fertilizer

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  The elevator is approximately 100 feet tall. There are six silos or individual storage bins attached to the main building.
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  The opening under the main structure is the main access for loading and unloading truck loads of farm products.
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  Trucks enter and stop at the office for a weigh-in to establish the amount of product before unloading.
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  The soybeans are unloaded into "the pit", a 30' underground storage space. Commodities are purchased from the farmers, stored and sold to consumers in amounts up to 5 tons.
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  The same area serves as a loading bay. A flow of corn is released from the storage silo. Customers range from hunters and farmers to sales of corn by the truckload, shipped overseas from the port in nearby Mobile.
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  This small elevator services the main silo.
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  The pipes feed into 18 different bins, storing individual items, such as, wheat oats, milo, soybeans and corn. Corn is the main item in storage at the elevator.
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  The conveyor belt moves corn up to the top floor of the grain elevator. The belt must be cleaned by hand.
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  The conveyor belt runs the length of the bins.
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  An auger turns the dispensing chute.
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  The bins are numbered and the feeding tube is positioned over the correct storage area.
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  White corn dust covers surfaces in the elevator.
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  A spectacular view of Walnut Hill can be seen from the top of the silos. Hundreds of acres of farmland stretch to the northern horizon.
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  Fertilizer is stored, mixed and sold in a seperate building. The bags shown above are loaded by hand after customing the mixture of the elements, such as, amonium nitrate, potash, etc.
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  The bobcat is used to load scoops of ingredients in the fertilizer mix.
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  Clay Stuckey demonstrates one of the tasks in the fertilizer house. The fertilizer is dumped into this grate. A scale weighs the material and it is mixed in a hopper. The finished product is distributed by truckload or by 50 pound bag.
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  Pre-packaged materials in 50 pound bags are stored in the building adjacent to the front office. The bags contain fertilizer and seed, as well as feed for any livestock.
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  After unloading, the truck is weighed empty to establish the amount of the load. The amount of the sale depends on current market price. A ticket is added to the farmer's account.
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  The rear door to the office is located to the right in the photograph.
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  The scales are connected to an electronic weighing system in the office.
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  Five employees run the elevator operations. Merle and Clay are in charge of outside tasks. There are two secretaries, Sue and Evon, as well as a general manager, Ed Nowlin. The elevator provides a central meeting place for some members of the farm community.