As the 1933 farming season came to an end, the corn and soybean harvest in Daviess County showed small decline in their yields compared to the previous year. The corn yield was 28 bushels per acre as compared to 37 bushels per acre in 1932. The soybean crop yielded 10 bushels per acre.

One method of planting the corn was by using the checking method. The farmers would take their teams and their sleds to the fields and make sled tracks running north and south over the entire field. They would then take their teams and sleds and make sled tracks running east and west over the entire field.

After the tracks were made running both ways, the farmers would walk along with their hoes and make small hills of dirt wherever the tracks intersected. As a final step, they would use their hand corn planters to plant approximately five to seven kernels of corn in each hill.

This method was very helpful in controlling the weeds because the corn could be cultivated in the same fields going both directions: from north to south, and from east to west. After the corn started to grow, the field looked like a large checkerboard.

— researched and presented by Wilbur Bush, Gallatin, MO