By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

BROWNELL -- Much like the community it overlooks, the Brownell elevator is a sleepy sort of place.

Until wheat harvest arrives, and it quickly -- but not so quietly -- becomes the bustling center of activity for the community and the area it serves.

Catapulted from a single employee, the Midland Marketing elevator in Brownell quickly become a seven-person operation -- equal to 17 percent of the entire community population.

It is the community's only business, save for the post office less than a block away on Kansas Highway 4.

When the wheat harvest begins, much as it is for fall crops, the elevator serves as the economic powerhouse of the community.

That transformation is under way, as farmers started cutting in the Brownell area on Tuesday, pushed along by wheat-maturing high heat and brisk Kansas winds.

Absent rain, the area should be in full swing today, according to Bob Wolfe, Midland's Brownell coordinator.

He lives and breathes the elevator's operations.

Year-round, he's in the elevator by 8 a.m.

During wheat harvest, he's there by 8 a.m. as well, even though he might not make it home until midnight or later, depending on how long farmers can cut.

As the wheat goes, Wolfe is sure to follow.

"It's not unusual for me to work 16 hour days during harvest," he said. "Get home at midnight."

He refuses to take any special credit for it.

"It's just a think you do during harvest," he said. "Farmers do the same thing."

Wolfe has served as coordinator for the Brownell facility for nearly 5 years now, taking over when Midland Marketing leased the elevator from ADM. He had been running the elevator in McCracken 13 miles to the east prior to that.

Brownell is unique in that it is an area with strong production of white wheat, known for its enhanced bread making capabilities.

The push for white wheat surfaced years ago when Kansas State University, and wheat breeder Joe Martin, shifted its focus away from the more traditional hard red winter wheats.

ADM was a strong supporter of the white-wheat program, which brought along a number of incentives.

"A lot of guys around here latched on to that and they like wheat wheat," Wolfe said.

Overall, Brownell takes in the largest percentage of white wheat in the Midland group of 10 elevators. Palco also was a stronghold for white wheat.

"I've seen a lot of white wheat producers start to drift back to red," Wolfe said.

So far, Wolfe has been happy with what wheat has been coming in to the elevator.

"It's a good start," he said. "It's nice for the crew to start out slow, work the kinks out."

Wolfe gets to ensure that everything and everyone is on target.

Out back of the scale house, in the elevator, Wolfe keep a crew of three people ready to take in wheat -- inside the elevator and around back where the white wheat is delivered so that its identify can be preserved when it comes time to market it.

"It's a one-man operation except during harvest," he said. "I always bring in some for harvest."

He keeps two people in the scale house, one to run the scale and remote grain-sampling probe, while the other can take weights.

"I go everywhere," he said.