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NW Iowa | Just do it. I went for a month one year and got hooked and ended up doing it for another 12 years. I started in SW Oklahoma around Memorial Day and ended up spending time with the good folks in Saskatchewan by the time September rolled around. It’s a true nomadic life. A good neighbor of mine had the combines so I was with a few people I had previously known to begin with.
Research the various crews if you can. Some bosses treat the crew like prisoners. You don’t want that. You do not want to live with bosses who are party animals who never get around to paying you. I have seen both types during my years out there. Most crews though are very family oriented and you will gain lifelong friends. A good crew owner screens the new hires well so he doesn’t end up with crew members he has to send home early. A good crew owner wants good workers of course but he will also let the guys go out on the town on occasion. A good crew owner will allow a crew member to go home for a family emergency.
Your responsibility is to be a good dependable employee who is willing to work long days seven days a week when the conditions are right. I won’t sugar coat the experience it’s not all roses but you will get in the groove after awhile. The first couple weeks you might not feel up to par while your body acclimates but it’s all part of the game and you will get feeling better for the rest of the summer. It gets very hot out there, bring at least a weeks worth of clothing and plenty of underwear. If it does not work out for you the boss is out a badly needed man. I remember sitting in a cafe in Kansas with a crew owner who had part of his crew walk away not by his fault. He had customers waiting for him but he had only a half crew. If he can’t show up the customer grabs the first crew going by and the job is lost.
I was never out there for the whole summer at one stretch. Six weeks was the longest stretch, then I had to come home for a couple weeks for farm and family. After those two weeks I was anxious to get back out there. Once it is in your blood you never lose it. | |
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Wheat harvest run next summer
