Big 10: Farm field finds -- meth lab waste, headless goat, coyote den, lingerie, boulders, an entire garage door and more

Aug. 28—You name it, local farmers have found it in their fields — about everything short of the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson.

With harvest time drawing closer, we convened a panel of N-G Farm Leaders of the Year, Farm Family of the Week members and others and asked: What's the strangest discovery you've come across?

KENT KRUKEWITT, 1995 N-G Farm Leader of the Year

"This happened to my son Brian while he was operating the combine harvesting corn close to dusk. We had seen signs that a badger was in the area but had not seen any until the combine approached an animal running through rows of corn being harvested.

"Brian thought at first look it was a raccoon; however, he soon realized very quickly it was no raccoon. He slowed the combine and started moving slowly forward, hoping, as most all wildlife do when the combine approaches, it would run for its life and get out of the way.

"However, the badger would have none of it and spun around to stand its ground. As my son crept forward, with the combine still running, the badger jumped on a snout of the corn head ready to fight the combine. Brian quickly turned off the corn head while the badger attempted to take on the snout with sharp teeth and its long claws dug into the plastic snout.

"The angry badger, after a few moments of reflection, jumped off the corn head snout, and eventually headed off to a nearby drainage ditch. A day that my son will never forget — combine versus badger."

KRISTEN GADY, member of 2022 N-G Farm Family of the Week

"Our family has found a plethora of interesting items in the fields and in the ditches surrounding our fields. We have found giant boulders, truck tires, fire extinguishers, cemetery flowers, a football helmet, even an entire garage door.

"But the strangest was probably women's lingerie."

STEVE GORDON, Gordon Farms, Rantoul

"Waste from a meth lab and parts from a crashed plane."

STEVE HULS, Huls Farms, St. Joseph

"On my way to combine a field many years ago, I saw an elk. It was in the morning after many long days and late nights of combining.

"I did a double and triple look in the neighbor's cornfield at these horns or antlers that I saw. Then I stopped at the local elevator to tell them what I just saw. Of course, the guys there had a few comments and jokes about what I thought I saw.

"I told my wife and several other people during the day and everyone thought I had lost it. It wasn't until after the news that night that we found out there really was an elk on the loose."

LIN WARFEL, 1989 N-G Farm Leader of the Year

"I hit a deer with my Deere combine. Broad daylight while finishing harvesting a 160-acre corn field next to Interstate 57. Last eight rows.

"I glanced over at the interstate and the right wheels suddenly went kerplunk. What? A deer likely injured on the interstate had snuggled into the stalks. Then, a really dead deer."

DAN SCHAEFER, 2018 N-G Farm Leader of the Year

"I have been chased by a skunk in a field while soil testing and had a deer run past me the next row over in a corn field late in August — and that sounded like a herd of buffalo."

KEVIN GREEN, member of 2021 N-G Farm Family of the Week

"My most frightening surprise was when the right front tire of the combine ran directly over a 2-foot-tall coyote den entrance mound. I thought the machine was going to tip over.

"An interesting discovery was finding two motorcycle frames, stripped of all components. The police traced the serial numbers to a store in Champaign.

"Bizarre findings include, at different times, the remains of meth lab just inside a cornfield, a beheaded goat in the ditch and a dead armadillo in the middle of the road."

GREG STIERWALT, co-owns Mill Star Farms of Sadorus

"Most of our field finds are items that either we lost or were lost in previous generations — like horseshoes, harness rings or wrenches.

"We do farm along the interstate and will get the occasional tire that comes off a semi. The worst finds are when people dump their garbage — like TVs and couches — in the fields."

TERRY WOLF, 2001 N-G Farm Leader of the Year

"I was combining corn near St. Joe and came across a tent that was all assembled and sitting on top of the corn stalks. It had blown there from a house somewhere. I never did know where."

DON CHAMBERS, Atwood corn and soybean farmer

"Every year, we find lots of small balloons, from weddings and birthday parties. If I have time, I stop the tractor to read the note attached, to see if I know the individuals who set it free.

"One time when I was still in school, we were surprised how far one had traveled. The balloon had 'Rice Lake Homecoming' printed on it. We couldn't think of a town in any of the neighboring counties with that name.

"After a search with an atlas — pre-Google — we determined it must have traveled all the way from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, which is further north than Minneapolis.

"They confirmed it was from their homecoming celebration, and printed a small article about the find in the school newspaper."

ALLEN WILLIAMS, Williams Farms, Cerro Gordo

"Probably the most alarming thing I experienced happened while running for exercise as a young man. I thought I would run through my main farm, through our grassed waterways.

"The grass was just short of a foot tall. On my return, I felt something on one of my ankles and imagined it was a small branch or wire from a field flag.

"I looked down to discover a snake wrapped around my ankle going for a ride. I shook my leg a few times and the snake disembarked, and we each went on our ways in haste."

BILL BOZDECH, Bozdech Farms, Villa Grove

"Late one night, my wife was running the tractor and catch cart. I was driving the seed corn picker. She called on the radio: 'There is a wall of corn ahead!'

"We didn't know the other corn picker had broken down and left us trapped in the middle of the field."