It all started this summer with everyone showing up with high expectations and hopes to gain an experience of a lifetime on the harvest run. We all arrived before the 21st of May, and started to load equipment up for the haul down to Texas. On May 24, 2009, we completed a safe trip down to Burkburnett, Texas. With three 8120's, we cut for a local farmer around there for nine days. On June 2, we moved about an hour west of Burkburnett to a town called Vernon, Texas. One major difference between the two locations was the soil. The soil was sandy at Burkburnett and the soil in Vernon was much redder. After six days of cutting we found ourselves on the move again.

June 9, the crew moved to the town of Alva, Oklahoma. After a couple of days of rain, we were finally able to get into the fields. This is the place where most of the harvest crews start out, so there were many crews spread out around the town. We added another combine to the fleet so now there were three 8120's and one 7088. We were in Alva for a total of two weeks.

June 21, half of the crew moved to Guymon, Oklahoma and the other half to Larned, Kansas. Five days later we loaded up our things and moved closer back home to a town called WaKeeney, Kansas. The other crew moved closer to the shop located around Ellis. After cutting for seven days around the Ellis and WaKeeney areas we finally got a break. We had worked thirteen days straight.

July 8, we all moved to Big Springs, Nebraska. The ground conditions there were wet and caused a lot of pulling out of equipment with the tow rope. After a week of cutting for the local farmer, we loaded up our machines and moved to the town of Sidney, Nebraska. Everyone was excited to shop at the first Cabela's store. In addition to shopping, we harvested wheat for about five days around Sidney.

July 22, we loaded everything up and started to make our way up to Fort Benton, Montana. After taking two travel days we arrived safely and unloaded the equpiment. While in Montana, the crew had the awesome experience of going to Glacier National Park. Sixteen days later we loaded up our things and left towards the Northeast.

August 8, the crew took off and drove to a town called Mohall, North Dakota. This stop was one of Duane's largest stops. We were all excited to cut a new crop, barley. Barley is used in the making of Miller Lite Beer. We also got to experience the cutting of spring wheat. After cutting there for a month it was time to go back to Ellis and get ready for Fall Harvest. It took us two days to travel back to Kansas.

The fall harvest started on the 7th of September in Guymon, Oklahoma, picking high moisture corn for a local feedlot. The feedlot took corn anywhere between 24-32 percent moisture. The crew was divided into two groups of four. This job seemed like it took forever because we could only travel 2.7 mph. After two weeks of cutting corn for Terry Scott, it was time to for the crew to move up north to Gove, Kansas.

From the 2nd of October to the 5th of November, the crew cut milo and corn in Gove. This was the first time we had cut milo. We used the row header. The milo in Gove was the best milo that we saw in the area. The long period of time that we spent out there was because it rained off and on a lot.

The other crew got the excitment of cutting soybeans in Macksville, Kansas. We got a damper on fall harvest because we received some off and on rain showers that didn't allow us to get into the fields. With our free time, Duane scheduled a plant tour of the Grand Island Case IH factory on October 14th. Everyone had a wonderful time going through the plant and would go back in a heartbeat.

We finally got back into the field and got some work done around the 19th of October. Around the 5th of November, both crews got the word that we were coming home for good. November 7th, we started cutting Milo around Wakeeney and Ogallah for local farmers. With four days of cutting with two combines in milo, we were starting to see the end of the crop.

November 11th was the start of cleaning of machines and equipment. After we cleaned the combines and headers, we drove them to Radke's Implement on the Eastside of Hays, Kansas which was about 25 miles.

Thanks again to our customers and our crew!