Johnny Poppers Reap Profits for Charity
Published: Friday, October 31, 2025
Members of the Northern Indiana Johnny Poppers participated in the club's annual fall plow day last Saturday near New Paris.
With antique John Deere tractors pulling 10 New Idea picker-shellers, the Johnny Poppers harvested 52 acres of corn. A light frost that morning delayed the fieldwork so conditions could dry out. However, members were able to complete the harvest by late afternoon.
Lawrence Martin was the first to enter the corn field with a picker-sheller. He said the corn was at 18% moisture and was yielding well.
In addition to those driving the picker-shellers, other members shuttled wagons between the field and the unloading station. The men paused for lunch at Bethany Community Church.
The picker-shellers were manufactured decades ago, when corn yields averaged between 75 and 100 bushels per acre. To accommodate today's higher yields, members drove in first gear.
"We're going as slow as we can go," said Marc Yoder, field manager. "It's a good corn crop so far."
He said the club also raised soybeans on 15 acres. Average yields were 72 bushels per acre, he said.
"Unfortunately, the market wasn't so good," he said, referring to sluggish soybean prices.
On Monday, Yoder reported that 11,743 bushels of corn, or an average of 225 bushels per acre, were harvested last Saturday from 52 acres. That's the highest average the club has ever recorded. The previous best was 185 bushels per acre. All the grain was marketed to the Cargill plant in Milford.
Of the 52 acres harvested, the vast majority, 49 acres, were located on property owned by Elkhart County Gravel Inc. Another three acres located on C.R. 19 near Goshen were also harvested on Saturday.
The club has other fields in the Goshen area. Once all the crops are harvested and sold, the club will donate the proceeds to area food pantries and FFA chapters. The checks will be handed out at the club's annual banquet on Dec. 9 in Wakarusa.
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