28 Jul Jada: Back to reality in Regent

Today, I arrived to Regent to join up with the crew. It is time to be back to reality and I am happy to be here. Regent received rain and hail the day before the guys left to began our harvest here. Our farmer lost some crop but thankfully still had crop to harvest. Since we have arrived, harvest has been slow moving. The wheat wasn’t dry enough to harvest until after lunch but it is looking good with yields in the 40′ and 50’s ( bu./ac.). Protein is at 15 and test weights are 60.

Dust hung in the air today as did rain clouds but despite having 60% chance of rain no drops fell.

Leon shares a funny story with Johnny as they grab their food. While some harvesters lay out a buffet, others serve the food in trays. I prefer the last as it makes the food more portable and I think it’s easier to deliver and keep warm. Plus, you never know what is going to happen when you deliver food and this leaves me prepared for anything.

A combine dumps on the go as it heads my way. With James gone and us split up, duties have shifted. Oak has headed to the combine while Bux changed his post to grain cart duties. While driving grain cart may seem like an easy job, it becomes more challenging with each combine. A grain cart operator needs to be intuitive and organized. He needs to predict where he is needed and get dumped quickly so he doesn’t keep the combines waiting. He also needs to pay attention to the pounds of each dump he makes so he can load the trucks properly. An overloaded truck can make for large fine. Known to us as keeper of the paperwork, the grain cart operator can tell us how many loads left each field, the weight of the loads and the names of the truckers who left with each load. This ensures no grain tickets are unaccounted for.

Kaidence serves as dinnertime entertainment. She shows Johnny, Bux and her dad one of her dance moves- the roof is on fire. It’s amazing how good music and dance moves that work in a car seat keep a harvest kid entertained on moves. As a result to our jam sessions, she already has favorite songs. Right now it’s the river song (Pontoon by Little Big Town), Stronger by Kelly Clarkston and Madagascar 3’s theme song, Fireworks by Katy Perry.

Cutting in Regent offers a different view than from home. A change of scenery and landscape keeps the job from being monotonous.

All Aboard Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta. Jada Bulgin can be reached at jada@allaboardharvest.com.