Steph: Dead Horse Road

Running into green wheat is almost as bad as when it rains. It leaves a crew with nothing to do. Lucky for us, we were able to find some work to fill the void. Unlucky for us, the route to the field involved a road dubbed “Dead Horse Road”. The name alone was enough to make one think twice about its reliability. This road wound through mountains and valleys and was extremely narrow. Once you got past that though it was actually a really scenic and pretty route. Our farmer actually told me the story behind its name: When soldiers and Indians were having their disagreements back in the day, the soldiers were pushing the Indians through this territory. They weren’t cooperating the way the soldiers wanted so they shot all the horses the Indians were on, which was somewhere between 300 to 400 head. That is the sweet and condensed version of the story.

Since we were working on the 4th, we all figured that another day in the field would be the extent of our celebrating. However, our farmer’s daughter happens to be Miss Rodeo Queen from Austin, Tex. and she invited my brother and I to come with to the rodeo in Crawford, Neb. How do you say no to rodeo royalty? You don’t. The magic words to get into the rodeo were “We’re with the Queen.” Too bad that doesn’t work everywhere you go.

Oh yeah, our crops! We have been combining up around Chadron, Neb. and the yields have been between 35 to 40 bushels. Protein was high at 15 percent and the test weights have been in the low 60s.

Quote of the Day: “I think I can see Mount Rushmore from here!” –Dad, because where we are cutting is so close to the South Dakota border.

SO-Whitney, Neb.

Dad rides a few rounds with Brandon.

SO-Whitney, Neb.

Dad, outstanding in the field 🙂

SO-Whitney, Neb.

The alfalfa smells so amazing. I want to make an air freshener out of it.

SO-Dead Horse Road, Neb.

The drop down into Dead Horse Road. Pretty scenery. Pretty narrow.

SO-Whitney, Neb.

Clouds come, look scary, and leave.

SO-Crawford, Neb.

Nothin’ better than a rodeo on the 4th!

SO-Crawford, Neb.

Miss Rodeo Austin Ashley Birkfield and I by the chutes.

All Aboard Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta. You can contact Stephanie at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.

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