2006-9-2
Just adding pictures. Scroll down for the blog from this stop.
2006-8-2
As of first thing this morning, they had 2,300 acres left to cut.
2006-7-30
Alex called around noon today. He had just finished eating lunch. He said they went to a BBQ today. Every Sunday King Ranch has a huge BBQ for their employees, and the custom cutters were invited. Alex said the food was very good.
They figured up today they have 6,000 acres left to cut. Averaging 1,000 acres a day...Alex will more than likely be home in a week or so.
2006-7-28
We currently have 6 combines- (5) 9760's, (1) 9860sts, (4) 1084 Brents, 8410, 8530, 8430, 8320. There are also probably 15-20 trucks hauling for us.
We have roughly 9000 acres left to cut and if the weather stays dry we should be able to cover 1,000 acres a day. The yield so far for my monitor is showing about 4200lbs./acre.
2006-7-25
I called Alex tonight to see what's going on. They had shut down early tonight due to some rain and were now at some bar playing pool. He figured they cut about 750 acres yesterday with their 5 machines and the milo was yielding around 5000 lbs/ac. Speeds usually go from 3.5 to 5.5 MPH.
Apparently the King ranch is quite a place. It is really one big ranch that is made up of a bunch of smaller ranches. The one they are cutting on is about 62,000 acres. There is a fence around the whole thing, with only 4 ways in and out of the place. Each entrance has a guard shack. All trucks get searched when entering. They check for beer, guns, fishing equipment, and cameras. They even have their own rent-a-cop on site to check for speeding and such. In all, the King ranch has 825,000 acres in the area. Now for comparison, the state of Rhode Island is 1,045 square miles, which converts to 668,800 acres. Basically, the King ranch is 23% larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
As of right now, they've cut about 3,000 acres here, and have another 12,000 to go. Some of the grain gets hauled to the elevator that the King ranch owns. It only has a 400,000 bushel capacity though, so not much goes through it. The rest of the grain gets hauled to Corpus Christy, San Antonio, feed lots, or to shipping ports.
Supposedly some of this land use to be the main testing facility for John Deere. The main shop was a build Deere had built for that purpose. Aside from the milo, there is also a lot of cotton on this ranch. They have their own cotton gin on site too. The sprayers have just started to spray the cotton to kill it, and will begin harvesting it in about 10 days.
They are also picking up a 9860 from a local farmer to run with the fleet. This combine has auto-steer on it, but I don't know how much that will get used. The milo is planted on either 19" or 30" rows, and they usually combine right with the rows. For anyone that has never been around milo (like myself), it causes you to itch all the time. As soon as the sickle cuts it, the stem breaks up into fiberglass-like strands. To add to it, the weather is hot and really humid. Alex says that when they grease the combines up in the morning, it is well above 80 degrees and so humid, that everyone is all sweaty by the time they get done. The highs every day are over 100 degrees. He is just waiting for the day when something breaks at mid-day and he has to be outside in that weather for any length of time.
Again, since cameras aren't allowed on the ranch, don't expect too many pictures from this stop.
2006-7-24
Alex called and said it is really hot down there. They got up early this AM and went right for it. He said he was just going back and forth. He said King Ranch is a neat place. But every time you enter you have to get security clearance. They need to know your name, and your crew name. He said after a lot of questions you get to go on. (Big change from Kansas!)
He said there are currently 5 combines, 4 grain carts, and 1 semi with his crew. Alex said there are also some other semis hauling for them all off of King Ranch.
2006-7-23
Alex left yesterday from Valentine, Nebraska in route to Kingsville, Texas to join the rest of his crew. He decided to go down and cut milo at the King Ranch. There were 3 crew members going. They got a later start yesterday morning than what they had planned. I just got off the phone with him and he was west of San Antonio and was wondering "How much further!" They should be there before dark. They are all tired of driving!
Later that night:
Alex sent me a text message at 8:00pm, and he was sitting at the gate at King's Ranch. He said they would of made it a little sooner, but they blew a tire on the semi around San Antonio.