Laura: Cut, cut, cut

Southern Montana—After the hailstorm debacle listed in the previous post, the weather turned off very hot and dry here east of Billings. With temperatures in the upper 90s and 100s, the crew was able to cut for nearly 10 solid days, and take care of most assigned wheat acres, before the next system moved through.

With good yields up north, it has taken all hands on deck to tackle this job. We even had a former teammate take vacation from his own operation to come help for a few days. It is always good to see former crew members, but even more fun because some of the people who came back this year, were all on the same team together several years ago. It was good to see them all together again.

Interestingly, the heads of wheat were very large here. The standability and threshing condition have been great. Between us and our farmer, yields have averaged anywhere from just under 40 to 70 bushels per acre in the non-hailed fields. Even with the strong yields, proteins have held their own around 12 to 13%.

Below are some drone shots I recently captured.

I’ve found myself on the road quite a bit lately, thanks to shipping delays for parts runs and other needed supplies. I used to dread parts runs when the kids were small. Long periods of time in the car were so hard when solo parenting as was the delicate juggle between meals and naps. However, now that they’re big, it’s much easier, except for the occasional sibling squabble. Sometimes one or both can stay in the field with Dad to cut down on the miles, or assuming it’s not an emergency, we can tie in a little adventure or educational experience to make the miles and expense of travel really count. So for those of you who are doing all the things with littles in tow, be encouraged you’re doing great and it will get easier, eventually. I remember those days well, hang in there.

Lady A after a few rounds in the truck with her dad. 

Endless parts runs are a little more fun with the dealership has popcorn.

And speaking of expense of travel, I never thought I’d say that I’d be excited to see gas at $4.29, but here I am rejoicing in that reality. This has been a very pricey year for traveling and I try to make my trips count whenever I do have to drive.

And while we’re on the topic of parts, I tried to talk the MacDon guys into keeping an idler roller from the header recently so I could use it for workouts. Since it was warrantied, they had to keep the part which was a real bummer. However, a couple days later we had one that wasn’t under warranty need replaced so I got to keep that one. It would be cheaper to have just gone out and bought a real 45-pound weightlifting bar but, hey, as they kids say, reduce, recycle, reuse.

Life is too short to be serious all the time. Here I’m trying to make a case to keep the idler roller. (Courtesy photo.)

Even though they didn’t let me keep my first idler roller—please hear the humor in my voice—I need to give the MacDon team a shout out for being so responsive to our needs and keeping us running. They’ve done a great job with their timely attention and repairs. Same goes for the John Deere Harvest Support Team. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of them. It truly takes a whole community of people working together to make this harvest thing go, and these people put in as much time and miles as anyone.

The MacDon team taking care of business!

Finally, we celebrated some of the summer birthdays the other day. Lady A spent what felt like a painstakingly amount trying to decide on the perfect birthday hats for the crew, because when you’re her age, you can’t have a celebration without hats. She finally chose these little sparkly metallic crowns. Honestly, they probably would have made the perfect cat-sized hats. However, all the guys put them on for her the best they could since the hat company skimped on the string. They were tied to sunglasses, hats, etc. I would include a picture but have decided not to as to not discourage future events like this. Many of them go to great efforts to interact with the kids in their own ways. Sometimes that’s playing catch in the field, we recently had some jump rope and hula-hooping happening at camp, foot races, and some even teach them about tools and repairs. They may think they’re just small gestures, but I can promise you the kids soak up this attention and talk about it all year long. And for them, that’s what harvest is all about for a kid.

Some of the remnants of the birthday celebration and the tiny crowns.  

Lady A helping Cy prepare the tractor and grain cart for a trip home.  

Little Man learning how to work on wheels.  

Lady A and Allister playing catch while Matt and Nate look on waiting for their turn. 

Gabe with some impressive are hula-hooping skills.

Isaac getting in some cardio with a race.

Laura Haffner can be reached at laura@allaboardharvest.com.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest is brought to you by ITC Holdings, CASE IH, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children, US Custom Harvesters Inc., Unverferth Mfg. Co. Inc., Lumivia CPL by Corteva Agriscience, Kramer Seed Farms, and High Plains Journal.

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