Oklahoma-We just finished cutting wheat here June 12 and, overall, I cut quite a bit of short wheat in Oklahoma this year. Short wheat means the header is nearly constantly in the dirt. I don't know how many times I had to get out of the combine and dig dirt out of the header. We've cut wheat recently that made anywhere from 20 to 40 bushels per acre. The test weights have been around 58 and 59 pounds per bushel. There was some dock on sprout damage. The wheat had been rained on several times in the

Northern Oklahoma—The boys are back in town.

You may recall I recently toured All Aboard Wheat Harvest’s sponsor, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children’s Edmond campus, the Boys Ranch Town. It was wonderful to be able to see the facilities and really get a feel for what opportunities are available to youth at the site. It really helped further my connection to the program and prepare for their upcoming visit.

On Saturday, June 11, we had the privilege of hosting two youth from the Boys Ranch Town, David and Blaze, with their sponsor, BJ, ranch operations manager at the campus.



Blaze

Thomas, Oklahoma-The equipment is no longer new. Straw, chaff and the dust swirl around the machines as they make their way across the first field for the season. We squint through smudged windshields as we drive into the setting sun. The unmistakable red mud of Oklahoma sticks to the wheels of the machines. Yield monitors are configured, settings have been adjusted, and a semi is headed to town to deliver our first load. This may be the 40th time we have harvested on "the first day," but the mood is always a little tense those first few hours. We

Northern Oklahoma-Cheers to being back in the field.



Wow! Who would have thought the weather would have turned out like it has considering how terribly droughty it has been. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised because, more often than not, harvest has brought heavy rains to the run. However, these storms often yielded more than what was forecasted.

We had been out of the field for over a week. That’s enough time to allow your mind to think through all the possible scenarios of delay complications as you watch days tick by. Dwelling too long can lead to an unhealthy

Kingfisher, Oklahoma-Well, if you followed along last year, you’ll remember I didn’t quite make Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children’s visit last year due to some major pickup issues. This year, everything went well and we had an amazing visit with two pretty special kids. OBHC even brought us lunch, and a great lunch at that. They picked up some delicious bacon cheeseburgers from Braums.



Jim brought Phoenix and Dalton from the Boys Ranch Town in Edmond, Oklahoma. The BRT is one of four extensions of the OBHC. These kids come from various backgrounds and learn some really helpful strategies

Southwest Oklahoma–It’s June 6 and I’m still at first stop on wheat harvest. Here I thought we’d be in and out of here so fast but once again we get here and it rains and the wheat harvest is delayed. We’ve been cutting off and on and playing the waiting game due to the rain. The farmers here are happy with the rain because it’s great for their corn, cotton and peanut crops. All of the custom harvesters want to go south for wheat harvest and have a great start but sometimes it’s just a dream and a wish. However