Harvesting crews

Gleanerk2 · Jan 14, 2016

Anybody on here work on a wheat harvesting crew at some point in thier life? I shoulda did it I think when I had the chance!

Dick2 · Jan 14, 2016

I wasn't interested in sitting out in the heat and the dust back when I was young. If I was that age now, I would climb in an air conditioned cab and enjoy every minute of it.

CumminsMan · Jan 14, 2016

I did in 2000, between sophmore and junior years of college. Hermesch Harvesting, Coweta OK. Lots of work, but lots of fun too.

Ozlander · Jan 14, 2016

Union City, OK to Minot, ND.
1960, mostly fun, good times, interesting beer joints.
Prayed for rain, then prayed for it to stop raining.
Had my Harley with us. Made for going to town most every night.
Buddy was a talker, never met somebody he couldn't talk to.
Went to Canada while in ND. Border crossing was like to the next county.

farmboy48 · Jan 14, 2016

Summer of 1964 and 65 worked the harvest from Crowell, Texas to central ND. Two super 92's and 2 410 Masseys. Two converted school buses to sleep in. Lots of fun, hard work too. Bosses wife brought lunch to field every day, always iced tea to drink. Can't stand to drink the stuff yet. Oklahoma girls were the most fun.... We had an alcoholic working with us, and when we were in dry counties, he always bought a half dozen bottles of Mennen Skin Bracer after shave every morning and drank them throughout the day.

retired farmer · Jan 14, 2016

I did back in 2000 in the Texas panhandle. I stood it for three weeks before I quit. Might have lasted longer if I would have worked for a different guy.

dr sportster · Jan 14, 2016

Oh man, couldn't he just stock up in a wet county. UUgh.

Bobl1958 · Jan 14, 2016

I never actually worked on a Custom Crew, but through my late Grade School and High School years in the very late 60's through the 70's my Dad and Uncle farmed about 3500 acres, most of which were wheat in Central KS. Later through High School years they had JD 95, JD 6600, and a JD 7700 combines that we would spend close to two weeks running from mid morning to sometimes midnight or one or two in the morning if the wind was blowing. The local elevator would stay open until midnight, and then we would spend the rest of the time loading all the trucks and grain cart.
That was a long two weeks to a Highschooler, and then when we were done with all of ours, they would spend another week or so Custom Cutting for the neighbors if the Custom crews were not here yet, or had blown on through. Every day seemed like forever once we were done with our own.
My Dad and Uncle did not believe in shutting combines down if they could be running. There was certainly no time to go to town. I was driving a two ton truck to the elevator months before I ever had a Learners Permit. Lucky to have never been caught...lol! Bob

bigbob1939 · Jan 14, 2016

I did 1976. Wititha KS to Dupre SD. 2 gleaner K2's. Camp trailer to stay in, long hours, lots of fun at times, prayed for rain to get a break, then aftervsetting for days because of rain prayed for it to stop.

K Effective · Jan 14, 2016

A friend of mine, his son is kinda doing the same right now. As soon as they finished harvest and got things under control at home, he headed for Australia, and is working on farms there through the Winter. Seems as though he works through a labor service, as I heard the first guy he worked for did not work out, and he was reassigned. Second year he has been there, his sister is going to visit this year, as well. Not quite sure they are in harvest yet. Think he is spraying now, I should check in with his Dad, but as he is also a high school basketball coach, this time is kinda busy for him.

f2355j · Jan 14, 2016

One fall in about 1972 i went to Iowa (Story City area) and worked for a farmer who did custom work started driving chevy truck to elevators till he was confident I could run JD6600 then ran the combine. He was a German fella but really liked working in the Norwegen areas best becuz they fed better. Must have been low keyed operation as we went to house of farm we were working at for about a 45 min lunch. Great time!!

BT in NE · Jan 14, 2016

I went on wheat harvest in 2000, and again in 2004. I loved it. As far as I am concerned, it all matters who you choose to go with. The crew I worked with all got along and were good people. If I didn't have so many irons in the fire anymore, I'd like to go again. BT

rockyridgefarm · Jan 14, 2016

I went in 2000 with Eaton Enterprises out of Scott City KS. We went from Oklahoma to Idaho with 4 John Deere 9660 conventional combines and 2 9660 STS combines. Gary Frank was the boss and he was a good guy. That was the first year the STS combines came out. The dealerships must have been out half a dozen times through the season changing this and that on those machines.

fixerupper · Jan 14, 2016

I did the wheat harvest off and on with a crew run by a neighbor here in Iowa every year for 13 years. Went from SW Oklahoma to Kansas to Nebraska, Colorado, then to Idaho and finally Saskatchewan. Drove combine six or seven of those years, hauled combines all over the country, hauled wheat and for the last few years cranked wrenches on combines and trucks. I did not like the heat, itch, lack of sleep but loved the country and all the people I met. Would I do it again? If I was younger and didn't have as much responsibility here at home I would go in a heartbeat. One cutter keeps pestering me to come out to run a combine for a couple of weeks but I don't think I could take the long hours anymore. Some day I would like to go back to that country and knock on doors to say hi to all of the friends I made.

fixerupper · Jan 14, 2016

Farmboy, when my son went on the harvest straight out of high school he commented about the Oklahoma girls too. I think it's that Oklahoma accent. One year when we were cutting near the Oklahoma panhandle the girl working the scale at the elevator had the hots for one of our guys. She was really good looking but our guy just ignored her. Later I found out she was a diehard Sooners fan and he was a diehard Iowa State fan. Sheesh!

It was in that area that I saw parked along a fence a Deere 730 propane standard with no three point hitch, no arms or nothing. I wanted so bad to hop the fence to have a look at it but I was afraid the owner might see me and sick his dog on me or pepper me with buckshot.

fixerupper · Jan 14, 2016

BT, I knew of at least one harvest outfit owner who made the crew sign a paper stating if a crew member left early he would not receive pay for the days he put in. The crew was paid a lump at the end of the run with no advances if they made it that far. But there were others who had top notch equipment and were very generous to the crew members.

NEKS · Jan 14, 2016

The day after graduating from high school was driving a 56 chev two ton with a new super 92 going to Billings, OK. This was in 1962. Seems like 81 highway took us right though the middle of Wichita. No cabs, no grain carts(what is that). Would be eating supper at 11:00 at night. Up at 6:30 to eat and grease machine before dew went off. It rained and rained and before I quite had most of the machines at Lyons, Ks. and a few at Billings, OK. yet.

Jaden · Jan 14, 2016

The summer of 1966 I went, starting near Charlie, Tx, then to Medford, OK, then Spearman, Tx, Syracuse,Ks, Goodland, KS, Big Springs, NE, Red Field, SD. Owner had 4 Massey 410's, no cabs because hauled on the truck would have made them too high. I drove trucks. Didn't make much money for all the hours, but it was a great experience.

01gentdc · Jan 15, 2016

wisht I had another lifetime to live ,, fresh out of hi school I woulda dropt and hopt on a combine in a heartbreat ,,. BUT in 1975 , my guidance counselor wanted me to go to Purdue ,, BUT ,I had 350 hogs on feed that workt very slik,.. I had the same fast gorgeous girlfriend for 2 yrs non stop who soon became my wife , plus a job framing houses and home improvement,..about the only thing I coulda took with me to the combine races woulda been my motorcycle

unc · Jan 15, 2016

In the 80's through the mid 90's, I drove grain truck for my buddy, who ran a custom outfit, silaging and combining in the Alberta foothills. He ran a good outfit, good machinery, good meals, good people. For small grains, we ran a mixture of 914s, 1480s, 1482s, and once, a White, which disintegrated. As others have said, if I were younger or had less irons in the fire, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The boss and I are firm friends to this day.

Harvesting crews

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