All Aboard Harvest | Brian: Bringing home the gold
20990
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-20990,single-format-standard,qode-quick-links-1.0,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode-theme-ver-11.2,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-5.4.7,vc_responsive

Brian: Bringing home the gold

Onida, South Dakota–Like athletes who have been training for the Olympics, the crew has been training all summer long for a victory lap. We have come around the final bend, and we see the last few acres of this summer’s harvest come into view. We’ve been working tirelessly day after day, racing to cross that harvest finish line. We’ve guaranteed ourselves a spot on the podium, but will we bring home the gold?


The grain cart follows us around, waiting to see that mound of golden grain appear atop the grain tank.  Long rows stretch on for what seems like forever some times in the large South Dakota fields.  

 

This year’s harvest schedule has seemed like an endless marathon, and a few days off sounded like a golden opportunity. But with the hot, dry weather we’ve had no such luck. Some years there is a significant break between winter and spring wheat harvest, but this year we finished our last winter wheat field and started our first spring wheat field the same day. The crew sprinted to the finish of our South Dakota harvest, but we almost felt like it was over before it even started.


These big, open fields are an ideal place to learn the ropes of equipment operation. With close supervision, Titus drives the grain cart while Ezra unloads the combine on the go for the very first time. It’s a proud parent moment.

 

The drought took a serious toll on the spring wheat here, and the yields reflected that. Fields lucky enough to have caught a spotty rain shower occasionally produced 35 bushels per acre, but the majority of the spring wheat here averaged closer to 15 bushels per acre. Some fields had single-digit yields, and a few were not worth harvesting at all. The fall crops have also suffered here in a big way. It feels like we have reached a tipping point. If the corn, soybean and sunflower crops don’t receive substantial moisture in the next week a significant yield reduction is imminent. This has both farmers and harvesters worried. Uncooperative weather affects everyone, and a poor wheat harvest followed by a poor fall harvest is a scenario nobody wants to talk about. Let’s cross our fingers they won’t have to.


As night falls, a bright red sun sinks behind a smoke-filled horizon every evening in South Dakota. Even during the day the smoke from forest fires in Canada create a haze that can be seen and often smelled. 

 

Agriculture is a dangerous occupation, and every day there are plenty of opportunities for a mishap. Hauling oversized loads down narrow rural roads is one of our biggest safety concerns, and there are plenty of moving parts on machinery to cause serious injury in the blink of an eye. But the one thing that harvesters fear the most is a field fire. This year’s dry conditions in South Dakota were ideal for that, and we saw more than one plume of smoke off in the distance that made us feel a little sick to our stomach. After 39 fire-free years we finally experienced that panicked moment of seeing flames in our own field. The fire was very small and easily spotted in the dark. Calm winds and quick thinking allowed an army of fire extinguishers to squelch the flames before any real danger existed.


Hauling large equipment down narrow roads means careful attention is a must to avoid an accident. When working around equipment safety precautions are never optional. With the help John Deere’s traveling factory-based support, Brian replaces a faulty valve inside a very hot engine bay courtesy of the sweltering sun paired with exhaust pipes.

 

It’s not exactly the type of story a crew wants to talk about, but it seems a missed opportunity to not share the risky realties we face each day of harvest. We work in a fire-prone environment, and no matter how well maintained or new your equipment is some things simply can not be anticipated or prevented. In this case we determined a failed bearing dripped hot grease onto some chaff that smoldered long enough to eventually start a fire. We are grateful God saw fit to spare us from a tragic outcome, but I assure you the adrenaline in those few moments lasted long enough to prevent most of us from getting much sleep that night.


The camera zooms in on plume of smoke in the distance, but little did we know we would have our own field fire just days later. There is no such thing as a trivial fire, and we were fortunate this scary experience didn’t turn into a call to the fire department.

 

Many harvests over the years have been fast paced, but this summer will be remembered as a relay race. We passed the harvest baton from state to state seamlessly, each time unloading equipment and going straight to work upon arriving at a new location. No week-long rain events. No waiting for green wheat to ripen. Just harvesting in high gear. After 39 years on the harvest trail, this is the shortest wheat harvest we have ever experienced. The crew spent just 58 days on the road, and this is the first time we have ever finished in July. Rain only kept us from harvesting one day in Oklahoma, two days in Kansas and one day in South Dakota. Last year we spent 46 days harvesting in just South Dakota, only 3 days fewer than we spent on the road this entire summer combined. That’s a pretty shocking comparison and a perfect example of just how much weather plays a role in this occupation.


The crew arrives in the field for our final day of harvesting. It’s a bittersweet moment as the combines complete their last pass and the grain cart offloads the final bushels into the last truck.

 

Moving equipment back to our respective homes in Iowa and Minnesota went smoothly. Everyone has settled back into their homes that suddenly feel enormous, rediscovering life not spent in a rectangular aluminum box on wheels with a hitch. Two-inch plywood walls no longer separate the bathroom from the kitchen, breakfast is no longer shared with ten people, and a refrigerator that holds more than two days of groceries seems remarkably luxurious. A few of the us take the opportunity to visit the Black Hills around Rapid City for two days before moving back home–a nice way to celebrate finishing another successful year.


A short trip to the Black Hills provided a dramatic change of scenery but no reprieve from the heat. The pickup indicated it was 113 degrees F outside, but we still enjoyed visiting Mount Rushmore, Sylvan Lake and the Badlands.

 

Our summer raced by so fast it’s hard to believe it’s already over. Speaking of races, I’m pretty sure the crew earned gold after this summer’s marathon harvest. But it’s not the kind of gold you hang around your neck or put on a shelf to display after an Olympic victory. Instead we are rewarded with the sights of golden sunsets slipping behind the horizon, the sounds of golden wheat rustling in the warm summer breeze, and the smell of fresh cut golden straw. It’s that rewarding feeling you get when you accomplish something truly special. I know you understand, because you feel connected to the land that produces this golden grain just like us. We don’t do it for a place on the podium at the gold medal ceremony. We simply do it for the love of the harvest.

  
A great sense of relief washes over us as we safely turn into the our farm driveway in Iowa. The Hamer family loads up in the minivan for the last leg of their journey home from Minnesota, noting how green the landscape is in the absence of the golden wheat fields we’ve become so accustomed to.

 

Brian Jones can be reached at brian@allaboardharvest.com.
 
 
All Aboard Wheat Harvest is sponsored by Case IH, Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Inc., BASF, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children, Gleaner, ITC, Westbred, Huskie, Western Equipment, US Custom Harvesters, and High Plains Journal.

34 Comments
  • Tom Stegmeier
    Posted at 18:57h, 10 August

    Super Post Brian .Glad you caught the fire when you did ,you want to harvest clover seed that dust sticks to every thing . Years ago when we were farming a water wagon was in the field plus one of trucks was on air every hour or so the engine compartment would get blown out . You would think paying huge dollars for a combine there would be a fire suppression system in them . Nice to see the crews made it Home Safe!!

  • Teresa Antrim
    Posted at 11:25h, 11 August

    Praise God Almighty for another successful (golden) harvest!! Enjoyed the analogy along the way re: Olympics. Reading of the fires in fields also makes my stomach turn ?
    Remembering stories you’ve shared ( working here on the farm) about such horrendous dangers. Thank our Lord He kept you safe and the fires were put OUT.
    Welcome home to farm life in Iowa?

  • Carmen
    Posted at 14:41h, 11 August

    Great post once again! Thanks for sharing your stories and pictures!

  • Georgia Keel
    Posted at 15:27h, 11 August

    Thankful you had a safe harvest season. Thank you for continued updates on your wheat harvest run. As a retired farmers wife I love to read about your experiences. God bless.

  • GERALD TORKELSON
    Posted at 00:03h, 12 August

    I love reading these posts, too bad about the dry conditions though.

  • Schlüsseldienst Kassel
    Posted at 10:52h, 19 August

    A person necessarily lend a hand to make critically
    posts I would state. That is the first time I frequented your web page and so far?
    I amazed with the analysis you made to make this actual publish extraordinary.
    Great process!

  • sexual dysfunction in men
    Posted at 03:44h, 20 August

    Every weekend i used to pay a visit this web site, as i
    wish for enjoyment, as this this web page conations really good funny material too.

  • sexually transmitted infections in pakistan
    Posted at 03:57h, 20 August

    Hi, of course this article is truly fastidious and I have
    learned lot of things from it concerning blogging.

    thanks.

  • sexy lingerie online store amazon
    Posted at 05:55h, 20 August

    Wow, this paragraph is fastidious, my younger sister
    is analyzing such things, thus I am going to tell her.

  • amateur analпишет
    Posted at 15:06h, 20 August

    I need to to thank you for this very good read!!
    I certainly enjoyed every little bit of it. I have got you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post…

  • Good Times @ Gatwick
    Posted at 15:46h, 20 August

    Hi, Neat post. There’s an issue along with
    your site in web explorer, could test this?
    IE nonetheless is the market chief and a large portion of
    other folks will pass over your wonderful writing
    because of this problem.

    Also visit my blog … Good Times @ Gatwick

  • LIVE22SLOT
    Posted at 21:43h, 20 August

    เพื่อนๆคนไหนที่กำลังหาสล็อตเว็บหลักที่ได้มาตราฐานสากล และไม่เคยมีประวัติการโกงเงินในปี 2021 ที่ได้เปิดให้เล่นslot vip ซึ่งเป็นเว็บไซต์ที่เว็บเดียวรวมทุกค่ายสล็อต ไม่ว่าจะเป็นค่ายดังอย่างLIVE22SLOT
    ซึ่งทางเรานั้นเป็นเว็บสล็อตที่ได้มาตราฐานสากลที่มีเกมslot
    gameแตกง่าย ภาพเอฟเฟคอักแน่น เพื่อนๆจะรู้สึกสนุกเพลิดเพลินในการเล่นสล็อตตลอดเวลาในการเล่น ซึ่งเพื่อนๆสามารถร่วมสนุกกับเว็บเดิมพันสล็อตที่มีเกมให้เลือกเล่นมากกว่า 200 เกมและอีก 200 รูปแบบในการเล่น โดยเกมสล็อตออนไลน์ของเรานั้นเป็นเกมสล็อตมือถือที่สามารถเล่นได้ผ่านหน้าเว็บ
    หรือเพื่อนๆสามารถเล่นผ่านแอพพลิเคชั่นกับเราก็ได้เรามีการสอนโหลด LIVE22พร้อมการติดตั้ง รวดเร็วทันใจลงเสร็จเล่นได้เลยเพียง 5 นาทีเท่านั้น
    ซึ่งเพื่อนๆคนไหนที่สนใจเล่นสล็อตออนไลน์แตกง่ายจากทางค่ายนี้เราก็มีทางเข้า LIVE222TH
    โดยทางเรานั้นรองรับทุกระบบปฎิบัติการไม่ว่าจะเป็น IOS
    หรือ ANDRIOND ก็สามารถเล่นได้หมด ทางเราเปิดให้บริการเกมสล็อตตลอด 24
    ชั่วโมง ไม่มีวันหยุดราชการ เปิดประสบการณ์เล่นกับเราได้แล้ววันนี้
    โดยทางเราเว็บหลักสล็อตมีระบบทดลองเล่นสล็อตให้เพื่อนๆได้ลองเฃล่นก่อนลงเงินเดิมพันจริง ที่มีทั้งโปรโมชั่นฝาก 50 รับ 100 ถอนไม่อั้นให้เพื่อนๆได้เลือกใช้เลือกเล่นมากมาย ซึ่งทางค่ายเกมสล็อต22ของเรานั้นมีระบบฝาก-ถอน AUTOรวดเร็วทันใจภายใน15 วินาที
    สามารถทำธุรกรรมฝาก-ถอน อัตโนมัติที่สามารถทำรายการได้ด้วยตัวเองไม่ต้องส่งสลิปให้แอดมินอีกต่อไป รวดเร็วทันใจแน่นอน มาเปิดประสบการณ์เล่นสล็อตออนไลน์ได้ทุกวัน หรือเพื่อนๆคนไหนที่อยากติดตามข่าวสารสล็อตออนไลน์เราก็มีบทความที่มีข้อมูลดีๆมากมายไม่ว่าจะเป็นวิธีการเล่นสล็อตเพื่อเพิ่มโอกาสในการได้รางวัลจากSlot สามารถสมัครสมาชิกเล่นสล็อตกับทางสล็อตเว็บตรง พร้อมรับPromotionต่างๆมากมายตลอด 24 ชั่วโมง ทางเราค่ายเกมLIVE22ยินดีให้บริการอย่างเต็มที่ ใส่ใจสมาชิกทุกท่านเสมือนครอบครัวแน่นอน LIVE22SLOT

  • sex 2 days before period
    Posted at 10:25h, 21 August

    I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
    Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it
    for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like
    to know where u got this from. thanks a lot

  • https://fakerthanwrestling.co.uk/2020/04/17/looking-back-at-rebellion-2019/
    Posted at 19:25h, 21 August

    Unquestionably believe that which you stated.
    Your favorite reason appeared to be on the web the simplest
    thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they just do not know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal.
    Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

  • 15 คำถามเรื่องเซ็กส์คาใจแบบไร้สาระ ที่ไม่เคยมีใครตอบคุณได้
    Posted at 20:16h, 21 August

    It’s an amazing post for all the online visitors; they will take advantage from
    it I am sure.

  • Ricardo Alberto Senteio Rocon
    Posted at 09:39h, 22 August

    Sempre é gratificante colher o trigo ,do pão nosso de cada dia ,já fiz isso em Great Falls ,Montana em 1972 e jamais esqueço das grandes plantações de cor de ouro .Parabéns pelo seu trabalho Brian .

  • смотреть фильмы онлайн бесплатно
    Posted at 15:34h, 22 August

    смотреть фильмы онлайн бесплатно

  • “The Nirvana” ท่า sex รวบรัด
    Posted at 16:38h, 22 August

    This article is in fact a pleasant one it helps new web viewers,
    who are wishing in favor of blogging.

  • ขยับจากท่า sex แบบ Doggy
    Posted at 00:28h, 23 August

    I visited various websites except the audio feature for
    audio songs current at this website is actually wonderful.

  • Earn Online
    Posted at 04:12h, 27 August

    I just couldn’t depart your site before suggesting that I extremely loved the standard information a person supply to your visitors? Is going to be again regularly to check up on new posts.

  • web hosting an
    Posted at 06:14h, 28 August

    I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally
    well written!

  • Медиатор 6 серия
    Posted at 16:23h, 28 August

    Медиатор 6 серия

  • Новенький 2 сезон 7 серия
    Posted at 11:26h, 29 August

    Новенький 2 сезон 7 серия

  • bit.ly
    Posted at 22:09h, 29 August

    It’s great that you are getting ideas from this piece of writing as well
    as from our argument made at this time.

  • чики 2 сезон
    Posted at 18:31h, 31 August

    чики 2 сезон

  • http://tinyurl.com/
    Posted at 05:04h, 01 September

    We stumbled over here different web address and thought
    I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you.
    Look forward to going over your web page yet again.

  • in asmr
    Posted at 06:54h, 02 September

    Keep on writing, great job!

  • scoliosis surgery with
    Posted at 07:45h, 02 September

    Hey there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I will certainly
    digg it and personally suggest to my friends.
    I am confident they’ll be benefited from this web site.

  • Кино Человек паук
    Posted at 07:31h, 03 September

    38377 848672 https://clck.ru/XEMJK

  • фб
    Posted at 07:41h, 03 September

    фб

  • http://bitly.com/2WShZQd
    Posted at 09:34h, 04 September

    Hi! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with
    us so I came to check it out. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be
    tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and superb
    design.

  • scoliosis surgery on
    Posted at 04:55h, 05 September

    Thanks to my father who informed me regarding this weblog, this website is
    actually amazing.

  • are asmr
    Posted at 18:41h, 05 September

    What i do not understood is actually how you are not really much more neatly-appreciated than you might be right now.

    You’re so intelligent. You recognize thus considerably with regards to this subject, made me in my view imagine
    it from numerous numerous angles. Its like men and women aren’t fascinated unless it is one thing to accomplish with Girl gaga!
    Your own stuffs nice. Always deal with it up!

  • 3172
    Posted at 23:07h, 05 September

    3172