Megan: Roland Harvesting Reunites

After two weeks of being separated at different stops, Roland Harvesting is finally reunited…well, sort of. Brandon, James and Dad all successfully made the move to Hoxie, Kansas earlier this week, reuniting all 3 of our combines. We were able to get a couple hundred acres cut out before the rain reached the field on Thursday evening. Due to the rain, Mom convinced Dad to sneak away this weekend for a close family friend’s wedding. In hopes of getting going again on Friday Brandon knew we would need some extra help. He knew we needed a combine operator, with years of experience, someone who understands our crew’s dynamics and how we run our show. We needed “one of our own” – and who else would that be but our older sister, Ashley, who went on harvest for many summers and has countless hours in the combine and field. So, Brandon recruited Ashley to come to Hoxie for the weekend to help us out.

Friday afternoon we were able to get going for a few hours until the elevator closed. Shortly after we finished for the night a horrendous rainstorm came through the area and shut us down all day Saturday. Our rain day was filled with servicing all the machinery and catching up on laundry. Once again, I don’t mean to curse the rain but at the moment I would rather send it to Nebraska or Colorado since word is they are both very dry. Oh well, that’s just how harvest goes some years. At least I was able to enjoy some nice sister bonding time this weekend with Ashley!

Ashley fires up combine
Ashley fires up the combine for her first time during the 2012 harvest season. After running combine for nearly 15 years, she says she “feels right at home” navigating the CR through the wheat field.

Cutting contently in the CR
Combining contently near Hoxie, Kansas. Those clouds in the distance may look fluffy and calm, but later proved to be yet another rain delay for Roland Harvesting.

CR combining away
Most of the fields in the Hoxie area have been yielding about 65 to 80 bushels per acre, with test weights ranging from 60 to 64 pounds.

Ashley fueling the CR 9070
See, girls can get dirty, too!  We threw Ashley right into the swing of things as her and I fueled up the combines in the heat of the day. Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed the air conditioning of their pickup while they played boss and “looked at other fields” during our rain day.

Wheat field behind our hotel
Is it just me, or does this wheat field look a little out of place?! We spotted this field near our hotel in Colby, Kansas. You know you’re in real wheat country when Sleep Inn and Taco John’s are your new scenery compared to the usual farm houses, grain bins, and surrounding crops you are used to seeing by wheat fields. It’s funny how times change.

Ashley, Megan, Brandon and James in wheat field
Danny snaps a quick photo of the Roland kids (Ashley, me, Brandon, and James) while waiting for this field to dry down. Even though we’re now all in our 20’s we still feel like kids at heart, especially when it comes to our passion for harvest.

Dad & kids on combine '94
Flashback
: 1994 – Dad, Ashley, Brandon and me pose on the TR ’96 during a summer visit. If it weren’t for Dad and his dream of harvest, we never would have grown up in the world of combines, tractors and wheat. We are so proud of him and admire his hard work that has created the Roland Harvesting business we now operate today. Happy Father’s Day to the best Dad in the world and to all the fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers and uncles, too!

All Aboard Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta. Megan can be reached at megan@allaboardharvest.com.

4 Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.