Kicking Off the 2019 Harvest Season!

We are beyond excited to kick of the 2019 Harvest Season in Central Illinois! A wet spring pushed back the start date for all central Illinois farmers but we have been working hard the past week to make up for the late start. Check out some of our amazing pictures of the Harvest 2019 Season below and stay tune for more updates

Dan, Sadie, Jason & Benson

Eli & Joey

Benson & Blake

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Plant 2019 wraps up after rainy Spring

It has been one of the wettest Springs ever remembered resulting in a delayed planting season. We were blessed to have the skies clear up this past week even when the forecast was calling for rain. This allowed us enough time to get the 2019 crop in the ground and we wish for another bountiful harvest. Check out some pictures below from the planting season.

Darin McKay & Joey McKay

Benson McKay

Corn #Plant18 is complete for McKay Farms!

We successfully planted all of our corn for the 2018 season as of May 2nd. We were lucky enough to have only a few minor breakdowns and a couple flat tires during the corn planting season. We will be taking the next couple days off due to the rain showers but hope to continue with beans as soon as possible. Check out some pictures of the corn planting season.

Dan McKay planting corn

Blake McKay with field cultivator

Benson McKay on tractor ride

#Plant18 postponed due to cold & wet Spring

The 2018 planting season has been delayed due to the wet and cold weather across the Midwest. We have all our machinery ready to go but have not started due to wet field conditions. We expect to start in the next week or two as long as no more flooding occurs. If we try to plant too early, we may end up like the tractor below!

Great Weather leads to successful Corn Planting Season

Five perfect days of weather has led to the successful season of corn planting for McKay Farms. We have made the switch now to soybeans and continue to work early mornings and late nights.We expect this week to bring us rain so it was great to finish corn so early in the season. Check out the picture above where Dan McKay is using the seed tinder to load up the corn planter as Rita McKay delivers lunch for the day.

Top 3 Photos from #Harvest16

We would like to share our top 3 most popular photos from #Harvest16. After hundreds of hours of hard work and dedication, we are blessed to finish another bountiful harvest.

#3  A grey scale photo of beautiful corn stalks with huge clouds in background.

# 2  Dan McKay, hardest worker of the family using our brand new hopper bottom dumping into bins at home.

#1  Three generations of McKay Farms with Baby Benson experiencing his first Harvest season and Benson McKay greatly enjoyed a ride in the combine from his father Jason.

#Harvest16 for McKay Farms is finished!

After many long days of work and hard work by Dan McKay and his sons, we are proud to say #Harvest16 is successfully finished. Harvest makes Fall the best season of the year and allows the family to come together to accomplish one goal. We will now begin preparing for #Plant17 with soil testing, fall tillage and tractor maintenance.

Volunteers lend helping hands for injured farmer's harvest

NEWMAN — Dave Young is facing many adjustments after an accident in August left him blind in his right eye. At first with little depth perception, he was having problems with seemingly simple tasks such as putting toothpaste on a toothbrush. It took him a few days to be able to do that again. The hardest part for Young, a farmer in Douglas County, might be watching others in the fields this fall after years in the driver's seat of a combine. Unable to operate the equipment, Young, 59, wasn't sure how he was going to get this year's crop out of the fields. Luckily, a group of neighbors in the Newman area and others from across the county rallied to his aid, taking a day off from working their own fields last week to harvest Young's corn last week. “I've been stewing about it for a month,” Young said while still making phone calls to make sure the grain was delivered to nearby elevators. “This feels like a great big hug. It's a good feeling.” Tyler Harvey, the Douglas County Farm Bureau manager, found that everyone who heard about what Young needed was more than willing to help. Young was injured when a pry bar slipped, hitting his face while working on a semi-truck.

“All the time we think about wearing safety equipment using power tools, but hand tools can hurt just as bad,” Young said. “One little slip and I'm paying for it.” Harvey said 230 acres in five fields needed to be harvested, a task that normally takes several weeks. Instead, it got done in a day with the help of all the volunteers. “Seeing so many people come together, it takes the weight off,” Harvey said. “This is really what the agriculture community is like when there is a time of need. Once word got out, the help flowed in.” Dave Young's wife, Debby, was among the family members and neighbors helping to prepare sack lunches to take to the fields as a way to thank the volunteers. They even made sure an FS truck was available to replenish any fuel that the volunteers used for their equipment during the day. Debby Young said it's been a hard adjustment at a time of year when Dave is usually out in the fields for more than 12 hours a day, something she knows he'd rather be doing now.

“We can't express how much we appreciate the help,” Debby Young said. “Harvest is a stressful time in farming. This is when we get our pay day.” Family members have driven in from both nearby and out of state to help. They were impressed to see the show of support. “I drove in here and I was almost in tears when I saw all the guys lined up,” said Gerald Day of Monticello, Dave Young's father-in-law. Taking any time off during harvest can be a lot to ask as farmers want to complete the work as efficiently as possible, not knowing how weather conditions can change, Harvey said.

“It's always a race against the clock,” Harvey said. “One of the things about farming is being used to change.” Some of the neighboring farmers shrugged off what they were doing, saying it was just what they do. “We've got to help when somebody needs it,” said Greg Luth while preparing to hop back in a combine to finish off one of the fields. Harvey said after knowing Young through various Farm Bureau activities that he would do the same thing if somebody else needed the help. “I'm glad we could help out and coordinate this,” Harvey said. “It's easy to help somebody like him.” Harvey said a similar effort is likely to be needed to help with Young's soybean fields, but for the time being, the focus was on corn, which was ready to be harvested. Young isn't sure what the future will hold for his recovery, but he remains hopeful that he will be back in the fields for spring planting.

(Article was published by Chris Lusvardi, Herald & Review)

More Pictures of Harvest 2016

Another successful week of shelling corn contributed to these pictures below. With corn nearly complete, we will be switching to cutting beans this upcoming week.

Great Start to Harvest 2016

The weather has been perfect over the past week allowing the family to begin operations on Harvest 2016. A busy and successful week of over 250 acres of corn shelled and contributions from the entire family. We will have a lot of pictures to share over the next coming weeks as Harvest season is here!

Plant 2016 is in full speed!

Spring is here and Planting Season has arrived! Rain has delayed the process some including over an inch last night throughout all of Central Illinois. We have over 80% of corn planted and praying for some sunshine to get back at work. Currently, 57% of corn in Illinois has been planted. Check out a few pictures from #Plant16.

Time to Clean the Farm Equipment!

Blake McKay washing John Deere

Tyler McKay cleaning Brent Grain Cart

Harvest 2015 is over and preparations are made each day for the coming year. The beautiful weather lately has been great to allow us to clean our farm machinery before storing for the long winter ahead. We have most of the equipment cleaned up but still have to finish a few tractors and the hardest piece- the combine.

Land Improvements Season Begins!

Fall is great time of the year to begin land improvements to existing fields. By analyzing yield monitors during harvest season, you can determine low spots within the fields and begin to improve for the upcoming season. Many fields will also have fallen trees on the edge of the fields which will need moved before fall tillage or spring planting begins. There has been beautiful weather so far this fall to allow us to continue the work.

Jason McKay adding soil to field

Dan McKay lifting dead trees over fence line

Harvest 2015 is Complete!

Nearly perfect weather throughout the months of September and October has allowed Harvest 2015 to finished at a record pace on October 3rd, 2015. Dan McKay and his sons worked day and night until the job was complete. We have to thank God for safety during the harvest season and for the beautiful weather to help deliver another successful harvest.

Working through the night

Jason McKay overlooking last load of corn for Harvest 2015