Mark Anderson - Anderson Harvesting LLC

Good Morning! Today we welcome Mark Anderson. Mark is the owner of his very own harvesting business!

Greetings everyone, my name is Mark Anderson. I’m twenty-seven years old and run my own custom harvesting operation in Western Nebraska also known as the Panhandle of Nebraska. My business is headquartered out of Bridgeport Nebraska, a town of about 1,500 people where I went to high school.

I have always had a passion for farming and I’m sure that comes from my family’s history in the business. My great-great-grandfather homesteaded along the North Platte River in the late 1890’s in an area South-east of Broadwater, Nebraska. However, when he settled in the area the town of Broadwater had not been established yet. Broadwater did not come into existence until the railroad came through in 1909 and was on the north side of the river.

In those very early days, my great-great-grandfather had to travel via horse to the town of Sidney, Nebraska, about 40 miles south. I can’t even begin to imagine what things were like in those very early days. Over 100 years later the original Homesteaders dead hangs in my grandfather’s office and the land is still part of the family’s farm, ranch, and feedlot operation. Today the family operation is run but my grandfather, my dad, and my uncle. Two of my brothers, one cousin, and I are also involved with the family business.

After I graduated high school, I went to a technical college in the Denver, Colorado area. For about five years I lived and worked in the Denver area. I spent about four years working a corporate job which was a very good learning experience for me, but it was obvious to me that I missed the farm. Growing up I watched my grandfather dad and uncle make the big decisions for our operation over coffee every day. I was never able to grasp the seemingly endless meeting process it took to get equivalent decisions made in the corporate world.

In 2009 one of the individuals that had been cutting silage in Western Nebraska retired. This was the opportunity I had always been looking for. With a loan from my dad and John Deere I started Anderson Harvesting.

Growing up in the area helped me get on my feet because I knew most of the feedlot operators in the area. The first few years were definitely a learning experience for me. Learning how to manage people as well as my time took some time. I had taken classes in college related to time and people management, but nothing really prepares you for managing both in harvest. Those of you in agriculture I’m sure can relate to what I’m saying.

In 2011 I added a second forage harvester to my operation which brought on a completely new list of challenges. I soon found out that trying to manage one machine from the cab of another was a brand new game. I still enjoyed all most every minute of it because now it was a new level of logistics management. Plus both machines were always in different locations.

In 2012 my business continued to grow and I upgraded my original machine to my first Claas forage harvester. With the onset of the drought that we are still currently suffering from the demand for silage was incredible. For the first time since I started the business I had to turn work down. I never thought I would utter those words,“I’m too busy.” I had lost jobs in the past because the competition got there first, but never had I told someone that I couldn’t get there.

Last year was the first year that I really ever had a major problem with one of my forage harvesters and over the course of a week I had a major problem with both of them. On Monday my machine had a bearing failure. Not that uncommon on these high horsepower machines. By Tuesday the issue was resolved. Tuesday night as I was relocating my machine a piece of weather stripping went through the radiator fan on my machine taking ever blade off of the fan. Buy Wednesday night we had a new fan installed and got back to work on Thursday. Friday my machine had an engine failure and had to be shipped back to my dealer for repair. Sounds like a rough week, but unfortunately, the week wasn’t over. On Saturday my second machine fell in a sinkhole and broke the front axle. It too had to be sent in to the dealer for repairs.

In the course of two days I had gone from two machines to only one. I still had my second machine from the year before and with the help of my dealer, I had a loaner machine by Sunday to replace mine. That week was probably the most trying week I have had since I started this business. Looking back now it’s funny to laugh at it and smile knowing that we made it through.

A typical day in harvest begins around 5-6 in the morning. Having serviced the machines the night before we normally like to be in the fields cutting by 7-8 a.m.. Most of my mornings involve calls from customers wanting to know when we’ll be at their place and truckers trying to figure out how to get to the next field. By mid afternoon everything settles down and a natural rhythm to harvest sets in. The trucks are all in sync and everything just flows. This is the time of the day I absolutely love. The main reason I wanted to be in this business, to drive forage harvesters. At the end of the day the equipment is blown down, fueled up, and service ready to go again the next day.

The one thing I hope people understand about my operation and farming/ranching in general is how much time, effort, and money people in these business have to devote to their operations. Ranching especially is a year round job. There are no holidays, sick days, or vacations. The livestock have to be cared for by someone every day. The work involved in raising a successful crop, be it food or livestock, is tough work. It commonly involves long hours and tough conditions. It has to be done in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The money involved in agriculture is also a factor. It takes large investments every year in the hope that it pays out in the end.

I really hope that by telling our stories that we can give people a better understanding of where our food comes from and what it takes to get it to your table. That’s why I’m proud to share my story in hope that it gives you a better picture of modern farming practices and encourages you to thank a farmer when you have the opportunity. Thank you for reading.

Thank you Mark for a great feature! We wish you much success! You can learn more about his operation by checking out his Facebook Page , Youtube Channel and visiting his website.

How are you involved in agriculture? We want your story. YOU could be the next FOA feature! Contact us today!

Anne of Feedyard Foodie

Today we welcome Anne from Feedyard Foodie! Anne runs a cattle feed yard operation while her husband farms, and together they raise three daughters in Nebraska. Welcome Anne! 

My life changed the night of October 31, 1993. I was a city girl athlete and freshman at Dartmouth College. My girlfriends and I were bending college rules and attending a fraternity party on campus. Amidst games of ping pong, laughter, and loud music I looked across the room and my world jolted just a little bit. He smiled at me and his beautiful blue eyes drew me in.

Just six weeks earlier, my mom’s parting words as I boarded a plane for college were “Anne, stay away from those senior boys”. Somehow, during the ensuing weeks, those words were lost in the love that bloomed between the football player farm boy from Nebraska and the swimmer girl from South Florida. 

We married in June of 1996 and moved back to the farm in Nebraska a year later: Matt with his masters degree in Engineering and Business, and I with a BA in psychology. We passed on higher paying city jobs, choosing instead a rural lifestyle working in agriculture. Sixteen years later, we have added three daughters to the mix of cattle and crops, but we continue to make our lives in partnership with the land in Dawson County Nebraska.

The first thing that I learned when I moved to Nebraska was to buy a hooded sweatshirt to combat the wind, the second was how to “run” a scoop shovel at the cattle feed yard. A farmer and an engineer, Matt went to work on the crop side of the farm growing alfalfa, corn, wheat and soybeans; and dehydrating the majority of the alfalfa into animal feed called dehy pellets. Today, he farms approximately 5000 acres in the Platte River Valley and is a partner in a nationwide alfalfa distribution company, http://alfagreensupreme.com. 

 
Matt had no interest in the family’s cattle feed yard, and I had always loved animals so I asked my father-in-law if I could go to work at the feed yard. When he finished laughing in surprise at my request, he gave me an hourly wage job and I put on my blue jeans and went to work. 

· I learned to read bunks and run the feed truck.
· I learned to ride pens and check cattle health.
· I learned to administer animal health products and be a member of the processing team.
· I learned the book work and the business side of running a feed yard. 

Most importantly, I learned that working with your hands to care for animals was incredibly rewarding. In the years that followed, I added cattle buyer to the mix and today I procure 90% of the cattle that are fed at Will Feed, Inc. In the early 2000’s, I became involved in U.S. Premium Beef’s Age and Source Verified pilot PVP program and began tracing cattle from the ranch all of the way to the packing plant.

In my years spent as cattle buyer, I have met some of the finest people that I have ever known. I established relationships with ranchers who were interested in tracing their cattle and tracking performance. As a result, I transitioned the feed yard philosophy to a concept of vertical collaboration: channeling performance and management information on cattle up and down the production chain. 

A psychologist at heart, I strive each day to gain a better understanding of both the cattle that I raise and the people who benefit from them. I have instilled a philosophy of low stress cattle handling and Beef Quality Assurance at the yard, turning the focus to high quality holistic animal care. In the spring of 2011 I looked outside of my farm and launched a consumer focused blog http://feedyardfoodie.com in order to make my cattle feed yard transparent to all of those great folks who eat beef!

Last year, Feed Yard Foodie reached more than 70,000 people as I answered questions about beef production and talked about our family and our farm. Blogging has not only allowed curious visitors to view life in a feed yard, but it has also made me a better cattle feed yard manager. The virtual perspective of my readers constantly pushes me to offer better care to my animals and raise awareness of food quality and safety. 

I do not know what the next sixteen years has in store for Matt and I and our daughters, but I can attest to the fact that the previous sixteen years has made me a true Nebraskan at heart as well as a passionate advocate for agriculture. I often find myself thinking of this mantra from Winston Churchill: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts…

Thanks to Anne for giving us the honor to share her story on the Faces of Agriculture blog today! If you have any questions about beef or how your food is raised we encourage you to contact Anne! You can also learn more by visiting her blog, Facebook page, and twitter! 

If you or someone you know is involved in agriculture and would like to share your story, please contact us today! You could be the next Face of Agriculture! 

The Road to Ranching

Today we welcome Shelli Mader. She writes to us about her parent's road to ranching and how agriculture has been part of her life. Her story is one that I think a lot of people can relate to in agriculture. She also offers advice for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Like a lot of young couples who grew up in the country, my parents wanted to farm and ranch when they got out of high school. Unfortunately, even though both sets of my grandparents farmed, neither place was big enough to support another family. My parents had to find a way to start farming on their own.

The summer after they both graduated high school my mom started work in town while my dad helped his dad farm. That fall my dad started working with mom’s dad and her brother on some construction jobs. What was supposed to be a few days ‘work turned into a few years’ worth of construction for him.

My dad was focused on saving up for his farming goal, so when he wasn’t doing construction work he picked up odd jobs roofing, pouring concrete, digging basements and hauling hogs. In 1980 my parents got married. Just over a year after that, my mom’s dad and her brother stopped doing the construction work to start a dairy farm. My parents joined them.

My dad thought that having a dairy might be the best way for him to get into farming, so he was excited about the prospect. I was born just a few months after they started and it became apparent pretty quickly that even though my mom was working, my dad needed to get another job too. He called up a guy that was in the oilfield and started contract oil well pumping on the side.

The dairy lasted for about 2 years until my uncle and grandpa decided that they wanted to sell. My grandpa sold everything for just enough money to pay off the note – less than a year before the big government dairy cattle buy out that would have gotten $3,000 a head. My parents walked away from the dairy a few years older, but not any closer to their farming dream.

Thankfully, my dad had started the contract oil well pumping, so he had a decent job. He and my mom bought some dairy heifers with the goal of getting back into the dairy business someday. But that summer during wheat harvest, when my dad was helping his dad work on a combine he got a piece of metal in his eye. He was laid up for almost a month and lost most of the vision in that eye. He was able to keep his contract job with the help of some other pumpers and my mom driving him around to the wells.

But by the time he healed, oil field production and his contract work slowed some. Just after that though, a local gas plant hired him for 2 weeks to overhaul an engine. The work at the plant continued and he was able to keep his contract work too.

My folks decided to sell heifers with the plan to use that money to make a down payment on a place. Unfortunately, that spring taxes took all of the money they earned from the sale. But, like most of my parent’s story, there was another opportunity waiting for them.

About that time my parents found some pasture to rent, so they were able to get a loan to get their first 12 cows. The day they bought those cows was one of their most exciting. I was only 6, but I still remember it. They bought some black and red Chianina cross cows. We named them all and spent a lot of time driving around the pasture admiring them.

About a year later, my parents bought their first farm – a place in Lyman Nebraska. I think we were all excited about moving up there (my folks had 3 kids by then) and we were even trying to figure out which bedroom in the house was going to be whose. But, the place turned into more of a headache than a blessing for my folks. Problems with the rental house and irrigation were a financial drain. Worst of all, we couldn’t move up there – my dad’s job wasn’t easily transferred and he couldn’t find another good one in Nebraska.

Owning a farm and yet not being able to farm it wasn’t my parents’ idea of being farmers. Yet, once again, there was another, unexpected opportunity waiting for them at just the right time.

During the late 1980s my parents bought their first farm – a place near Lyman, Nebraska. Though they were excited to own their own land, they spent the rest of that decade and the early 90s trying to find a way to actually farm their own place.

Meanwhile, back in Strasburg, Colorado my parents rented a little country house about 15 miles from town. My dad continued the contract pumping business he’d started during his dairy farming days and my mom did his business paperwork and stayed home to take care of my sister, brother and me.They continued to rent the pasture land they’d found a few years earlier and built their cattle herd up from 12 to 20 head.

In 1991, just after my third sibling was born, it worked out for us to move to another rental house about 10 miles south of Strasburg.My grandpa and grandma lived just a mile up the road from it and my grandparented and farmed the place the house was on.

By 1993, it was apparent that it wasn’t ever going to work for my folks to move to the place in Nebraska –my dad couldn’t find a decent job there – so my parents decided to sell it and look for another farm. 

The selling process took three years, but they finally found an unexpected buyer – a foster family living in downtown Denver. The couple bought the place, pending the sale of their house near Washington Park.

About that time my grandpa decided to retire, and the landowner’s son planned to take over for him and farm the place our rented house sat on. My parents knew that they were going to have to move soon, so they eagerly searched for a new place to live.

They looked at several farms to buy in Nebraska and Kansas. Our favorite (well, the one I actually liked best was near Great Bend because it included a horse with purchase) was a farm near Smith Center, Kansas. The place had a big, beautiful, older two-story house and some crop and grassland. We were all pretty excited about it – so much in fact, my parents wanted to put a contract on it. But, the seller wouldn’t let them put any kind of claim on the place until the sale of their Nebraska farm was final.

The house and most of the land on the Smith Center place sold just 2 weeks later. We were all bummed about it, but in hindsight it turned out to be a blessing.

It took a few months to find out why so many things hadn’t worked out for my folks, but later that year my dad got an unexpected call from the landowner. Her son no longer wanted to farm the place, so she offered to lease it to my folks.

My parents graciously accepted the completely unexpected offer. And thanks to the sale of the Nebraska place, they had money saved to make a down payment on machinery.

Now it’s been nearly 17 years since my folks started farming the place south of Strasburg. They both acknowledge that they never could have begun or expanded their operation without the help of friends, neighbors and other area farmers who offered them support, help and opportunities to rent land. My folks always wanted to move out of the busy Colorado Front Range area, but looking back, there was no better place for them to get a start.

Today, my parents’life isn’t ideal – my dad still has to work a full-time job contract pumping oil wells in addition to running the place (he’d love to just farm and ranch) and my mom works full time too – but they are both grateful to get to be people who are living their dream.

Lessons I learned from my Parents’ Road to Ranching
My parent’s farming and ranching story gives me hope that the ranching dream is still possible. My folks didn’t start out with much, but today they are doing what they always dreamed they would do.

Here are some things that they did right:

Live Below Your Means
Though my parents admit that they haven’t always been good savers, they’ve never spent more than they’ve made. Overspending is a serious problem (and ranching roadblock) for many people – especially those my age and younger. Whether you are religious or not, if you have ever been in consumer debt you know that the Proverb “the borrower is servant to the lender”is so true. Staying out of unsecured debt helped my parents more than anything else.

Make Sacrifices
When I was growing up my parents rarely took more than a weekend vacation and they usually drove older, used vehicles. Instead of buying a house, they lived in old, inexpensive rental houses so that they could put money towards their goal.

Live by Farming Family or Friends
My parents always wanted to move out of the Strasburg, CO area, but ultimately living in the area they grew up in was the best way for them to start. My grandpa lived nearby and helped run the tractor when my dad had to check oil wells. Neighbors knew my parents, so that gave my parents a better chance of getting land to lease from them.

I didn’t follow this advice, but I wish I would have. Staying by farming family or friends (if you can get along with them) is the best way to get a start.

Don’t Dwell on Mistakes of the Past
My parents will tell you that they’ve made lots in mistakes in life. There are places they wished they would have bought, things they wish they wouldn’t have bought and opportunities they missed. Ultimately though, today they try not to focus on all of the “what ifs” and just look forward.

Take Your Dream the Way it Comes
If it would have been up to my dad he would have started farming right after he got out of high school. Instead, he was in his 30s before he got his farming start. Today he’s in his 50s and still has to work a job to support the farm. His road to ranching isn’t what he would have chosen, but he’s wise enough to focus on the fact that he is getting to live part of his dream.

I encourage you enjoy whatever part of agriculture you are in now (even if it is just reading The Fence Post!) and have hope that if everything aligned for my parents to get a start, it can for you too.

Thanks Shelli for this important story. The road to owning a farm and ranch is often full of trials. It takes hard work and perseverance to make things work!

You can follow Shelli and her family on their road to ranching on her blog. You can also check her out on Facebook.

Roland Harvesting

Today we welcome Megan Roland from Roland Harvesting as she tells about growing up in a custom harvesting family.

Growing up in a family harvesting business, I was raised with a deep appre­ciation for agriculture and its beginnings. My family has many interesting ties in agri­culture, as I had ancestors who homesteaded in the Sand Hills of Nebraska, to relatives who farmed in Iowa.

The origin of Roland Harvesting traces back to my grandfather, Robert Roland. After serving in World War II he followed the wheat harvest for a couple sea­sons and was able to experience the life of a harvester. My father, Alan Roland, recalls hearing several of my grandfather’s intriguing stories about the harvest adventures he had experienced. It is these stories that sparked my dad’s initial interest in harvest. 

Brandon & James work on setting the combine.

In 1978, my father graduated top of his class with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanized Agriculture degree from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. During the summer of 1978 he returned to the family farm in Hemingford, Neb., and purchased his first combine, a New Hol­land TR ‘70, and harvested crops near his home area while working with a local custom harvester. Dad purchased his second New Holland TR ‘70 combine in 1979 and started to head south on harvest with the help of a small crew.

Every harvester needs the essentials. 

In 1983, my mother, Loretta, married my father and joined the harvesting business, and she accom­panied him on the road to follow the wheat harvest for many summers. A few years later our family was started, beginning with my older sister, Ashley, followed by me and my younger brother, Brandon. We were all raised on our family farm located near Hemingford and have been involved in our harvest­ing operation from birth. My siblings and I learned responsibility and work ethic at a young age. We spent countless hours riding in vehicles and combine cabs, and as we got older we have driven consider­ably more. Harvest is always an adventure and it is a way of life for my entire family.

Every summer Roland Harvesting begins our season by heading south to Texas; we gradually work our way north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and back to Hemingford as we follow the wheat harvest. In August, we travel to Wyoming and Idaho to harvest malting barley for Coors and Anheuser Busch. During the end of August, much of the crew is lost as many of us return to college. The season is finally finished by my parents in the late fall with corn, bean, and sunflower harvest in the Panhandle of Nebraska. 

Even on the road we sometimes get opportunities to see things off the harvest trail.
This was taken at Old Faithful in Wyoming. 

Roland Harvesting is currently operating two CR 9070 New Holland combines with 36-foot draper headers. In fact, Roland Harvesting has proudly owned and operated New Holland twin rotor com­bines for over 30 years. In addition, we have three semis and grain trailers to haul the grain. A tractor and grain cart are also usually brought on the road to help with the harvest, along with two service trucks that assist with maintenance of the machin­ery. We also have a TR ’98 combine that we usually keep at the farm to help out with home harvest or to take on the road if we need to split the crew.

Our crew is primarily made up of family with some hired help but it varies from year to year. In years past, Ashley was one of the main combine operators on the crew, but since she graduated from college last year and is now in the “real world,” she is no longer able to join us for the full run. However, Ashley and my brother-in-law, Kurt, are able to meet up with us and help out during the week­ends when we get closer to home. My mom has spent many years on harvest in the past, but she now mostly stays busy at home to help take care of all the family farming operations as well as do all the necessary bookkeeping for the harvest business. My parents constantly remind me that Roland Harvest­ing would not have been successful without the help and support of extended family members and loyal customers throughout the years. Our extended fam­ily continues to be very important assets within our harvesting business as they are always willing to help when needed. 

Cutting wheat - it's our life. 

Our main crew consists of Dad, Brandon, James, Jason and me. Overall, Dad and Brandon continue to lead our harvesting business, although since we have a smaller sized family opera­tion most of our tasks and jobs overlap a fair amount. Dad and Brandon typically operate the combines, while James and Jason drive truck and haul the grain into the elevators. Jason is our excellent head mechanic and is showing James all the “ins and outs” about all the equipment. Our entire crew is also skilled in operating combines and everyone has a Class A CDL and is capable of driving semis and hauling equipment.

Being a part of All Aboard mean telling our story right from the wheat field.
I find time in between jobs to get my latest post up.

With Brandon being my 20-year-old brother and James being our 21-year-old cousin, and me just a year older, we have quite the young energetic spark within our group. Brandon has turned into an outstanding combine operator and is even beginning to polish up his new profound “boss skills.” James also grew up around harvest but this is his first year joining the crew down south.

I typically oper­ate the grain cart as well as help run combine and drive truck as needed. In addition, I carry out my duties of the job I have been dubbed—“Supply and Distribution Manager."

Dad and I in an Oklahoma wheat field.

Harvest is a very important aspect of our entire family’s lives and has provided countless memories, adventures and experiences. We like to think of harvesters as the last inhabitants of the frontier. Following in our ancestors footsteps, we continually move with the land in an attempt to make a living. Follow us, and the wheat harvest at www.allaboardharvest.com.

Thanks for the great feature Megan! You can read more about Roland Harvesting on their website and facebook page. You can check out more harvest stories and family businesses at www.allaboardharvest.com, and on their facebook page and twitter! 

Zeorian Harvesting

Today, we feature Tracy Zeorian of Zeorian Harvesting and trucking.  She and her family has deep roots in agriculture as they continue to carry on a family business - chasing the ripening wheat from Texas to Montana.

Zeorian Harvesting & Trucking of Manley, NE unknowingly began its existence in the early 1950’s. This is when my Grandpa purchased a combine and headed for Oklahoma as a custom harvester. It was the spring of 1974 when my Grandma approached me with the idea of traveling with them that summer to help her. I was 12 and thought going with my Grandpa and Grandma all summer seemed too good to be true. I was going to “get” to help Grandma with the duties involved with having a wheat harvest crew – grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, meals, etc.

The idea of keeping Grandpa and Grandma’s little trailer house clean intrigued me and the fact that I would get to spend the summer – all summer – with them was something I had never done. Grandpa and Grandma had always been gone during the summer months and harvest was something I really knew nothing about except that it meant they were gone. Grandma and I made a perfect team! She and I would head to town to do the laundry at the local laundromat and get groceries. If I was lucky, it would also involve a pizza for lunch at Pizza Hut and a “Black Cow” (rootbeer float). A really good day meant shopping for school clothes!

Then, one day, Grandma left me in the field with Grandpa. Grandpa put me in his 750 Massey combine, showed me how to make it work and I was hooked! It was an unfortunate mistake on Grandma’s part. From then on, whenever I could be in the combine, that’s where you would find me! I still had to be Grandma’s #1 right hand, but the wheat field was (and is) where I really wanted to be.

The combine I learned how to drive when I was only 12 years old. Look closely…that’s me in the header helping Grandpa clean the combine before moving to the next job. 

One piece of advice my Grandma shared with me at an early age was, “WHATEVER you do, don’t marry a harvester”. Jim was a hired man for my Grandpa – hazards of the trade! We were married April 1982. At that time, Jim wasn’t a harvester; he was an electrician. We purchased our first used 760 Massey the fall of 1983. Jim had fallen in love with the industry, too. When my Grandpa and Dad approached him with the idea of joining Hancock Harvesting, we jumped on the proposal. Unfortunately, I was left behind. I had a full time job and we decided we needed the steady income to help pay the household bills while we were trying to make this work. This absolutely KILLED me! I would drive to where the harvesters were once in awhile but it just made matters worse. It was so hard to leave when I had to go back to work.

Jamie was born December 1985 and Jenna followed in April 1988. Jim was still following the harvest route…without us. It never got any easier for me when I’d see those loaded machines heading down the highway without me. By spring of 1990, Dad and Grandpa decided it was time for them to break free from the wheat route. Jim was driving truck for a local company hauling loads to Western Nebraska. It was on one of those trips that he saw loaded combines heading south and the bug bit him again. Could we do this with one combine? It would mean hiring someone to help Jim in the field and the girls and I would “have” to go too. We decided it was worth a try. We traded the Massey for a brand new Case combine, borrowed my grandparent’s trailer house and pickup and we headed for Lodgepole, NE. That summer, we only went to Lodgepole. The next year, we headed back to Lodgepole and then decided to make the long haul to Montana (following the familiar path my grandparents had done so many years). In 1992, we embarked on the full harvest run, beginning in Oklahoma and finishing in Montana. This year marks our 30th year of being involved with the wheat harvest trek.

Zeorian Harvesting in 1990 (Lodgepole, NE)

Today, we are still traveling the Midwest every summer chasing the ripening wheat from Texas to Montana. We added two more daughters to the mix, Taylor in 1994 and Callie in 1997. They still pack their belongings in the trailer house each spring and travel the route with us. Jamie and Jenna wish they were still with us.

In 2001, a change occurred. This was the year we decided Jamie and Jenna were old enough to take over the household duties (my job) and I would go to the field with Jim. I was ecstatic!! I was going to be back in the field again and the money we would have paid a hired hand would go to the girls for their college fund. This worked and continues to work for us. In April, Jim will begin the job of getting the equipment road ready. By the first of May, we are generally packing the trailer house (40 ft. fifth wheel) for the 100+ days we’ll be living in it. By mid May, we are closing down our home, mowing the yard for the last time and contacting utility services in preparation of hitting the road again.

Our summer begins in Texas. It takes us two trips to get the equipment to each stop. When we leave a destination, Jim will drive the Peterbilt truck pulling the combine trailer (combine is on the trailer) and grain trailer combination. I pull the header trailer (and header) with our Freightliner straight truck. Once we reach our new destination, Jim and I will drive the Peterbilt back to the original starting point. The second trip involves the Pete pulling the trailer house, I drive a pickup and Taylor and Callie will drive the car. This happens each time we have to move. We have a stop in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and two in Montana.

Getting the combine road ready.

As I mentioned earlier, Jim and I are in the field. I love being in the combine and could be there every day. The problem is Jim also enjoys being in the combine. Most of the summer, he and I will take turns fillingtrucks and driving the combine. I fill my truck (Freightliner) while Jim’s taking his truck (Peterbilt) to the elevator. When he gets back, I take my truck to the elevator and he jumps in the combine. We both get our combine “fix” this way.

While we’re in the field, Taylor and Callie are back at the home front (trailer house) taking care of the necessary duties…grocery shopping, laundry, post office, meals, etc. Generally, I will make sandwiches for lunch and the girls will fix a nice evening meal. If it works, they’ll haul it to the field and we’ll have the typical harvest end gate meal. This is a nice break for Jim and me and the girls enjoy being able to hang out in the field for the evening. No one job in this family run business is more important than another. It takes all of us working together to produce the high quality outcome that we take pride in providing our farmer. Once the last acre of wheat is cut, we’ll load the equipment, move down the road and start all over again in a new town.

Zeorian Harvesting & Trucking

Left to right – Jim, Tracy, Callie, Jamie & Curt Hermesch

Jenna & Taylor

This lifestyle has been called an "addiction" by a few and loved by many! The custom harvester provides a service to the American farmer by providing the necessary equipment to harvest their crops in a timely and efficient manner – which is of utmost importance. I have a passion for this lifestyle and enjoy sharing our journey through my blog, our Facebook page, and my Twitter.

To learn more about the custom harvesting industry and how important we are in getting food to your table, please follow Zeorian Harvesting’s annual journey. You can also check out what’s going on in the custom harvesting world by visiting the U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. website or Facebook page.

Thank you Tracy for opening our eyes to a different and vital part of agriculture!  If you would like to learn more about becoming a Face of Agriculture Feature - like Tracy and her family - please contact us today! 

Robyn's Parents

Robyn has shared her story with us before here. This is the story of her parents and how they became a part of agriculture. 

Hello from the western South Dakota! I am Robyn from The Ranch Wife Chronicles.

Today I am sharing my parent's story and the roots of my agriculture experience. I was raised in central Nebraska on a cow/calf operation. Growing up, my sister and I showed steers and lambs. Mom still keeps a few sheep around and has started a Southdown flock. Both of my parents grew up on farms.

Agriculture runs deep in my Mom’s heritage and family farming can be traced all the way back to Czechoslovakia. Her father ran angus cows and duroc hogs, farming in Seward County, Nebraska. My mom is no stranger to the show ring and learned her love for showing from Grandpa.

Dad grew up with Berkshire hogs. His family raised, showed and sold seedstock. Grandpa W attended the Nebraska State Fair and the State Fairs of bordering states selling boars and gilts. 

Mom and Dad met at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Dad was on the Meats and Livestock Judging Teams. In fact, Dad was a champion Meat’s judge and won the National Collegiate Meats Judging Contest. Mom was the first woman to be on the UNL Livestock Judging Team; a team that won in Kansas City.

After graduating from college, Mom took her life savings to purchase cattle. These cows were the beginning to what has become 35 years in the ranching business. Mom and Dad have AI’d (artificially inseminated) cows for the past 35 years.

In the early years, Mom and Dad raised a few show calves, selling most of them private treaty. Since my sister and I have grown up, my parents changed direction and started raising commercial angus cattle. Their focus is primarily functional females and high quality feeder calves.

Mom and Dad have seen the good times and the hard times in the ranching business. Over the years they have both had “off the farm” jobs. Mom worked at the local auction market for 23 years. She started out in the yards and worked her way to became a field rep. She currently is the advertising manager and contributing editor for CALF News Magazine.

Dad bought fat cattle after graduating from college. After marrying, he worked as a loan officer in a bank. Dad was also herdsman for a registered Angus outfit for 10 years.

Ranching is not an easy or romantic career. It is a business and a tough one at that. Mom and Dad have weathered many ups and downs in this business. My parents have built a high performing commercial cow herd, raised two daughters and know it takes a lot to produce wholesome food.

Thanks Robyn for sharing your parent's story with us! You can visit Robyn and learn more about her history at The Ranch Wife Chronicles. We would love to hear more stories from anyone out there about their parents and grandparents. 

If you would like to be a featured farmer or know someone who should be, leave a comment below - or check out our contact page. To learn more about the Faces of Agriculture Project click here.