07 Aug What have we been up to?

Elk City, Ok — Where on earth has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we started the 2016 harvest. The only thing that stays the same is that each year is different. This year, we have been fortunate to pick up some extra work here in Oklahoma, making 2016 the best we have had for a while. Normally we follow the harvest north as it ripens, moving north in 250-300 mile jumps along the way. We have not been able to find more work north of us this year. This is the part of the harvest life that is the hardest, and the most stressful.

So what have we been doing here at Misener Family Harvesters? Well, after we finished up in Sweetwater, OK,  we drove the combines back home. The trip took about two hours driving them at 20 mph; as fast as these big, green beasts go. The trip seemed like it took forever, but it wasn’t even close to my record of 18 hours! In my family, I am proud to say I hold that record. It happened by pure circumstance. This is NOT a normal occurrence. I was about 18 years old at the time. I left Rolla, North Dakota early one morning and ended up in Hayti, South Dakota about 18 hours later. Not bad for a 400 mile trip, huh?!

Anyway, we brought the machinery back home, washed them up inside and out. We made sure that they were spotless. Since we don’t know if we’ll be using these combines again this year, every door, every nook and cranny has to be washed out. This washing process takes a lot of extra time. This sieves also needed to come out and all the augers have to be cleaned. It probably was a good thing that we had washing to do because the whole week the temperatures were triple digits. It was kind of nice to get wet.

My sister Liz and I :).

After cleaning the machines up, we did inspection on them and found a few things that needed repairing. There is always something that needs improving; a place that needs to be spot welded or hole patched, a bearing that could use replacing before it goes completely out, or electrical wiring. All of these things are not necessarily top priority while harvesting, but now that we have down time, we can fix them. A little preventative maintenance now helps a lot for next years’ harvest. We also found that our grain cart auger needs replacing so that too is on the agenda.

So, the harvest is in full swing in North Dakota now, which is a thousand miles from here. Our best chance at finding work is fall harvest. Maybe in Texas?! They have a lot of corn and milo down there. The possibility is kind of exciting. If nothing else, the fall weather will be a lot warmer down there. I do not have the answers. I am continuing to pray in hopes we find work, but until then, all we can do is work here at home on machinery, trying to bring home the bacon.

Be safe and God bless!

All Aboard Wheat Harvest is sponsored by High Plains Journal and New Holland Agriculture. Emma can be reached at emma@allaboardharvest.com.