06 Jun Steph: From One Field to Another

Finishing 450 acres in a day is what we in the harvest business like to call, well, a long day! It also means we are covering some serious ground in a short period of time and that is certainly something we all like to see.

We have our combine along with the combine of our farmer running with us. With the wheat yielding between 15 to 20 bushels per acres across the board so far, driving combine is the only job in the field that guarantees steady work throughout the day. As for the grain cart and truck, we seem to have a lot more time on our hands. Let’s just say I finished the book I was reading this afternoon in between loads to the elevator.

Today was a milestone in my custom harvest career. Today was the first time I ever drove an automatic truck. Our farmer has an automatic Freightliner and I hauled a few loads with it this afternoon. I kept finding myself instinctively reaching for the imaginary gear shift. My first load to town with it, I ended up scaling in right after a semi that had a load full of green berries (they should have waited a few days to cut the wheat). At this particular elevator, any high moisture loads go to an unloading sight that is a very tight squeeze for any size truck. The elevator workers decided they would have me and my dry load unload right after the high moisture load in order to blend the loads together and bring the moisture down some. As I drove up to the entrance, I felt a stroke of confidence and thought to myself that it really didn’t look THAT small. Yeah, I was wrong. My mirrors barely skimmed by and I slowed to a near crawl making sure nothing hit or scraped the sides of the elevator. The load was smooth sailing after that entrance but boy, that was a tight squeeze. Our moisture was at 11.5 percent, so hopefully the blending was successful.

Oh, and I decided I prefer manual trucks. They just make more sense to me.

Harvest Tip: There is no shame in pulling into the elevator at a much slower pace than the guy before you.

Finishing up a field!

Brandon and I had a rough afternoon, let me tell you.

Neat lookin’ elevator in Lone Wolf, Okla.

When Mom comes to the field, 9 times out of ten she has food.

Brandon coming to the end of the field. Supper time!

Giving the farmer’s daughter, Karissa, a grain cart lesson. It’s never too early to learn.

Brandon heading back to the truck to take a load to town.

Such a gorgeous night.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. You can contact Stephanie at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.