Corn harvest

Harvest season is a busy time as farmers rush to get their crops out of the field before that first freeze. This week, it also proved to be a time of community and friendship for a family in rural Lee County.

Erik Terstriep, perched in the captain's chair of his combine, glides through eight rows of corn at a time. When he lifts up the harvesting head to turn the machine around, it lets out a quick, staccato, "beep, beep, beep." Terstriep is fluent in the language of this machine, able to decipher every chirp.

American farmers grew more corn and soybeans in 2014 than ever before, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest crop production report.

Many Midwest farmers will be looking to cut costs as farming grows more expensive and commodity prices take a dip this harvest year.

Dick Humes squinted and sweat as he moved down a row of corn. He sliced through the husk with a metal hook in his right hand, snapped the ear from its stalk with his left, and threw it over his shoulder into a wagon rolling alongside him.