Flandreau farmer to host national corn picking event

Brenda Wade Schmidt
Enterprise
In many ways, Jim Redder has prepared for this weekend since he was a boy.
The Flandreau-area farmer started picking corn by hand when he helped his dad with the harvest, and this weekend the 64-year-old will host the South Dakota and National Hand Corn Husking contests on his property Saturday and Sunday.
“I grew up on a farm. When we picked corn with dad, we would pick the ends and throw them in wagon,” he said. “I didn’t start competing until 10 years ago when the state and national was down in Dell Rapids.” This is the first time the national contest, which thrives on picking corn by hand like it was done before the mechanical age, has been in Flandreau.
“This is a one-time thing for us,” said Redder, who added that it will put Flandreau on the map. “It’s just fun to be a part of it.”
This is their last year of hosting. Next year, the state contest moves to the Colton area, and the national contest won’t return to South Dakota for about 10 years.
Redder, and his wife Deb – who also will compete, expect a couple hundred people will show up at their farm to participate and watch. He also still is looking for volunteers who want to glean any corn still on the stalks, pull the wagons and weigh the corn.
The corn picking contests have categories that include children to adults ages 75 and older. The object is to pick as many ears of corn minus the husks as fast as the contestant can without leaving any ears on the stalks nor many husks on the ears.

For children, the ears are counted but it isn’t a competition, Redder said. Everyone gets a medal for participating. The goal is to pass on the skill, the fun and the tradition of the event.
“It’s kind of a lost art,” he said.
The adult categories can get pretty competitive but are friendly with classes that include 10 minutes, 20 minutes and even 30 minutes of picking corn by hand.
“When you get done for 20 minutes, you’ve worked up a pretty good sweat,” he said.
Adults try and pick every ear and throw them in the wagon because a volunteer gleaner comes behind them and checks. Each forgotten ear is deducted from the total weight picked.
“You go as fast as you can because you want to get as many pounds as you can,” Redder said. “You really can’t practice for it.”
A Japanese television celebrity will join the competition this year and will film around Flandreau before the event, Redder said. The reality TV personality hosts a show similar to Man Versus Food or Dirty Jobs.
“He will do some practicing. He’ll compete on Saturday just like everybody else,” Redder said.
Carol Kiecksee, the national president this year, helped host the state event on her family’s Flandreau-area farm for four years before the Redders took a turn. She will compete in the state women’s division this year, after finishing second last year and hopes to make it to Sunday’s national competition.
She likes to stay involved to keep history alive.
“I’m kind of an old-fashioned type of person,” she said. She wants young people to experience what it was like before modern machines provide agriculture conveniences. “They have no idea what it was like back in the day when it was hard work.”
This is the Redders seventh year hosting the state event. They offered to take the contest for a year, which turned into a second year and finally this year’s state and national competition.
He has put aside more than 25 acres of corn for the competitors to pick, even though they won’t go through all of it, he said.
“The field is ready to go,” Redder said.
The state competition is Saturday, followed by the national competition on Sunday. Both days start at 9 a.m. at the farm at 48475 228th St., east of Flandreau. Competitors ages 21 and older pay a fee to participate but the events are free to spectators. Tickets for a quilt raffle can be purchased to support the event.
A lunch stand will sell food on the grounds, and a banquet that is open to the public will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Flandreau Elementary School commons. Cost is $15 for adults and $10 for those ages 12 and under. Tickets are available at the door.