15 Jun Z Crew: Goodbye Nebraska, Hello Oklahoma!

Shattuck, Okla: Tuesday June 11th, the Z Crew was supposed to hit the road. Through a series of events and the simple fact we weren’t ready to leave, we did not start our trip to Oklahoma until Wednesday.

Wednesday was a full day. The crew was up at 6a.m. loading the last miscellaneous items into the trailer, parking vehicles where they will sit for the next few months and closing up our home for the summer. We finally hit the road at 9:30a.m., stopped in Bennet, Neb. to fuel up, Fairbury, Neb. for lunch, and didn’t stop again until we were in the middle of Kansas. We hammered down and finally pulled into Shattuck, Okla. at 9:30p.m.

Once in Shattuck, Dad quickly realized it was too dark outside to set up the trailer house. Because of this, the Z Crew parked the trailer on the side of the railroad tracks by the elevator. Needless to say, I don’t think anyone got more than a couple of hours of sleep all together. This morning, Callie said every time a train came through town she accepted her death. We were so close to the tracks it sounded like the train was running through the trailer!

After parking and setting up the trailer, the trucks and combine were taken to the field outside of Arnett. Dad cut the first sample of short wheat. The moisture at first looked to be about 11-13 percent. The yield monitor showed around 15-17 bushels per acre and the berries themselves looked pretty shriveled. Nothing has been put into an elevator so no numbers are official. The load that was harvested tonight will hopefully be dumped in the morning.

In the meantime, Callie and I have stayed busy watching movies, grocery shopping, cooking, doing dishes and avoiding the heat. Today was Oklahoma’s hottest day of the year so far! The weekend looks to bring some thunderstorms but I hope it doesn’t slow us up!

Manley, NE: The Z Crew: Curt, Jamie and Eli Hermesch, Tracy, Jim, Jenna, Taylor and Callie Zeorian

Manley, NE: Jenna, Callie and Jamie say their goodbyes.

Manley, NE: Jim, Callie, Tracy, and Taylor (behind the camera) sit down for a crew meeting before we hit the road south.

Shattuck, OK: As Dad tunes up the combine, he set out the tools on the tailgate of the pickup

Shattuck, OK: Jim checks the header to make sure everything is good to go.

Shattuck, OK: Above, Jim hooks up the header to the combine.

Shattuck, OK: Grasshoppers infest both town and the fields.

Shattuck, OK: The wheat stands short on the dry ground.

Shattuck, OK: Jim checks the moisture is his hand-held tester.

Shattuck, OK: To make sure all of the settings in the combine are correct, Jim checks the ground to see if any berries are making it through the machine. 

Since this post was written last night, Dad dumped the first load of wheat this morning. The official numbers are in! Protein is at 16.7, Weight at 58 pounds, and Moisture at 11percent!

The Z Crew can be reached at zcrew@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard Wheat Harvest™ is sponsored by High Plains Journal and Syngenta.