Greenfield, Iowa – I think most of us would agree we are creatures of habit. Changes to our daily routine are often hard, but every once in a while, we welcome change into our life. Sometimes we see the changes coming, and sometimes they blindside us in the most unexpected ways. Springtime is always a season of change, and this year is certainly no exception.
Harvest in Oklahoma will begin in just a few short weeks, and it’s always a chaotic time on our farm. We’re juggling planting fall crops, turning out cow-calf pairs to pasture and preparing for life on the road for the next three months. We can’t help but remember how different things were last year. This week marks the one-year anniversary of the EF4 tornado that tore through our hometown of Greenfield, followed days later by derecho winds that made a mess on our farm. Talk about chaotic change. But they say the comeback is always better than the setback, and rebuilding efforts continue to transform our small town with new homes and businesses being completed every day.
But not all change is as dramatic as a tornado that transforms your town. We’re excited to have made some equipment changes, upgraded draper headers and welcomed a factory-fresh new John Deere combine. Those changes also bring about extra work. Customizing them to fit our life on the road takes extra time, and some physical changes in design and weight has required us to make changes on how they fit on their respective trailers. Changing oil, changing tires and changing out cracked windshields are all changes that are easier to accept than the one change that is unavoidable…getting older. For the four young boys another year seems to have added more energy and helpfulness in preparing to leave. The rest of us are feeling a little more elderly. Longs days have already left us exhausted, and that’s before we’ve even harvested a single acre. A kick from a cow to my right knee last fall still has me hobbling around. Crawling in, around and under equipment now has me wishing to relive some of my more youthful days.
With change comes challenges, and we know we are going to have some of those this summer, too. You can’t talk about wheat harvest without mentioning the weather. The number of acres we have to harvest have already been reduced thanks to dry weather and freeze damage. Paired with other unexpected changes, our current harvest schedule appears to have some large gaps in it. That uncertainty isn’t the best way to start out your 43rd year of harvest, but we know we are not alone. Other crews are facing similar challenges, and we’re all hoping things change for the better as the summer season unfolds.
As the All Aboard Harvest crews prepare to embark on the 2025 seasons, now’s the chance to make a change in your weekly routine and follow along this summer as we head North on the harvest trail. While the crews may have some uncertainty in how it will all unfold, I’m certain you will find our travel tales entertaining. The all too familiar sight of golden grains rustling in the breeze and the smell of fresh cut straw is just around the corner, and we’re glad you’ve chosen to follow along as we share our common love for the harvest.
