14 Oct Christy: Spread thin

Worthington, Minnesota—Worthington, Minnesota, is where we are based, yet not where all our machines are currently combining. Just here by home, we have three crews working between Round Lake, and Sioux Valley, Minnesota, and Hartley, Iowa. We also have a crew by Elkton and Roscoe, South Dakota. It’s a lot to keep up with, but I’ll give you the best run down I can.

Before we started running consistently, the rain did afford us a nice supper at our home. We had the crew by Worthington over for a hot meal and great conversation. It was really nice to have a relaxed setting for a good meal. After that—we’ve been working pretty hard.

We wrapped up beans by Hartley, Iowa. They were really awesome beans. Definitely the tallest I’ve seen in some time. Towards the Sanborn, Melvin, area rain fall helped to produce 70 to 80 bushel beans. Back by Hartley, the beans were still very good averaging around 60 to 70 bushels. Cameron is heading up our crew there, and I think he’s happy to see the switch to corn. It means we’re that much closer to the end.

By Sioux Valley, we are finishing the last bit of beans for the farmer we started beans for in early September. Maybe it’s taken a month, but I’m happy to see that will end and we can move over full-time to corn.

Out in Roscoe, South Dakota, Patrick is working on beans. They are averaging 45 to 55 bushels per acre, but it’s been pretty slow going. It’s been rainy, with wet mornings, fog and still running into beans that just aren’t ready yet. Hopefully they’ll be able get done with beans sometime soon and be able to switch over to corn as well.

By Elkton, South Dakota, beans are pretty close to being finished, but Gary has switched to corn for a while and is seeing awesome yields there as well. Corn is averaging 182 to 200 bushels per acre. We still have quite a few acres to work through before he sees the end in that area, but it’s good to get a few corn acres in now.

As soon as beans are wrapped up all over, we’ll be able to park a couple machines, and have a couple operators jump in trucks. So far fall is moving well, if a little on the slow side this year. The weather has been a lot wetter this year than last, and has held us up a bit. But the sun is shining today, and all crews should hopefully be able to put in a good day.

Christy Paplow can be reached at christy@allaboardharvest.com.

Thank you to our 2023 All Aboard Fall Harvest sponsors: High Plains Journal, Unverferth Manufacturing Co., Inc., Pivot Bio, T-L Irrigation, ITC Holdings, Corp., Trail King, and U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc.