Kiowa, Kansas: After Paul took a load down to Kansas last week, we finally brought all the rest of the equipment and campers down last Sunday. It was a bit of an eventful trip, though we did make the whole trip to Anthony and Kiowa in one day.
Truck 14 broke down hauling the a grain cart, so it was left parked until Gary could get back after it. He already brought it home, and has fixed it. It sounds like after being overhauled this winter, somehow a piece of plastic got inside and scored a piston. He should be on the road headed back out to Anthony today.
Gary now has a crew in Anthony, and Paul and I have a crew in Kiowa. As we pulled in to Farmers Oil in Anthony to drop stuff off before heading to Kiowa, Cameron pulled in with an AF10 combine from Grand Island, Nebraska. Paul was supposed to get an AF9, but it isn’t ready yet, so Case gave him this one to run until his is ready. It’s really neat, and I can’t wait to see it running in the field. It has a distinctly different appearance next to our 8260’s. Paul said the cab is quite different also, so I imagine it will be a little bit of learning curve to get it figured out.
As we drove down south, we could see the wheat looks really good through Kansas this year. It is also very wet. They have gotten a great amount of rain lately, and it has been really good for the crops. They have needed rain so badly. As much as it’s needed, I’m hoping it will slow down a little so we can get in the field.
In Texas, it’s also been a little slow going. They’ve gotten rain, but have been able to start combining. Wheat there that they’ve cut is averaging about 30 bushels per acre. I believe they should be wrapping up in Wichita Falls soon and will head to Kingfisher next.
As of now, we are just waiting for the rain to quit so we can start combining. The crew has washed everything, put duals on, and fueled all the machines up. It’s just a waiting game now to see when we can get going. Paul thought as soon as it dries out we should be able to start, that will hopefully be in the next couple of days. I think crops here in Kiowa will be great, and I believe they will be great in Anthony this year, too.
