19 Jun Laura: The other half
Ellis and Rush County, Kansas – A few days ago I gave you an update for half the crew. Today I’ll give you the other half.
This part of the crew had similar issues as the one further south. We fought several days of rain and/or humidity. The wheat never completely dried down and stayed in the 12-13 percent moisture range, so it was something to be watched the entire time they were cutting. This area had some hail and disease, and we had to abandon a couple fields because there just wasn’t anything there. We saw yields anywhere from 0-55 bushels per acre.
The elevator we hauled into was nice to work with and had great service. Let me explain. When I was out at the field, the first night they were really able to cut into the evening. I asked the question, “How late is the elevator staying open?” See, you don’t harvest until the elevator closes. You take your trucks in to dump as late as they’ll take you. Then you bring them back to the field and fill everything back up, so they’re ready to unload first thing in the morning. And this allows you a bit more precious cutting time. So, if the elevator closes at 10 p.m., I know to add a certain amount of cutting time to the back end to get an estimate on what time to expect the crew home that night. Well, on this particular day when I asked our truck driver what the elevator had said, he replied, “Well, they asked how late we wanted to cut!” Yes, that’s great harvest service right there!
The next stop for this portion of the crew is west central Kansas in the Rush and Ellis county area. Just after our equipment arrived as requested on Thursday, a large storm packed with hail passed through the area. Actually, the storm camped out for awhile it seemed. This same farmer has had hail throughout the season and actually called us in Texas to warn us that he may have lost acres. Later, the adjuster determined the acres would need to be harvested. Now, they got it again. Have you noticed the not-so-pleasant trend this season?
Things dried out enough for the crew to begin cutting Friday afternoon. Today (Saturday) looks to be hot, and there’s a small chance of storms for this afternoon. Normally I wouldn’t hold my breath for a 40 percent chance of storms. But at the rate we’ve been going this season, I may do just that.
All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and John Deere. Laura can be reached at laura@allaboardharvest.com.
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