20 Jun Takin’ samples

Helena, Oklahoma—With this humidity lingering in the air, the days have been starting off a little bit slow. We service equipment just slow enough in hopes that we can get going when we finish, but to no avail. I did bring a load into the elevator from the night before, making it my first load brought to the Helena Co-op for the 2015 harvest. It was great to see the staff again! As I was walking out of the scale house, a couple was just walking in. After saying quick hellos to one another, the gal stopped me and asked if I was Steph from the High Plains Journal, followed by saying they had seen Purple pull through town and wanted to come and meet me! This lady’s name is Mrs. Rhonda Haken, and she and her husband have been custom harvesting around this area for years, just as we have. It was wonderful to meet and chat with you guys!

The first sample of the day, taken around 10:43 a.m., came back at 14.4 percent moisture. Now, a safe assumption when taking just a coffee can’s worth of a sample into the elevator is that a full truck load will be at least a full point of moisture higher. So, a 15.4 percent moisture truck load? No, thank you. A little over an hour and a leap of faith later, we took another sample into town and were greeted with a 12.8 percent moisture reading! With the heat only increasing from this point on in the day on, we radio-ed Brandon and told him he could keep on rolling! Our yields today were around 55 bushels per acre and test weights were consistent at 59 pounds.

Just when we were getting a groove set in for the day, Brandon decided to shake things up a bit. As he was cutting out a terrace, he found a soft spot and sunk the combine to the cab. Farmer Mike had to go unhook his 4-wheel drive tractor from the disk so he could pull Brandon out of his self-made hole. Not long after, Brandon was walking along the truck and spotted a bull snake slithering right next to our Peterbilt. I had to hand it to him because I was thinking how I was running short on cool photos for the day and then he done got stuck AND made a snake friend. Way to come through, brother.

Quote of the Day—“Changing sickles while listening to hippy music, hanging out with your dad in Oklahoma…what more could you ask for?”

Takin’ samples in our handy dandy coffee can.

Changing sickle blades.

Making a round.

This cookbook is the best. The “Pioneer Woman” has yet to steer us wrong. Anytime Mom has this in the kitchen, you know supper is gonna be delicious.

Taking my first load in at Helena.

When Dad sees that you’re stuck.

Poor kid got sucked down into a mud hole on the side of a terrace.

Farmer Mike looks on at the action.

Standing in his hole.

Tellin’ stories! From left to right: Farmer Mike, Bob (Dad) and Loree (Mom).

We love harvest support! This is an awesome service that New Holland provides to its customers and let me tell you, they sure know their combines. They deliver us parts and then help us put them on when they arrive at the field!

Tailgate supper.

Pioneer Woman BBQ recipe! The best. Also, have you ever put coleslaw on your BBQ? It’s amazing, you must try it if you haven’t.

Snake! I used my zoom lens to take this photo, I was at least 20 feet away. I don’t like snakes at all.

Red dirt country.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. You can contact Steph at stephanie@allaboardharvest.com.