South central Montana—Moving days are stressful and the responsibility great. There are just so many wheels on the ground (142 on this day, to be exact), many miles, large equipment, potential obstacles to navigate and, most importantly, safety. We want our teams and equipment to arrive at their destinations in one piece, but are also concerned for the well being for those traveling around us.
As stressful as it is, there is also excitement around move day. The noises and the smells just add to it. There’s the low rumble of the engines, the smell of diesel in the air
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Onida, South Dakota—They say everything is bigger in Texas. Maybe that's true. But when it comes to the sheer scale of harvest, nothing seems to compare to South Dakota. Every aspect of the harvest is supersized here. Bigger than Texas? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that. Lets just say they both are really big and leave it at that.
The wide open spaces of South Dakota can seem endless some times. Wheat meets sky, the uninterrupted horizon stretching endlessly in every direction.
Even the wait to begin harvest this year was supersized. The crew sat
Being part of a harvest crew is an experience that cannot be cheated or duplicated. You have to travel the trail yourself to truly understand why we all rant and rave about it.
I’ve done both. I’ve been the daughter of the owner of the crew and been the hired hand on a crew. I can’t change your genetics but I can give you this neatly packaged little list to help you gain perspective but, most importantly, provide a solid pro-harvest argument.
I’ll try to keep it more sassy, less sappy.
1. Get out of that dusty hometown
North central Montana—Ever heard the phrase been there done that? I've been told for many years by my parents that they'd never go back to Montana to cut wheat. So never in my life did I think I'd be harvesting in Montana. I’m here and it’s been quite the change from the Dakotas, which are my favorite on my harvest run. Almost my whole life we’ve always rushed to South Dakota to cut winter wheat just as soon as we finished up in western Nebraska. This year we had no winter wheat to cut in South Dakota
Montana—Ryan has large, great family. Mine is a lot smaller, and I may be biased, but I think they are wonderful people as well. We love getting together with them whenever possible. With that information, you may think we have all the family we need. However, even though my heart is full, that doesn’t mean its maxed out. There’s always room for more! And that’s what often happens with the crew. They can become an extension of family.
It's easy to see how that can happen. We live in close proximity day in and day out, sometimes share meals
I am reporting from good ol’ Grafton, North Dakota. Not to come out the gate whining but, man, is it saturated up here. I wish we could send some of this stuff down the wheat belt because, well … sharing is caring. Harvest is getting closer but not enough to cause a panic just yet. Here at True North Equipment, we are doing different trainings and walk-arounds with the shiny new 2021 HD40R header on the lot as well as a 2020 S780 combine to get everyone in the mood. Let us hope my speaking skills are as up