Beckstead Family - Custom Harvesters & Ranch Operators

For our next feature, please welcome Tana Beckstead and her family as they share with us their unique agricultural story! 

Our agriculture story is made up of Beckstead Harvesting LLC, Mount Oxford Ranch and Oxford Mtn. Ranch LLC. We are Doug and Tana Beckstead and our three children are, Wiley age 17, Savannah age 14 and Hazen age 8. 

We live in southeast Idaho in a small town called Swan Lake (about 45 miles south of Pocatello, Idaho and 45 miles north of Logan, Utah) along Oxford Mountain.

As a family we operate and manage two separate farm and ranch operations owned by different corporations and businessmen. Mount Oxford Ranch in Downey and Preston, Idaho is a cow/calf operation with 350 Black Angus beef cows and calves as well as alfalfa and irrigated grain crops. Oxford Mountain Ranch, LLC in Swan Lake, Idaho is a cow/calf operation with 100 head of Black Angus cows and calves as well as the alfalfa, irrigated grain crops and dry land grain and safflower. Our oldest son Wiley pretty much runs the Swan Lake place by himself - he does all the pipe moving, field work and runs the cattle on his own - with a little help from Grandpa Beckstead occasionally in the summer. All together we farm close to 4500 acres.

In addition to operating the two ranches we also started our own custom harvesting business as a family. Two years ago we purchased a John Deere 9560 combine and we custom cut grain crops for farmers in the local area. Our little business is growing and last year we were able to buy a semi and a grain trailer to haul grain. We also own about 10 good ranch horses and the kids like to participate in local rodeos and jackpots in the summer time. Our older children, Wiley and Savannah both got youth loans through our local FSA office and purchased their own Angus cows and heifers and raise them along with the bigger herds. The kids plan on attending college with the money they make from selling the calves.

Doug and I (Tana) have been married for 18 years and have been involved in agriculture our entire lives. I was born and raised on a small dairy and beef cattle operation in Downey, Idaho and was active in 4-H and FFA while growing up. I was the Marsh Valley High School Chapter FFA president in 1994 and the District FFA President in 1995. Doug started working for a dry farm in the Preston, Idaho area when he was in his early teens and grew to love every aspect of farming. He worked the dry land hills and fields with old D-4 caterpillar machines and John Deere hill side combines. His blood runs green and nothing compares to John Deere when it comes to farm equipment! 

A typical day for our family is long and busy! Right now it is summer time so there is a LOT of pipe moving going on and we are just finishing up 1st crop hay. Wiley takes care of the pipe at the Swan Lake place and Doug, Tana and Savannah move the pipe at Mount Oxford Ranch. (Our little Hazen likes to play in the water and get the end plugs for us-pretty soon he’ll be big enough to lift the pipe!) We work together every day as a family. YES, we all have to work on the ranch! Whether we are calving cows or doctoring or branding calves or cutting or baling hay or disking or drilling a field, we all have important jobs to do! Doug hires a part-time hand to help out in the summer at Mount Oxford Ranch and also hires on temporary help from January to April for calving and branding season, but for the most part we do it all as a family.

My favorite part of working and living on a ranch is getting to raise my kids here. There is no better way in my opinion than growing up and working on a farm or ranch! Our kids have learned the value of a hard day’s work and they are responsible, knowledgeable kids for that very reason. We get up early and go to bed exhausted, but I know my kids aren’t out making trouble or doing drugs or worse. 

We do like to have fun too! Our favorite time of year on the ranch is branding season. We make a big day out of the brandings and I cook a big meal and we make a party out of it. We have great friends that love to help us brand and we never have to pay them to help.

When our youngest son Hazen started Kindergarten they had to give him a test to see what level he was at and the teacher asked him a series of questions and one of the questions was “What are the four seasons of the year?”. Hazen answered just as cool as could be, “Well there is calvin’ season, brandin’ season, farmin’ season and huntin’ season!” The teacher thought that was the cleverest thing she had ever heard. In his world these are the seasons on the ranch. Our local FSA agent heard the story and has a poster hanging in her office with the Four Seasons by Hazen Beckstead.

The one thing I wish people could understand about our particular ranching and farming story is that just because we work for a corporation doesn’t mean the money for the ranch is just flowing free at our disposal. Many times we hear people say “You have it so easy because the owners just buy everything you need or you don’t have the stress because you don’t have to worry about the bottom line.”. This is so not the case! If anything we worry more about making things work and being in the “black” at the end of the year. Doug and I have to put together a yearly budget and operating expense account and we have to pencil out how things will work and run smoothly. If we are short or don’t pay off these expenses we have to answer for it at the end of the year. We run these ranches just like we would our own if we had our own ranch.

Thanks for the great feature Tana! Agriculturalist come in all shapes and sizes - just like you! If you or someone you know should be featured on Faces of Agriculture please contact us today! 

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!

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! 

Misener Family Harvesters

Today we welcome Emma of Misener Family Harvesters! This family follows the harvest from the Texas/Oklahoma border all the way to the North Dakota/Canadian border!

I woke up this morning in my smaller-than-average sized bed, to the wonderful sound of rain hitting the camper roof. Although it was a day of taking it easy, there are always those few things that can’t get themselves done. The trucks need to be dumped at the elevator, fueling and servicing still needs attention. This may be a nothing-to-do sort of day, but trust me. This day is nothing like a typical day on harvest. My name is Emma Misener and I am a custom harvester. I work with Misener Family Harvesters, Elk City, Okla., where I work for my mother, Kristy and along-side my brother Dan.

In 1971, my father, Ron, started Misener Family Harvesters after serving as an Army Sergeant in the Vietnam War. A few years later he was hired by a neighbor who had just moved to the area. It was that job where he met the farmer’s daughter and the rest became history. Dad and Mom built a family and business, and both thrived. They began traveling south to the Texas/Oklahoma border with combines harvesting wheat from one farm to the next, working their way north to the North Dakota/Canadian border. Once wheat harvest came to a close, fall harvest began and they worked their way back home harvesting as they went. Their tradition still lives on today.

I was born on the harvest trail, raised on the harvest trail, and still live on the harvest trail. I remember taking along my crayons and paper in the combine, riding with mom while harvesting. By the time I reached 10 years old, I had already began to beg Dad to let me drive the big machines, and by then I’m sure he was ready to at least let me try. My first field of wheat I combined was 3.75 acres and I still remember what he said. “You’re doing an excellent job, but it looks like you’re chasing a snake!” I just smiled and said, “I promise I’ll learn to drive straighter. Will you please let me have my own combine?” I’ve been driving big green machines since.

As the business grew the family did, too. I am the youngest of six children. My older sisters Marie, Katie, and Elizabeth and my brother David, soon left and started families of their own. To help fill their void Dad and Mom decided to hire help. By the time I was 15 years old I was training hired men. When interviewing potential employees, one of the questions he asked them was, “can you listen to a 15 year old girl?” They always chuckled thinking he was joking, but Dad was very serious about it.

Two years ago in December, my Dad passed away. His love and passion for harvesting still lives on today in my Mom, my brother Dan and I. Mom, Dan, and I continue his legacy harvesting the trail where it all began. Mom still does the cooking and the business, with Dan and I helping her through it all. Although it is harder to go on without him, we still have the motivation he passed down to keep us all moving forward.

We are in blistery and rainy South Dakota finishing up our fall harvest, combining corn.

Our day begins at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast, followed by a trip to the elevator with trucks filled the previous night, and then head out to the field. Mom usually packs a lunch for us to take in the morning, and once in a while she will surprise us with hot lunch. We arrive at the field, fuel up the combine, and service it by greasing the proper places, checking the oil, and then do a ‘walk-around’ checking belts/chains or anything else that seems out of the ordinary. Then the fun part begins. Once we start harvesting corn we go until the elevator closes, and then fill everything one more time for a morning trip. Once the trucks are full we head home, clean up, eat supper, and get to bed. There isn’t much time for anything other than harvesting.

I love our way of life. I love the smell of the crops, the dust in the air, and the sense of accomplishment when a field is harvested. It makes me want to do it all over again. I’m getting the itch to get back home to warmer Oklahoma, but in two months I’ll be itching to get back on the road.

Our stops on the road become home. Every place is different and has its own unique beauty. The people we hire, the people we cut for, and fellow custom harvesters become family. Even the people at the grocery stores or gas stations say ‘Hey! When did y’all get back in town? We’ve missed you!’

It can be stressful and a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t choose any other way of life. The U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc., go by the motto ‘we harvest the crops that feed the world’. This sums it up. I’m proud to be a custom harvester. We really do feed the world.

(L to R) Me, my brother Dan, my Dad Ron, and my Mom Kristy. This was the last family photograph before my Dad passed away. We were at the John Deere Fall Festival in Waterloo, Iowa celebrating antique tractors. My Dad loved restoring the ‘Ol’ Girls’ and went to every antique show we could go to.

We load our semis and move to our first stop on the harvest run. Most of the time we haul the combines because our stops from farm to farm are far enough away, that it’s cost efficient to haul them.

Other times, our farmers are closer together so we drive the combines from one farm to the next. It just depends on how far our farmers are from each other.

Cutting wheat in Oklahoma! We make rounds all day long in a clockwise motion so that we can always unload on-the-go.

We unload each combine one by one, then dump the grain into the waiting semis, where they then take it to the elevator.

My Dad was a very patriotic man; something that he has definitely passed on to me and the rest of my family. Every year, we put new American flags flying from each of our machines.

Every day of my life is a blessing. I love what I do and wouldn’t change a minute of it!

Thank you Emma and the folks from All Aboard Harvest for this great feature!!! If you’d like to follow along with Misener Family Harvesters during our summer harvest - visit www.allaboardharvest.com, or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MisenerFamilyHarvesters . You can reach Emma at emma@allaboardharvest.com.

YOU can be the next Face of Agriculture Feature - Contact us today!!

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!