02 03 A Vintage Farmwife: Frito-Lay Here We Come 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Frito-Lay Here We Come

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On Tuesday, I travel quite a distance to attend Bible Study Fellowship. Over 200,000 Christians from all over the world come together weekly to study God's word.
This year we are studying the book of Acts, and it is wonderful!

My day started very early.
Brad's dad made us this clock. Isn't it nice? Please ignore the dirty glass! How embarrassing!



I wasn't quite finished with my homework, so first I worked on that.
Amy Flo did a little writing in my notebook last time she visited.


I needed to leave about an hour earlier than normal because Brad was taking me.
In the semi.
Have you ever ridden in the buddy seat of a big rig? The seat isn't comfortable and the ride is rather bumpy, but it does offer the chance to view things from a higher level. And I get to spend quality time with my hubby. 
It is fun!



We grow a large amount of white corn for the Frito Lay company and that corn has to be delivered during the winter. Sometimes we hire truckers to haul it for us, but today Brad drove his own load to the special elevator over one hour away. 

This elevator is only about 20 minutes from the location of BSF, so we rode together.

Since we live about 15 minutes from the nearest town, we normally try to do everything we can to combine trips and to conserve fuel. I don't just run to the store for a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. But that is another story.














As we arrived, we were thrilled to see no other trucks! Sometimes they are backed up two deep for quite a distance which can mean a long wait.

The first step is "the probe." Because farmers are raising foodgrade corn for Frito, the standards are VERY HIGH. This is a good thing for consumers. No one wants their food made with an inferior product.
Our premium per bushel is based on the quality of our grain, so we work hard to raise the best corn we can. The quality is determined by the sample pulled from each load.


 After that long stick-like thing gets a grain sample, we pull up to the callbox to learn the rating of this load.




Our probe was good!
Brad feels satisfaction that his hard work is paying off, and I feel like I did as a kid and got a blue ribbon on my 4-H project.

Now it is on to the dumping place. I'm sure it has another name, but I can't remember it right now. This elevator is very, very, very clean and I feel good about the care taken with our food.



Bushels, and bushels, and bushels pour out of our truck headed for train cars that will rail it to Texas to be made into the yummy chips we love.
It is a very rewarding feeling because we KNOW the hard work and headaches involved in raising white corn from a seed to a crop.

We hightailed it across Champaign county and I climbed out of the truck, brushed the corn fuzzies off my rear, adjusted my leopard print scarf, and hurried into the church.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch and some Vintage soda on our way home. Trying to find a place to park a semi and trailer is not an easy task!
(Can someone explain to me why there is an appostrophe in sodas? Former English teachers just can't help noticing.)

So....the next time you open up a bag of Doritos or Frito scoops, take a minute to remember the farmer who worked hard to produce the corn from which those chips are made and the farmer's wife who just may have ridden in a semi with her husband to deliver it!











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