16 Dec Kimberly: Our season has come to an end

The snow we received in the middle of our fall harvest slowed us down a little bit, but once it warmed up and started to melt we were able to get back in the field. Once we got back in we were able to cut until we were done. We had received roughly 10 inches of snow but now our ground is brown and our temperatures are above the average temperature. I am definitely not complaining about the no snow and upper 40 degree weather but I would like a little snow for Christmas.

The crews all headed back to Westhope, Finley and Lemmon within the same week and were back home by Thanksgiving.
While the crew was working in other places we left one machine home to start on our own corn. Since we had some employees head home already, Karlie and myself helped out in the field for the past three weeks. I ran the cart while Karlie was in the combine and bringing trucks to our bin. Bentley and Kyler even got in on the action on weekends. Bentley took over the grain cart and Kyler helped at the bin. Bentley even tried to stay home the following week so he could be in the cart.

We finally got to cut the remainder of the beans in Finley and were back home a few days before Thanksgiving after spending a week out there.
Westhope crew also got home right before Thanksgiving. The employees decided they were going to keep going until they were done. So, the last day they ran until midnight, got up the next day and loaded the equipment and made it home.

The Lemmon, South Dakota, crew came home for Thanksgiving and headed back down to get the equipment loaded and were back in the shop yard the next day. All of our equipment made it home before Dec. 1. We had 7 employees that stayed for Thanksgiving and a few left shortly after. 

We still had a few days left for our own corn so we had five employees stay until we were completely done. We finished our corn at noon on Dec. 1. We currently have two employees left and a few that might come back after the holidays to help in the shop or drive truck.

Even with alot of rain delays, snow and a long drug out fall it was a great season. We spent 198 days on the road and will be back at it in roughly 169 days. Now it’s time to relax, spend time with our families and after the holidays we will start working on equipment for next season. 

Kimberly Neumiller can be reached at kimberly@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.