Combines Wheat harvest 03

The link works fine, thanks for the pictures too. I guess I'll have to keep quite after the nasty cracks toward me about coops getting into the combine ownership on Ag Online.Glad your wheat yielded above expectations.

Your welcome Don. They are getting kind of rough on you over there at SF. Not sure why they jumped all over you like thatIJ I didn't think you said much wrongIJ Maybe it's just the dog days of summerIJ You still got more to do out westIJ I think I should of took Prevented Planting on all of my ground this year and packed up my truck and trailer and went with you. Would of been money ahead. Keep posting, because I like to read about your travels and adventures. Ilnh

Hey Don, Some of those guys on ag talk I think where just jealous custom cutter guys,you boys do have a real "cut throat" way of doing what we call agricultural contracting!!! I couldn't get over the fact that some outfits with 10 or more combines will just pull into a town in the middle of the wheatbelt and go touting for acres to cut.How can you invest $$$$$$$ working like that and hope to turn a profitIJ

What you said is true sometimes. The biggest problem with undercutting came from Cannadians. Now the US farmer has to deduct and pay the US income tax direct to IRS.Most guys harvesting now have pre agreed contracts to harvest. The problem is weather. I have developed over the years close relationships with customers and have gone back every year to the same farms. Custom harvesting is like another enterprise for us and many other custom harvesters. Most of us farm too. Things have changed a lot in 12 years. Every year we see more semi's,grain carts, 36'even 42' draper headers and larger combines. twin screw tandems are fading away. Many elevators are now buying wheat picked up in the field, and charging the farmer only $.05 to haul it. Custom harvesters can't compete with that cause we need at least $.12. So I haven't even taken a truck out to haul wheat for several years. Our guys can bring in a lot more revenue hauling sweet corn, cabbage, cheese or the like.Just a little insight! You probably know that hauling grain for hire is not profitable. Out west especially they haul mostly for gas money.

Yes, we are getting organized to go to the San,luis valley of Colo. to harvest malt barley contracted to Coors. It's all picked up out of a 15' windrow and yields 100-1700 b_a. They usually start the first week of Aug. and we try to get out of there to get home by Sept. 12-15th. It's like a vacation out there. 8,000 ft., 25% humidity, 75-80 daytime, 40-50 at night, 14,000' montains all around, and good pay for harvesting. It's 1200 miles from here, but my favorite place to be in Aug. There is no corn there just barley, potatoes, alfalfa, some wheat, carrots, lettuce, and various other crops all irrigated w_pivots. This year they have only 80% of normal water. The rainful is nil only 6-7 inches a year.

Sorry I misquoted the yield it should have said 100-170 b_a yield.Also the alfalfa has 200-225 relative feed value compared to ours @125. They put it up in big squares and it goes to big dairies in NM. It's quite a challenge to get in and out of the valley. You have to haul the combines thru la Veta Pass at 9600 ft. There are many stories to tell about or experiences.

NHD, it sounds like you should have some nice photos of working in that valley.Here in Australia except for a few famers' trucks we have been loading into semi's, often road trains for years now as there is no way the truckies could make money with a body truck.