04 Jul Megan: Kansas Harvest

Hoxie, Kan. – Roland Harvesting began cutting in Kansas last week and has been on the go ever since. Mom and Dad helped move the boys to Plainville, Kansas then doubled back down to Enid, Oklahoma to finish getting the rest of the equipment. Brandon and his crew whittled away in Plainville and were able to complete that job at the beginning of this week. The wheat near Plainville had quite the range of yields, making between 30 to 70 bushels per acre. The different varieties of wheat seemed to impact these broad yields. The area remains awfully dry but luckily a few big snow storms this winter ended up saving the wheat crop. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad finished jockeying the last of the machinery from down south to northern Kansas. They began our next job in Hoxie, Kansas with the CR 9060 and a grain trailer. Brandon, Jose, Eric, and Kasey completed their work in Plainville a couple of days ago and made the 70 mile journey to Hoxie to join my parents. The most exciting news is that I will officially be reunited with the crew in just a day or two – wahoo! Ashley, Kurt, Augie dog, and I will travel to Kansas to meet the family for the 4^th of July and to enjoy a weekend of harvesting together! Please enjoy the following photos that Brandon shared with me from this past week.

Kasey adjusts the concaves for some fine tuning on one of the CR’s.

The combines continue to plug away in the Kansas wheat.

The trucks lined up as Brandon and Jose open up a new field.

Eric found a new friend, a cute little turtle! It’s amazing the creatures we run across on harvest – armadillos, deer, badgers, turtles, pheasants, skunks, rabbits, spiders, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers – the list goes on and on. It depends on what area of the country we are working in as to what we encounter, but regardless it is always exciting to see what the day will bring!

Brandon heads back out to the field after stopping to get fuel.

The shaker shoe bearing went out on Brandon’s combine in Plainville. Luckily, there was a dealer in town who was finally able to get him up and running again.

Brandon’s friend, Colt, and his dad (both from Plainville) use an auger to put seed wheat in the grain bin.

Dad unloads the tractor and grain cart.

Jose gets ready to move the CR out to the field after unloading it off the combine trailer in Hoxie.

A view from inside the combine while Kasey unloads the grain cart on the other side of the truck.

When the brush alongside the road becomes overgrown we bring in our own tools to get the job done. Moving 36 foot headers on narrow dirt roads can make for some tight fits and believe me, crashing the side of your header into a tree or bush can cause some serious damage. Above: Brandon shows off the tree trimmers that get put to use quite often.

I think my obsession with sunsets has worn off on Brandon. Look at this breathtaking one he captured while moving the convoy through Kansas.

Ah, this is what we call perfect timing: finishing a field right as the sun goes down. What a wonderful way to end the day!

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