26 Jun Megan: Good-bye Kansas, Hello Nebraska

After finishing in Hoxie earlier this week, we moved to a small town, Levant, which is just west of Colby. Luckily all of our fields were located very close to the elevator which was a huge help. This area of Kansas lacked moisture this past growing season so unfortunately some of the yields were not what the farmers were hoping for. Nonetheless, most of the wheat in the Levant area ended up making between 30 to 45 bushels per acre. Not too shabby in my book!

Mom and Dad left with the TR ’98 a few days early to begin a job in Imperial, Nebraska while we finished in Levant. After completing our last stop in Kansas we loaded up the CR’s and grain cart to meet my parents in Imperial. The move went smoothly without any problems…until the last 20 miles, that is. Watch for my next post to see what complication Roland Harvesting recently faced.

The combines cutting away with the elevator in the background. It sure was nice to be so close to it!

Sometimes the combines have to take interesting routes to make it to their next destination. Here, we had to trek across a pasture to reach the new field. I think the combines look a little out of place on the prairie grass.


Brandon maneuvers his 36 foot header to safely enter the narrow gate. It just amazes me some of the places the combines can wiggle into with their headers on.

James makes another round as he continues to whittle down the field.  Look at that header full of wheat!

The elevator was always just down the road from all of our fields. After the hard trucking we encountered in Hoxie it was nice to haul in just a few miles to the nearby elevator.

Both combines unload on the truck. The CR9070’s unload at a speed of 3 bu/sec which means they can fill up the trucks pretty dang quick.

Cutting contently near Levant, Kansas. Clouds built in the distance but luckily never amounted to anything so we were able to finish in a decent time.

Our farmer, Dave, directs Danny as he begins to load the tractor and grain cart on the trailer. Usually we set out ramps to load it but this time we found a make-shift loading dock by our field. Dave was very eager to assist us and we gladly appreciated his help! He helped us jockey all of our equipment between fields and even took over trucking duties while we prepared for our move to Nebraska. In fact, several summers ago Dave helped us out when we were short handed as he trucked for us at home and in Wyoming.

James and Brandon hook up the grain trailer dolly to the back of the combine trailer. They ensure safety chains are hooked, check air supply, and make sure the lights are plugged in and working correctly.

One of the rigs all loaded up and ready to head north!

Danny, James, and Brandon pose for a quick photo before we hit the road for Nebraska.

This sign never gets old. It always feels good to be back in our beloved state!

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