Lefebure.com / Farming / 2005 Alex / Introduction
2005-5-16
I finished my last day of school today so I'm ready to graduate. I will graduate on Saturday May 21st at 7:30pm then have a reception following and then our senior party. I will spend my last day with my family and friends Sunday before heading off Monday.
I called Tom last night (5-15-2005) and he said that they have moved some machines down to Texas already and that there is some wheat that will be ready by the end of this week. I presumed he was talking about Texas because he said that was our first stop and that's what I've been going by. I've read reports that in Frederick the wheat is a little over a week away as well so who knows.
I won't have my full CDL until June or July sometime when we're around here cutting and we have an off day or a day to go take it. They have some other guys that have taken it and gotten it out of the way so I think I will be one of a few that do that this summer.
I have to go see Tom either Wednesday morning but probably Thursday all day to line stuff up and get that ready, then Friday I will probably spend in Hays getting everything I need for harvest, jeans socks underwear the whole 9 yards. I shouldn't need much though just the basics then I should be all but ready to leave.
I was told that in addition to our stop in Oberlin, KS this year, we will also be making a stop in Atwood, KS as well. This actually worked out quite well because my cousin told me when I was out there to enroll in college at Colby that he was looking for a new custom cutter and asked what our rates were but to make a long story short, I called him last night and gave him Tom's number and so maybe I will get to cut some of my own family's ground on the run and get to go "Home". Our farm and the ground we'd be cutting on is 23 miles southeast of Atwood and 23 miles northeast of Colby so out in the middle of nowhere.
2005-5-12
Lance here - I e-mailed Alex a few days ago to see what's up - he has been very busy. He has about a week of school left, a few days off, then graduation. After that, he's southbound. The crop report for the area (NW Kansas) is that almost all the corn has been planted. Some of the farmers are beginning to plant soybeans and milo. Apparently many of the custom harvesters are beginning to move combines south as well - Alex has seen many of them going through Russell, which is one of the major routes the harvesters take. If you're not around the custom harvesting business, you would think that there has to be a hundred ways to get from North to South, but there are really only a couple roads that all of the custom harvesters take. A good route requires nice roads with little traffic, wide bridges, and towns that have streets wide enough to haul combines through. Low power lines and sharp corners don't fare well when you have a wide/tall combine on a long trailer.
2005-4-24
- Projection
I was told we will be running 12 John Deere combines, 6 9760sts 6 9660sts, but that will change as the harvest goes along, as we have a couple 9650sts right now that will be traded off along the harvest route for new 9660sts. I was told also that it won't be unusual for us to have 15 or 16 combines at some point along the run. We have 4 grain karts, 1084 Brent, 1040 Kinze, 1050 Kinze, and a 1,000 bushel Kilbros. We have 2 service trucks, and probably 10-15 semis. We just recently bought out another harvester which is why we have 2 service trucks and expanded a little from last year, this is stuff I have been told about last year. We only have 4 drapers right now, not sure if that will change or not but 4 now, and the rest 30ft. platforms, both flex and rigid. We will start our run just south of Fort Worth TX, which I think I'll miss that stop due to me still being in school, but then they have another stop north of Fort Worth that I may get to join them at. I think our next stop is in Alva, OK. My uncle is head sales manager for the JD dealership there, so that will be a fun stop I hope. We then proceed to home, Ellinwood KS for our second largest stop. We will then move on to Oberlin KS. From Oberlin we will move to South Dakota for our largest stop (12,000-15,000 acres). I will probably have to leave while we are running in this area so it will be the last update on my blog. I might have some videos but I don't know, I will for sure have some pictures though.
- Fast Forward
In the beginning of April I ventured down to Ellinwood, about 75 minutes from Russell. I got to meet Tom's foreman Taff. Taff was from overseas and came over about 10 years ago and liked it so much he stayed and has been with Tom ever since. He's a nice guy as is Tom. I looked around and got my CDL book so I could start studying. Well then on April 21 I skipped my first hour class of school to go take my written test, which I passed with Doubles/Triples/Combination/Air Brakes endorsements. I have my instructional permit right now, but will have my full CDL in about 2 weeks when I go to Hays and take my driving test. I practiced in a '96 Peterbuilt semi with a 9 speed transmission. It wasn't too bad, I had a little trouble downshifting but upshifting is pretty easy. It was hard to not use the clutch as you would with a pickup or car. It's not that hard when you get used to it. This coming weekend (April 30) I am going back down there to practice again with a trailer this time, and was told I will get to haul some corn locally. So that should be fun driving by myself, which I was told I would get too.
- Background
My name is Alex Ryan. I recently turned 18 and decided I wanted to go on the harvest run, I've heard so many stories that I just couldn't say no. Well I figured I better find some stuff out and figure out who I want to go with. My search started in November of 2004 after I made up my mind I wanted to do it, so I began reading about various harvest crews and sending out emails to prospective employers and waited. I told them about my shortened season due to me leaving for college, which I will be attending Colby Community College in Colby, KS. Many employers told me they would rather me go full season but would see if they needed me. I tried Johnson's like Lance had and got the same response, which I understand. I finally got an email in January from Tom & Jolene Snell of Ellinwood KS. They told me my season would work out great for them and that they were really interested in me, so I followed through with it. I started the process and called Tom a few times, and got things underway.
