Scott: Another Stop Completed

Scott Clark’s crew has completed another stop on their 2011 harvest journey and is on the move. This week Scott talks about leaving home for an extended time and how the drought has taken its toll on areas of wheat country.

We arrived in the Kiowa, Kan., are just a week ago and the crews split up to complete the jobs in the area. The yield averages ranged from 15 to 50 bushels/acre and test weights continue to be above 60 pounds. One of our crews finished on Friday and was able to help out the second crew wrap up the remaining acres on Saturday just before a storm dropped four inches of rain on us. With the wheat all cut the crew spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up the equipment and prepping for the move to eastern Kansas. We’ll also start disking our wheat stubble under while we’ve got some moisture in the ground.

The drought in western Kansas has left us with no wheat to cut in Tribune and Sharon Springs, so we’ve had to find more work to keep us busy until northwest Kansas and Colorado are ready to harvest. We’ll pull out of Kiowa and head east 200 miles to Chanute, Kan. The wheat crop in the southeast corner of Kansas is anticipated to yield 45 to 70 bushels per acre. That area of the state had numerous rains and we are anxious to see some “normal” wheat for the first time this year.

When we depart Kiowa it is always tough for us to say goodbye to friends and family. It will be six months before the crew returns again. Living on the road for an extended period of time requires planning and preparation. We’ll spend the next couple of days stocking our service trucks with parts and tools, as well as load up on parts inventory for corn and soybean harvest. The service trucks aren’t the only stocking we’ll do. Our campers will need extra blankets, winter coats and warm boots because we won’t be back to get them before it starts snowing in the north. It’s quite a task to remember everything you’ll need for winter when it’s well over 90 degrees outside.

Boomers and chains
Travis and Jesse tighten up the boomers and chains on the back of the combine so it can be hauled to our next jobsite.

Loading up the combine
Travis and Jesse guide the combine onto the trailer for transport.

Picking up the duels
A combine picks up the duals and prepares to load onto the trailer.

Double up
Two combines make their way across the field.

Extra time
Lower crop yields have provided Travis with a little extra time on his hands.

Tarping the truck
Dalton tarps the trailer and prepares to take another load to town.

For more photos from Scott’s crew check out the Facebook photo gallery.

For more information contact crew@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard 2011 is sponsored by High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection.

 

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