This week’s readers will find multiple dedicated pages for a summary about the All Aboard Wheat Harvest.
This year saw many challenges for wheat growers and those who harvest those crops. It was memorable for us because it marked 15 years of High Plains Journal bringing readers along on the harvest trail. We receive many positive comments from readers—some of whom live in foreign countries today—about the importance of wheat harvest and why they enjoy reading reports through the eyes of those running the combines, semis, and grain carts.
Harvesters had to split up crews because Mother Nature dictated different terms on how the hard red winter wheat ripened. The harvest crews start in the southern Plains and move northward and several continue up into Montana and North Dakota.
The harvest season looked bleak at the beginning when a dry fall only got worse with an early spring that had no snow or eventful rains. The Wheat Quality Council tour in May shed light on abandoned acres in the breadbasket of America. However, rains did arrive in late May and carried on into June and early July for many along the harvest trail. In some cases, it was not enough to change the outcome of the harvest. For others it led to a bumper crop of weeds that added to the harvest stress.
However, our harvesters, Laura Haffner, Brian Jones, Christy Paplow, and Janel Schemper, continued their tradition of reporting what the yield monitors indicated. There was good news in that the farther north they went they did find pockets of quality wheat. Some of those highlights included an unlikely region—northeast Colorado—where timely rain came in waves and made the crop a bountiful one.
That quality of wheat our harvesters cut will make a difference in feeding the world.
None of this would be possible without the faith of farmers who despite long odds continue to plant wheat and put their trust in God. As consistent as planting wheat in the fall is followed by harvesting wheat in the late spring and summer our readers know there are no two harvests that are identical.
That’s what makes the AAWH campaign a must-read for many subscribers and followers at wwww.allaboardharvest.com. We’re also thankful for the effort made by the harvesters and their crews to have social posts and Facebook lives so readers can get to know them better.
This year we also had a Homemade in the High Plains cookbook under the direction of Field Editor Lacey Vilhauer and Events and Sponsored Content Director Kylie Reiss that provided an opportunity for farm wives and others to contribute recipes that are practical when it comes to feeding harvest crews. We’ve heard many positive comments about the cookbook.
As we close out the 2023 season we are also making plans for the 2024 campaign, which is made possible by sponsors like Unverferth Manufacturing Co. Inc., ITC, New Holland, US Custom Harvesters, Kramer Seeds, and High Plains Journal.
In a few weeks we will debut our third All Aboard Fall Harvest campaign that provides readers a glimpse into the progress of spring planted drops including corn, soybeans, sorghum and cotton. Custom harvesters are at the forefront and once again we’ll be sharing their insight into harvest conditions and yields.
We cannot wait.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
