem sawfly this year. Some had thought that the prolonged cool weather earlier this year would lessen the pressure caused by this insect, but this is not the case, according to reports from a land specialists at MSU-Bozeman.
George Wood, a grower southeast of Conrad, said he has had the worst sawfly stem-cutting in 20 years on his land and has swathed some of his winter wheat crop to prevent further losses, even though he planted a variety that is partially resistant to sawfly. His son is direct-combining winter wheat that fell after sawfly cutting and is having difficulty recovering the grain.
Longbranch Cafe open as a family enterprise
by Robert Nolte
BALLANTINE - The Longbranch Cafe is open for business and for the McIntosh family, the new business is a family affair.
The Lockwood couple, Vicki and Daryl, has drafted their daughters and son-in-law to help out but dad usually starts out the day as cook, taking the early shift until he goes to work at his day job about 10 a.m.
Daryl McIntosh shows up before the coffee begins to perk at 6 a.m. The doors don’t close until 10 p.m. and the restaurant is open seven days a week.
The Longbranch is adjacent to the popular Long-branch Casino, operated by Paula Tasker.
Of all the entrees on the menu, Vicki McIntosh touts the $8 Longbranch Burger that features Canadian bacon and an 8-ounce burger served on a Hoagie roll. “We sell a lot of those,” said McIntosh.
For breakfast, a variety of omelettes or the $8 Trucker’s Special assures that no driver will leave the Longbranch hungry.
The restaurant, at the Ballantine exit of Interstate 94, also features homemade pies, including pumpkin, apple, blueberry, cherry and chocolate cream.
The McIntoshes opened their new cafe Aug. 15 and plan to offer Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Helping out, no doubt, will be Vicki and Heather, young daughters of the McIntoshes as well as Charlotte and Steven Rush, their daughter and son-in-law.
“We help one another,” said Daryl McIntosh of his family. McIntosh and his wife operate D & V Concrete Co., in Lockwood. The couple has lived in the Billings area all of their lives. Vicki has worked at Sam’s Place, a cafe in Billings, and at the Second Shift in Lockwood.
xxxxxxxx. (Courtesy photo)
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